Museum Benaki

The exhibition "Ο ελληνικός κόσμος μέσα από το βλέμμα των περιηγητών και των λογίων" ("The Greek world through the eyes of European travellers and scholars") at the Museum Benaki was quite interesting. I always get a kick out of old books and when a book dates back to 15hundredsomething I'm really impressed. The exhibition was not very big, just one large room with books behind glass on all the walls. Old books with accounts of travels through Greece from the 15th to the 20th century.

We went round and round and had a look at some of the exceptional typography and the prints included in the books. Maps, sketches, illustrations. Some are a bit crude, but most are phantastically deep and "alive". On the way to the special exhibit (and on the way out), we had a look at the general exhibition of traditional greek stuff, dresses, items of daily use, pictures. I will have to go there again.

The disappointing point of the exhibition is that there is very little content of the books accessible. I read whatever I could from the open pages. But the look of the books in exhibition is much more accessible than the contents. Descriptions are in Greek only, so I did not have the patience to decipher the pompous language of the historians. Other than that, the exhibition and museum are really recommended.