By Aigli Andritsopoulou
Have you ever experienced a so-called epiphany while taking a lifeless shower in the shared bathroom of your shared apartment? It is that very moment when existential thoughts strike, and you realize that the only time that you truly connect to your inner self is when the continuous flow of purifying water helps you wash your most sensitive parts of your hangover-suffering body and mind on a Sunday evening. Well, now try to rewind and remember what you did last night that caused this enlightening circumstance.
The answer lies in a small bar called Ela Na Sou Po behind Karaiskaki Square at Metaksourgio area in the center of Athens. Infamous streets of a working-class district, where voices coming from past century’s local artists called Rebetes and outlaws, meet an emerging art scene represented by hype contemporary art galleries and artist-run studios, surround ENSP.
Feel, dance, play, touch, taste, wander and then dance a little more. At Ela Na Sou Po this ritual is being performed every single night by different DJs, who orchestrate a unique scenario full of freedom and rawness.
The bar plays the role of the encounter between thrill-seekers, lovers, friends, and strangers. Rumor has it that the non-accessible area just above the bar used to be a tasseography – fortune telling, coffee reading - “sanctuary” created out of a desire to interpret the past and predict the future. It is also said that this is where its name comes from, which loosely translated into English means “let me tell yo
Ferocious Souls, locals and travelers, artists, musicians, taxi drivers and any all-nighters grab themselves a beer and live the city night in its purest form. The intuitive approach of partying, the bar’s solid spirits and music, in addition to those mystical vibrations of the location's past, transform Ela Na Sou Po into a pocket-size holy temple of the nocturnal Athenian urban realm.
