Food tells me a lot about people and the environment. I love markets and grocery stores. I always try to visit the local markets in my travels. Being raised in the Philippines I was exposed to all kinds of food--not the sanitized "Safeway" version. When you go to the market you see chicken feet, organs, fish heads, etc. (you get the picture and are forewarned).

Anyway, I experience differences everywhere I go. Below are some photos taken there:

Nuts and dried fruit. Pistachios are grown in many areas of Greece and Aegina in the Saronic Gulf (not too far from Athens) is the main producer.

The fish and meat market are back to back.

The sheep heads below are pretty grotesque, I admit, maybe like a scene from your worst nightmare or Blair Witch Project, but seriously, I found a recipe in my Greece Cook Book for Roasted Lambs Head. "...put sheep head cheeks down in a roasting pan..." etc. Don't plan to have it anytime soon.