New edition on the pleasures of rambling
The cover of the guide is revealing. There are apartment blocks along a forested slope and on the highest peak there is a cluster of telecommunications transmitters. The photograph is of Mount Hymettus, one of the mountain ranges surrounding Athens. Forest fires and urban sprawl have been eating away at it for decades, but several dedicated groups of walkers, botanists and other nature lovers are doing their best to conserve its flora, fauna and walking paths. Dras. S.A. Volunteer Actions, a non-governmental organization, has just published an illustrated Greek-language guide, «Monopatades ston Hymetto» (Ramblings on Mt Hymettus), as part of a program to conserve the northern part of the mountain which borders on many municipalities in the region of Attica and is the backyard of the northeastern suburbs. A brief history and description of the mountain’s environmental features precedes an extensive list and photos of the mountain’s fauna and flora, the latter with both Greek and botanical names. Dras. Volunteer Actions can be contacted at tel 210.600.6820.
