A Fascination with Doors.

If you have ever been to Europe..in particular Italy and Greece, you will understand the feeling of downloading your holiday photos and realizing about a third of them are of DOORS! There are red doors, blue doors, doors that lead nowhere, doors that open to doors, 3 doors that all lead to the same room, doors to an outdoor courtyard, doors with no purpose, doors you cant open, doors within doors...it honestly is crazy.

Among the other thousand reasons I love Europe, my fascination with the beautiful architecture has exploded into a full blown obsession. I can probably guarantee that if you have been to the Greek Islands, you have taken a photo of a door...quite possibly a blue door. 

The Greek Islands are full of thousands of incredible little cobblestone alleyways, blue and white buildings and stylish, yet "rustic" looking doors. These islands are what dreams are made of. Lining the top of a volcanic hole after it erupted in early centuries, the Greek Island San Torini is filled with both architectural conundrums and impossibilities. Like many European cities built upon hills, it never ceases to amaze me how they actually remain standing. 

Doors have whatever meaning you give them. To me, being a temporary visitor to the land of blue and white, these doors offer an unlimited imaginative vision of the private life beyond them. We see only what they want us to see, and I think that adds to the magical aura of walking the alleys early in the morning. 


The colours, for example, the blue and white actually have a purpose. From the earlier centuries, the buildings were painted white as a symbol of purity and a defence or safeguard against evil. Blue or turquoise paint was a colour that could be easily made from powdered turquoise stone. It was not the result of a hardware store clearance sale on blue paint, nor was it everybody's favourite colour. As time moved on, white became more of a colour used for the practical sense of making the buildings cooler during the summer. A cheap form of air-conditioning. While I was over there, I was also informed that Blue was a colour of good luck.

What made me laugh was that there were even doors that led to absolutely nowhere! I mean...it was literally just standing there for no reason at all! Looking at the photo above...there was a set of stairs on the other side to the left...but as you can see..you could easily just walk around the door. It made for a beautiful photo, I admit, but the practicality of it seemed of no importance. But then again, after travelling to Europe twice in my short lifetime, I have come to realize that practicality just isn't high up on the list of priorities. 

So if you have traveled to Europe and you have NOT got a photo of a door...I would love to hear from you..because I honestly think it's impossible not to do.