I booked this experience as a private tour after going on the Athens Social and Political Walk with Isaac (which I would highly recommend as well). It was illuminating to see parts of Athens that have housed generations of immigrants, and how they came to be inhabited by different ethnic groups over time. The neighborhoods we visited were much safer than some of the anarchist areas on the Social and Political walk, so there is no need to be wary. Isaac illustrated the human side of the refugee crisis, and I appreciated his sensitivity while doing so. I will read and watch stories of refugees in Europe with a more nuanced perspective because of this insightful and engaging tour.
I am so glad I had this experience to balance some of my more traditional tourist excursions in Athens. Isaac is incredibly knowledgeable and easily breaks down complicated concepts for everyone on the tour. I particularly appreciated his effort to connect historical parallels with everyone's country of origin. In my group, we had folks from the US, Spain, and Turkey and he regularly made comparisons between political parties or historical events to draw comparisons. I was so excited about this tour that I booked a second, private tour (Understanding the Refugee Crisis) with Isaac after the Athens Social and Political Walk concluded. It was a lot of walking in one day, and I was really glad that Isaac was willing to stick with me. Another MUST DO in Athens!
I highly recommend this walking tour. I'm really glad I did it. Isaac deftly walked us through Greece's history from the Byzantine to the Ottoman, into independence, WWII, post-war, party politics, religion, neoliberalism, the student massacre, Greek society, the financial crises, immigration, and gentrification. His knack for narrating history through an educational lens and explaining very complex issues in simple terms made it easy to follow. I also appreciated his sense of humor. I wish I could do a tour like this for every city I visit.
My wife and I took the tour after 2 weeks of heavy touristing to the islands, Athens and the center of the country. After experiencing the tourist side of much of Greece, we were curious about some of the things we’ve heard from taxi drivers, waiters, hosts, etc. about Greece, so we booked the tour. Isaac really breaks down how the current political climate in Greece came to be. He walks you through some major historical and current events that shaped what you experience in the country today. If you love looking up Wikipedia while traveling, I recommend this tour. Isaac brings Wikipedia to life and offers even more insight and some political analysis. Just be prepared for a non-flashy, gritty, on the ground real world experience.
Isaac was phenomenal at providing knowledge and information in a way that was easy to understand. I learned so much about the history of Greece’s political system and why it is the way it is. He’s great at providing examples from other countries to help participants gain deeper insights about Greece’s social and political systems. I highly recommend this experience!
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