Olympic toilets

Photos: 26.08.2018. Chania, Greece. I feel in love with these signs as soon as saw them!

We went on twelve days holiday in 2018, after so many years of not being able to go to even weekend away. It was four of us, two good friends, my husband and me. We took a cruise to the Mediterranean see, stopped each day in a different port, different country. Greece was the only country that we spent four days. Every day in a different town. We visited Olympia. Fortunately, we took a guide, otherwise we would not understand anything. What we saw were only stones.

Photo: 2018. Olympia, Greece

Few stones here, few stones there, a stone behind, a stone ahead.
And after few more meters few more stones!

Photo: 2018. Olympia, Greece

Photos : 2018. Olympia, Greece – Racetrack

Not many explanations on sites ……,

Obviously, we took wrong side of the racetrack for start line!!

Photo: 2018. Olympia, Greece – Racetrack

…….. or a drawing explaining what that could be, or what was that in the past.

Only one tombstone was rebuilt, standing white and shiny above all. The woman guide, explained to us that the Greek Government took five million Euro from the European Union through project for rebuilding Olympia, and after few years what they’ve got was that tombstone. She said nobody knows where the money went. It would be very funny if only was not very sad.

Specially for us, coming from Croatia where things and projects like that, EU-money spending on nothing useful are become everyday life.
Then she pointed to a small building, and she said: In season this place visits few thousand people a day and they built that tiny, small yellow building as a toilet! Pity I did not take a photo. Well, I did not think about toilets then with the same passion as today. Nevertheless, I needed to go to the loo. What I saw inside that tiny yellow building vas shocking! We are talking about Greece. The place where everything started, science, art, sport, being equal hetero and homo. We are visiting the place where Olympic games started, the place where the women, stood shoulder to shoulder next to the men as spectators!
That was a fantastic and inspiring story from our lady guide, the way how mothers of the boys who were participating in the games fight for their rights to see their sons racing, fighting and winning the game.
And then in 21st Century I needed to pee in Olympia! I wish I did not, I would leave the place happier.
So, I entered the tiny yellow building. One side of a building were toilets for women, another for men. In women’s part there were about six, I don’t remember exact number, toilets. On three of them the doors were locked outside with a brown sticky tape. There were not doorknobs on the doors. You could not open the doors. The toilets were not working.
Inside the working one, was a printed picture on the paper, glued on the wall above the toilet bowl. That was a sign not to put the toilet paper into toilet bowl! There was a rubbish bin next to the toilet bowl. The kind with a lid opening by pressing pedal with your foot. Pedal was broken, so I had to open the lid with a hand.
While I crouch, finished peeing, cleaned myself with a toilet paper with one hand, opening lid with another hand, the sight of the inside the rubbish bin was disgusting!
All that experience was in 1918. so maybe by now European Union is more careful where they put money in.
As I mentioned before, I did not take a photo of that toilet, but few months later I came across a toilet in Italy with a same situation of throwing toilets papers NOT into a toilet bowl. So, there it is …….

Photos : 13.10.2018. Roma, Italy

On the same holiday we went to visit Chania, a nice small town. On the defensive wall rising from the seaside, we came across the forerunners of the toilets.

Just for the records: we were just enjoying making photos, not peeing!