Manhole Cover Coasters: Greece. Four cities from the far reaches of the cauldron of democracy: Athens, Corfu, Thessaloniki & Heraklion.

ATHENS: THE EYE OF GREECE, MOTHER OF ARTS.

CORFU/ΚΈΡΚΥΡΑ: LOCATED OFF THE NORTHWEST COAST OF GREECE, CORFU IS IN THE IONIAN SEA. HOME TO JUST OVER 100,000 PEOPLE, THE ISLAND’S POPULATION TRIPLES THROUGH TOURISM. THE VENETIAN FORTRESSES, WHICH KEPT IT OUT OF OTTOMAN HANDS FOR CENTURIES, IS A MAJOR DRAW. THE COVER FEATURES A BROKEN MEANDER WITH THE GREEK WORD FOR “WATER” ON THE BOTTOM. THE GREEK NAME FOR THE ISLAND REPLACES TWO ARCS MIRRORED ABOVE WHICH HAVE AN ADDED OUTLINE OF THE ISLE IN THE MIDDLE. IT IS PICKED UP VIA THE PRY POINTS IN THE CENTER.

HERAKLION/ΗΡΆΚΛΕΙΟ: THE CAPITAL OF CRETE, HERAKLION CHANGED HANDS MANY TIMES OVER ITS LONG AND REMARKABLE HISTORY. THE MINOAN PALACE OF KNOSSOS, DESTROYED BY A MASSIVE VOLCANIC ERUPTION AROUND 1600 BCE, HAS ITS REMAINS HERE. THEN THE GREEKS MADE THEIR PRESENCE KNOWN, FOLLOWED BY THE ROMANS, THE ARABS, THE BYZANTINES, THE VENETIANS, THE OTTOMANS, THE BRITS, AND THEN THE GREEKS WHO MOVED THE CAPITAL HERE IN 1971. THE MUNICIPAL SEWER DEPARTMENT, ΔΕΥΑΗ-SITS CENTER IN THE COVER SURROUNDED BY AN ORDERLY GRID. THE FOUNDRY LIES PROMINENTLY BELOW WITH THE GREEK NAME OF THE CITY FURTHER SOUTH. TWO PICK POINTS ARE ON EITHER SIDE AND A CIGARETTE BUTT, ONE OF MANY IN CRETE, IS FLATTENED AT THE BOTTOM. ΕΒΊΒΑ!

SALONIKA: GREEK SECOND CITY THAT USED TO BE FIRST