Palm Trees Have Vanished All Over Athens, But Not For The Reason People Think

There is no doubt that Athens has lost many palms since the 1800s, when, as one historian describes it, it was known for "its palm trees, its camels, and its mosques." The city had to truck thousands of new ones in from North Africa when they hosted the Olympic Games in 2004. But was the palmicide an act of historical whitewash? Can you change the cultural identity of a place by removing its trees?

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