Greek culture

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A stunning fresco at Isthmia Roman Baths, Nero, and the Corinth Canal

Today, I am pleased to share my photographs from the Isthmia Museum and Archeological site. The latter boasts the Roman Baths with the largest monochrome fresco in the eastern Mediterranean! And it is STUNNING, adorned with a variety of sea creatures (octopus, fish, lobster, squid, dolphin, sea snake) and mythological marine creatures too, including what looks like a Nereid and a Triton.

We happened to visit on the day that the ancient games of Isthmia were revived in the area for the first time, and we spotted in the museum two locals preparing the pine tree wreaths for the winners.

We left the place before the games began, so we didn’t see any sporting action.  But after seeing that breathtaking fresco, and with the cruise of the Corinth Canal as our next stop that day, we didn’t feel like hanging around LOL!

The museum was tiny but very interesting, with a plethora of artifacts in great condition that helped to imagine the everyday life of my ancient ancestors.

The archaeological grounds were mere ruins, nothing standing except for the Roman baths. We had to imagine the Temple of Poseidon, the stadium, and the other buildings we got to see only on signs, but the pine trees were ample – holy trees to Poseidon, apparently!

When I heard that from our guide, I wondered if this is why there are so many pine trees on Greek beaches. Or, maybe, it’s the other way around. The Greeks imagined Poseidon liked them seeing that they are often found so close to seawater. I guess we’ll never know, LOL!

The archaeological site is set on a hill that overlooks the bay. It is a short drive away from Isthmia where the Corinth Canal begins.

In my recent newsletter and blog post about my cruise through the Corinth Canal, I mentioned that the ancient Greeks had conceived the idea of the canal so the ships did not have to circumnavigate the Peloponnese to go to the other side of mainland Greece. However, their plans never turned into action as when they asked Zeus for permission to go ahead (via the high priestess and Oracle Pythia of Delphi), his reply was negative.

Still, that didn’t stop the Corinth tyrant Periander in the 7th century BC. He did try to dig for a canal but found the task far more demanding and expensive than he’d thought. So, he constructed a ‘diolkos’ instead, i.e. a passageway from one shore to the other that involved dragging the boats across the land on porous blocks.

Later, the Romans tried too. During the reign of Tiberius, another failed attempt was made in 32 AD but their equipment and know-how proved inadequate for this feat. They, too, settled for another solution, similar to the Greek ‘diolkos. The Romans went for an Egyptian mechanism that had been used previously to roll huge blocks of granite to build their pyramids. The boats rolled across the Isthmus upon tree trunks.

In 67 AD, philhellene Roman Emperor Nero ordered six thousand slaves to dig a canal with shovels. Most of them were Jewish pirates during the Jewish wars. Nero was so keen on the project he was the one to give the first blow to the land of the Isthmus with a golden pickaxe.

Sadly, he passed away the next year and the project was soon abandoned.

Today, a relief adorns the wall of the canal near Isthmia. It is on the side of the mainland, not the Peloponnese, i.e. on the right side as you begin the boat cruise from the Saronic Gulf (Isthmia) side. You will see it high up on the canal wall right next to an old stone base to a bridge over the canal that no longer exists.

It is a mystery as to who created this relief of Nero and when, but it is said to be a remnant from a temple built there in his honor.

It is sad it has been left to its fate as it continues to fight a losing battle with the elements, but here it is, a quickly fading image of the man who had the dream of the canal and went the furthest along than any other.

He was the most determined to do it, and he followed through, in a world that didn’t yet have the mechanical and technological marvels of today.

 

To hear more about the Corinth Canal, for fun facts, and to see photos, see this blog post.

 
 

All this talking about emperors made me think of the purpura mollusk and I have to tell you why!

This mollusk is an exquisite meze for Greeks in the know. It also carries an ancient secret related to royalty!

Porpura  derives its name from ‘porphura’, the dated Greek word for ‘purple’ (pronounced ‘porfeera’). This is the Greek name for this mollusk. In ancient times, they were used to extract the color purple, which was then used to dye the clothes of kings and emperors. The practice is 3,000 years old.

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A brave girl and a church with a secret in Kotsinas, Limnos

Maroula, the heroine of Kotsinas

We visited Kotsinas on a windy morning last month, during our stay on the island of Limnos. As soon as we reached the top of the small artificial hill we felt as if we were suddenly on the sea and no longer on land, thanks to the beautiful decoration of the place and the vast sea stretching out before us.

The rounded fence at the far end made the place resemble the bow of a ship. We felt almost like we were sailing on the tumultous sea below. And, if that were indeed a ship, then, undoubtedly, its name would be ‘Maroula’, a name greatly revered in Kotsinas, and on the entire island, as a matter of fact.

Maroula was an eighteen-year-old girl back in 1478, when the fort of Kotsinas was beseiged by Suleiman Pasha. Her father was a soldier defending the fort. When the Turks murdered him before her very own eyes, Maroula felt enraged. She picked up her father’s sword swiftly and began to charge against the Turks.

The other villagers, inspired by her amazing act of bravery, despite her being just a girl and so young, followed suit and attacked the Turks with great force, causing them to flee. At the time, the fort was occupied by Venetian forces, who defended the fort that day together with the locals.

Some sources claim that perhaps Maroula was the daughter or the wife of the slain fighter Georgios Makris. In any case, the bravery of Maroula has been praised by Italian writers, such as Sabelico, Coelius, Calcagnini, Fulgosius, and Vianoli as well as by Greek writers Kostis Palamas, Aristomenis Provelengios, Maria Lampadaridou-Pothou, and Anthony Soupios.

Today, the bronze statue of Maroula stands where the fort once used to be. It reminds the visitor that acts of tremendous bravery that involve love for family and country can never fade in the course of time, but continue to inspire the next generations for centuries to come.

As you can see, a beautiful little church, ‘Zoodohos Pigi’, stands on the same hilltop. The name in Greek, ‘Life-giving Spring’ is a dead giveaway for what hides deep underneath it…

Under the church begins a descent in search of holy water…

Before visiting Kotsinas, I had viewed travel videos from the place and I knew about the descent of about 60 steps that reaches deep down under the church, where the bowels of the fort once used to be.

The thought of experiencing this descent enthralled me. Sure, it also elicited an eerie feeling in me, but I was determined to suppress it and to actually do this!

Well, it was easier than I thought. The kindly lady I asked for directions at the church showed us the stairs and swiftly turned on the lights for us. It was an instant improvement of the view haha.

There was a rope to hold on to as the stone steps could prove slippery, or so we were told. But we had no such issues. From the top looking down, the passage seemed daunting and long, but our apprehension soon evaporated. It took way shorter a time than we’d thought to get to the tiny cavernous space at the bottom.

There is a small bucket you can use down there to get water from the well. People have left icons down there and they inspire the visitor towards prayer and concentrated thought.

I confess, I didn’t drink from the well, but I took some of the water in my hand to sprinkle on all the achy and ailing bits on my person that seem to get more and more in number as I age, LOL. So, after a short prayer to the Virgin Mary we took the steps back up to the top. The ascent was equally quick and didn’t require any great effort.

All in all, this was a wonderful experience in an unusual place that will stay with me forever. I highly recommend it!

GO HERE to see the photographs from our visit to Kotsinas.

For a video of the hilltop, go here

For a video of the well underground, go here

The famous ‘Lily of the Virgin Mary’ is strewn all over Kotsinas Beach

This beautiful lily can be found on the beaches in many parts of Greece, especially the southern coast of Crete. Personally, I have only ever seen it on the beach in Kotsinas, on Limnos island. When I visited it again this summer, it was mid August. The plants were in full bloom, making the beach scenery stunning against the backdrop of the foaming sea on that refreshing, windy day.

The Greeks often call this lily, ‘To krinaki tis Panagias’ (Lily of the Virgin Mary). The odd name is owed to the fact that this plant only blooms in the summer, including August, when The Virgin Mary is annually celebrated in Greece (on the 15th) .

The plant is a member of the Amaryllidaceae family and is a perennial bulbous plant. The Latin name is Pancratium maritimum, and it is known out of Greece with various names such as the sea daffodil, the sand lily or the lys de mer.

Its scent is heady and exotic, reaching the peak of its strength at the end of August. The fruit look like small pieces of charcoal that are so light they are taken by the wind and often seen floating on the seawater.

This lily is depicted on the ancient murals of the Palace of Knossos in Crete and also illustrated on the frescos and pottery of ancient Thira (Santorini). The Minoans in Crete regarded it as holy.

It isn’t just aesthetically pleasing, though. It also benefits the environment where it grows, helping to stabilize sand dunes, preventing erosion, and supporting the often fragile ecosystems where it blooms.

This precious flower has become quite rare these days because of increased tourism. The Council of Europe has declared it a rare and endangered species.

Please be cautious when walking on sand dunes to avoid stepping on them. Kindly think twice before picking them, and rather consider immortalising them in a photograph or two instead, just like I did, to remember them by!

 

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The Neolithic settlement on Kastoria lake and the rugged beauty of the island of Limnos

Good morning, everyone! Thrilled to share today about the oldest lake settlement in Europe. 7,600 years old! It is in Dispilio, on the lake of Kastoria.

I am off soon to the island of Limnos on vacation and reminiscing about my last visit there, back in 2020. I went to visit my father at our family home in the village of Lychna. Scroll down to see some of my photos. I hope they will bring sunshine to your day!

SEE ALL THE PHOTOS

A community of farmers and stockbreeders, 7,600 years ago…

I visited the area of Dispilio during my stay in Kastoria where I spent Easter this year.

Dispilio hosts an amazing Neolithic settlement on the lake of Kastoria.

It was fascinating, set in such a lush setting.

The huts are made of mud from the lake and straw – just like the farmers used to make them in the neolithic era. Inside, dummies and replicas bring their world to life.

As the visitor wanders from hut to hut using the wooden walkways, in places, they’re actually walking over water, as you can see in the picture below.

Here is a short video of the settlement.    The birdsong is busy and so sweet!

The phenomenon of settlements in prehestoric times on or beside lakes was first discovered in the 19th century where archaeologists found remains of such settlements on alpine lake regions in Switzerland and Germany.

References of such settlements in the north mainland of Greece are made largely in the work of ancient historian, Herodotus.

In 1932, during a dry winter, the water in the lake receded enough in Dispilio to reveal old wooden stakes – thus, for the first time indicating the presence of an ancient settlement on the lake.

In 1935, archaeologist Antonios Keramopoulos began preliminary excavation works, which, however, stopped quickly, as World War II was looming.

Finally, the settlement in Dispilio was officially found in 1992, during the excavation led by archaeologist Chourmouziadis.

Since then, other lake settlements have been investigated in the lakes of Florina, Lake Ochrid and in lake areas of North Macedonia and Albania.

Still, the lake settlement of Dispilio is the oldest one in Europe. 7,600 years old!

The population of the settlement in Dispilio were farmers and stockbreeders. They seem to have settled there in the Late Neolithic period (5612 BC – 5594 BC) and continued to reside in this area for another 2,500 years, until the end of the Neolithic period, in successive phases of habitation.

Everything the visitor encounters in the huts today are either replicas of actual finds or basic everyday items that help to bring this ancient world to life. The original artefacts are housed in the museum in Dispilio.

The excavation yielded many important finds that speak volumes for the lifestyle of this prehistoric population. These include:

  • Tools made of stone, bone and flint that indicated they were farmers, hunters and fishermen

  • Large clay storage jars and woven baskets

  • Cooking utensils, many of which boat-shaped

  • Jewellery made of bone and stone

  • A bone flute (one of the oldest musical instruments to be found in all of Europe)

  • Ceramics, wooden structural elements, seeds, bones, figurines and personal ornaments. The most famous figurine is The Lake Lady. It is made of clay and has the form of a pregnant woman.

The most incredible find of all is The Dispilio Tablet, an engraved wooden plaque found at the bottom of the lake dating back to 5260 BC and believed to be an early form of the written word that precedes Linear A (this hasn’t yet been decoded either).

Some of the symbols on the Dispilio Tablet are identical to ones found engraved on clay in other settlements in the Balkans.

On vacation mode (AKA Limnos, here I come!)

I am doing something new this year. I am not going to Corfu.

The photos I put together to show you today are all from my last visit there in 2020. My house is in the village of Lychna.

The village is tiny and only has one eaterie, but it happens to be one of the coolest and most sought after on the island. It has the strange name Ennoia Po’chs, which is incomprehensible even to the average Greek as it’s a saying from the local vernacular.

The proper Greek words would be ‘Ennoia pou eheis’ (loosely translated as ‘What do you care?’)

Even the people of Lychna need to prebook in this place as people come from all over the island every night. In one of the photos above, you can see its seating area and facade in our village’s tiny square. In another photo, you can see me sitting on the ledge of my grandfather George’s house (my dad’s dad). This house is across from the eaterie on the same square. It was passed on to aunties, and in time, to cousins of mine.

In another photo you can see my father showing me a series of fig trees he planted along the country road outside his property. He planted trees of various kinds in many parts of the village. I look forward to coming across them during my walks this August. I miss him beyond words every day, and the sight of these trees will provide much comfort in many years to come as they grow all the more bigger and taller.

The houses at Lychna are beautiful, built in the northern Aegean style – tall, with beautiful colours, patterns, and woodwork on their facades. But, somehow, the most enchanting to me is this tiny village house that I found hidden, like a gem, as I wandered around the village lanes. I included a photo of it above so you can take a peek. Such a humble beauty.

Lychna is a quiet place, all dressed in golden yellow in the summer. The dried wheat fields are dazzling under the strong sunlight, stretching far, all the way to the cobalt blue sea. I love these views. And the serenity is amazing. All you can hear all day is the rush of the wind at times, the clinking of the cow bells, and the clucking and crowing of hens and cockerels.

To be honest. I don’t particularly like the cockerels in the village as they wake me up from 6 a.m! But their crowing is lovely to hear at any other part of the day. So rustic haha

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Evzones, the Greek presidential guard and its symbolisms

Hi, All! Today I am posting photographs and videos from the Athens military parade on March 25, which is Greek Independence Day. But first, I thought I’d introduce to you to the ‘stars’ of the parade – the Evzones – which are the soldiers of the Greek Presidential Guard.

If you’ve been to Athens, chances are you have visited the monument to the Unknown Soldier before the Greek parliament (Syntagma) and have seen the changing of the guard performed by the Evzones. Their well-balanced moves are made with clockwork precision that make them look like mechanical soldiers in a toy display. It’s absolute perfection. As a youngster, I was always impressed by how easy they found it to remain absolutely still and silent as they stood at their posts even when the tourists approached to speak to them and take photos.

The ‘Evzon’ (singular form of ‘Evzones’), also known as ‘Tsolias’, is the name of the soldier of the Greek Presidential Guard. And even though you may be familiar with the peculiar uniform that sports a skirt, a fez, and pom pom shoes, how much do you know about its history and symbolisms?

Fret no more, as I am about to tell you all about it 🙂

The first mention of the word Evzones was made in Homer’s Works, 3,000 years ago, when he praised the bravery of the Myrmidones, the army of Achilles. Homer referred to them as ‘Evzones’, a word that means ‘Well-suited with a belt’.

Today, the Evzones uniform is a revered symbol of the heroism of the Greeks who have fought for their country since the Greek War of Independence in the 1820s.

The Greek young men in the Presidential Guard have all been hand-picked to serve as guards at Syntagma as well as at Maximou (the Presidential Residence). It is regarded as a huge privilege to a Greek family to have their son serve in this unit instead of getting sent off to the Army, Air Force or Navy somewhere to fullfill their military duty.

The selection criteria are very strict. The army picks the tallest men they can find, for one, but that’s not all. The men have to have high ethics, a good character, and to be able to pass the necessary training, of course. A sense of reverence towards the uniform and what it represents is a must.

There are a couple different shades of the uniform that the Evzones may wear, depending on the season, as some fabrics are warmer than others. In this post, you can see brown and blue shades, but the classic uniform is the one with the white shirt and the blue/golden vest. This is the one the Evzones wear during the annual military parade in Athens.

The Presidential Guard are often invited to other parts of the world, such as the USA (New York) or Australia, and they bring untold joy to the Greeks who live there and celebrate March 25 far away from their motherland. It is certainly an experience to have them march past you. And if you’re a Greek, it’s often a case of looking hard to find a dry eye after. Not an easy task!

Here are a few details of the uniform and what it represents, so you can get an idea why it is so revered by the Greeks:

The fez hat of the Evzon, made of red felt, represents the blood shed in the wars by those who sacrificed their lives for freedom. The long black tassle symbolizes the tears and the mourning of the Greeks during the slavery they suffered under the Ottoman Empire for 400 years.

The white shirt has large open sleeves and the vest has exquisite traditional and folklore designs. They are handwoven with golden and white threads.

The pleated skirt is made with white fabric that’s 30 meters long. The pleats are 400, as many as the years of slavery the nation endured under the Ottoman Empire. In the old days, this skirt was worn by Greek men in many parts of the country such as Attica and the Peloponnese. Every year that passed in slavery the Greeks would secretly add one more pleat to the skirts in rememberance.

The white leggings of the Evzon uniform are made of wool.

The accessories in the uniform include black knee bands, cartridge pouches, blue and white silk fringes that symbolize the Greek flag, and, of course, the characteristic ‘tsarouchi’ shoes, that are fitted with pom poms.

In the old days, the pom poms had a practical use. They helped farmers and other outdoor workers to protect their toes from the cold weather and the snow and to keep the shoe waterproof. 

The ‘tsarouchi’ shoes in the Evzones uniform are handcrafted, made with hard red leather, and each shoe is fitted with 60 nails! One pair weighs about 3 kilos.

These shoes offer a compelling metallic sound when the Evzones walk. The sound becomes awe-inspiring during the annual Athens military parade on March 25 when the Presidential Guard parades down the highway before Syntagma square. The Evzones march slowly and stomp their right feet on the ground. The collective sound from the shoes reverberates all around, bringing chills to the spine and causing the onlookers to erupt in enthusiastic applause.

Take a look for yourself in this short video from the Athens military parade. Other than the Evzones, you will see the officers parading on the front wearing red vests, red pants and gilded boots. They hold 1820s long swords instead of rifles. The other costumes you will see with high boots and breeches represent the heroes who fought for their independence on the islands (like Hydra, Spetses and Crete). The Cretan costume is all black.

Turn up the volume and enjoy!

Hurrah! I had the pleasure to attend the annual military parade this year. Go here to see my photos. You will see massive tanks, drones, firefighters, Navy Seals, and lots more! While we watched, military planes kept flying overhead and I managed to catch a few while filming the parade in this short video. Enjoy!

 

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The Greek custom of Lady Lent and my Lent Monday traditions

Greek Lent Monday and seafood go hand in hand…

My husband and I are creatures of habit. Lent Monday always finds us having the same kind of day, and we wouldn’t have it any other way. We are blessed to live in a small seaside town and other than a beautiful seafront and a lovely beach near home, we also have a mussels farm in the area and roadside stalls that sell all sorts of seafood all year round.

The latter comes in handy on Lent Monday more than any other time of year.

We always start the day with a walk on the seafront, we buy the traditional unlevened bread (Lagana) from the bakery and get some fresh seafood from the stalls, for our special ouzo feast and lunch of the day.

Lent Monday is a day of reminisching for me. In the old days, when I was young and living with my parents, my grandparents from Corfu tended to be visiting this time of year.  Mum would be tethered to the kitchen stove all weekend preparing a feast for the big day. I’d never seen so many dishes on one single table before, folks, and it only happened once a year, on Lent Monday!

My sister, two male cousins and I would spend the whole weekend flying kites in the nearby fields. The boys would teach us how to mend them, and we always wound up running to Mum to get us some flour so we could make glue with water to mend the broken sails with newspaper. Ah… Those were the days!

Mum made cheesepies from scratch on the eve of Lent Monday, as this is called Tyrini Sunday and it’s a day to eat cheese, as the name suggests. This is an old tradition from the days when it was practical to use up all the cheese in the pantry as the fasting back then was strict and no cheese would be eaten until Easter. It was a total abstention from all animal products, to be exact.

On Lent Monday we fasted strictly, to honour the tradition.

Neraki is a small town next to my town of Nea Peramos, and this is the place where the roadside stalls are.

We buy mussels there all year round but on Lent Monday we also get clams (cockles) to enjoy with some ouzo. 

The cockles go down nicely with lashings of lemon juice, the lemons just cut from the tree in our front yard. Lunchtime, I always make my signature mussels risotto, using the super-fresh locally farmed mussels we buy from Neraki.

It makes for a perfect celebratory meal accompanied by the various treats of the day, like dolmadakia (vine leaves stuffed with rice), broad beans in tomato sauce, pickles, lagana (flat bread with sesame seeds), and chalva (semolina cake).

Here are some photos from the seafront, the stalls and the typical Lent Monday lunch at my place

If you’d like to try my Greek mussel risoto with ouzo, go here for the recipe!

Lady Lent (Kyra Sarakosti)

The Greek custom of Kyra Sarakosti entails hanging in the home a picture of a lady, just like this one, which serves as a calendar during the perood of Lent. It is a rather rare custom these days, but some Greek families do still keep it with their children.

Lady Lent is depicted with a scarf and a cross on her head (because she attends church), with her hands laced together (because she is praying) without a mouth (because she is fasting), and, most importantly, with seven legs – one for each Lent weekend.

According to custom, Lady Lent is hung on a wall and each Saturday the family cuts off one leg – the first one on the Saturday after Lent Monday and the last one on Holy Saturday.

Housewives in the old days would hide the last paper leg inside a dried fig and serve it to the family with other figs. The person who found it would be considered very lucky. In some parts of Greece, the last paper leg would be put inside the ‘Anastasi’ bread (Ressurection) made for Holy Saturday dinner. Again, luck was said to follow the person who got to find the paper piece in their bread.

In some parts of Greece, Lady Lent would be made with a salty dough instead of paper. It was inedible, but it helped to preserve the dough during those 7 weeks. In other parts of the country, Lady Lent would be made using fabric and feathers.

I found this beautiful photograph on the site Workingmoms.gr while looking for a dough recipe for ‘Kyra Sarakosti’ to share with you. Thought you may like to bake it with your kids like some Greek families still do today.

Visit their post on Lady Lent and get a quick and easy recipe for the salty dough. Just make sure the kids don’t try to eat it, LOL

To get more ideas on how to make Lady Lent, even with coloured dough, go to this Google images page

 

Check out more of my posts on Greek culture here: https://effrosyniwrites.com/category/greek-culture/

 

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The Greek Martis bracelet tradition. When, what, and what for!

It’s March, folks! Time to wear the ‘Martis!’

My mother, Ioanna, was a seamstress. Every March 1st, when my sister and I were little, she would call us to where she sat at her sewing machine and hand us red and white thread for us to twirl them around each other and make our ‘Martis’. She would then put this crude bracelet around our wrists, tie it up, and say, ‘Here you go! Now the sun won’t burn you this coming summer!’

I presume this happened all over Greece at the time, as I recall many kids in school wearing the Martis in school and they all looked exactly the same. They are like the ones closest to my wrist in the picture – 2 basic Martis bracelets, actually, twirled loosely together into one. Anyway, back in the 70s, marketing wasn’t what it is today, and it was unheard of to buy a Martis. You just had to make one yourself.

These days, this old Greek custom is really hard to ignore, seeing that you see them on display in the shops everywhere in my country, and they come in both basic and elaborate designs, many full of beads and metallic parts, and ‘eye’ beads to, to help ward off the ‘evil eye’.

According to the custom, the Martis is to be worn from March 1st until March 31, then you’re supposed to hang it on a flowering tree or bush. As I mentioned earlier, the bracelet is said to provide protection against the strong sun in the coming summer.

There are variations to the myth, though. According to one, the Martis also provides protection from disease. And, another tradition calls for taking off the bracelet as soon as you see a swallow for the first time in the spring. Having just returned from its southern refuge during winter, the swallow will be looking for somewhere to make a nest. Tradition then calls for placing the bracelet on a rose bush in your garden to encourage the swallow to make a nest nearby.

Apparently, this custom is thousands of years old, deriving from the ancient Eleusian Mysteries that were related to the worship of goddess Dimitra (goddess of agriculture) and her daughter, Persephone. No one really believes the threads will offer any kind of protection these days, obviously, but customs are important. They unite people together, create a relation, and bring back precious childhood memories, too.

For me, tradition is important, and in today’s dark world that seeks to globalize and blend everything together, I believe nations should strive harder than ever before, to protect each, their own identity. So I am wearing my Martis with pride for another year, and I am thinking of my mother.

The bracelet with the blue bead that you can see in the photograph was an impulsive buy of hers as a gift to me. She bought one for each of us when I took her to a store one day, a few years back, while she was in the thick of it, battling cancer. Now that she is gone I cherish it, and I always will.

And that is the meaning and the value of customs.

Please hold on to your traditions. Cherish them and protect them.

If you’d like to get hold of a Martis to wear every year, you’ll find them on sale online and they can be shipped worldwide. Look for ‘Marti bracelet’ on places like Amazon or ETSY.

For some reason, they call it ‘Marti’ in the eshops, but the proper word is ‘Martis’ – the Greek word for ‘March’.

 

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Clean romance short read, FREE with Kindle Unlimited. It’ll transport you straight to Corfu to experience summer in an idyllic Greek seaside village. Visit Amazon

 

Kelly ran a marathon in Nafplio and wound up running a house. With a ghost in it! Both humorous and moving, with tantalising clean romance, it’s just the ticket to lose yourself reading! Read more on Amazon
Kate has a guardian angel. She just doesn’t know it. Plus, she’s falling for him. Delightful paranormal romance set on the idyllic island of Sifnos. The descriptions of Greek food will make you feel ravenous. Don’t read when hungry. You’ve been warned! OOOPPPPAAAAAA! Get it now on Amazon

Beach fun and sweet romance mixed with magic spells and bird shifters… The Raven Witch of Corfu is an original story that will rivet you with its unrelenting suspense. The final twist will blow your mind!
Available in paperback , box set or 4 kindle episodes!
 
Planning to visit Greece? Check out our FREE guide to south Corfu!

 

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Sightseeing in beautiful Thessaloniki and Greek lamb roast

Hello, All! Today, I am thrilled to share my travel report from my super-short stay in Thessaloniki (aka Salonica) earlier this month. I had only 1 full day to explore it and managed to admire most of its major sights and popular quarters.

Scroll down towards the end of this post to find out how I marinade lamb (or pork) for a Greek meat roast. I am sharing all my best tips on how to prepare this yummy meal including my family recipe for tzatziki. Enjoy it all, folks!

A stunning Greek city, so reminiscent of Rome…

I took this photograph of the magnificent ‘Kamara’ (Arch) on New Year’s Eve. It’s in the bustling city of Salonica, and it is one of many remnants from the Roman occupation of the city. The Kamara was constructed to honor the Roman Caesar Galerius (Galerius Valerius Maximianus) circa 300 A.C. to commemorate his successful expedition against the Persians. Galerius’s palace was situated near the Kamara and its ruins stand today on the other side of the busy avenue, amidst Navarinou Square.

Looking at this precious monument, it was hard for me to imagine that, a few decades ago, trams circulated in the city and used to pass right under the Kamara! I just couldn’t imagine this happening today. And I am pleased no accidents ever happened during that time to cause destruction to this magnificent structure. What a gem for the city it truly is today, creating such a delightful contrast to the contemporary urban landscape.

It is standing silently and with perfect dignity, despite its losses through the centuries, and it is practically obliging whomever approaches it, be it a tourist or a local, to slow their pace and let their eyes wander upon its beautiful, intricate sculpted marble slabs that depict the wars of Valerius against the Persians.

A stone’s throw away from the Kamara stands the magnificent Rotonda…

The Rotonda was built during the reign of Galerius in the 4th century A.C as a Roman temple. In the Byzantine era, it was a Christian church and beautiful frescoes were painted in it, some of which survive today. Later in time, the Rotonda also served as a mosque.

After the Minor Asia Catastrophe in the 1920s, when the Greeks fled their lands and arrived into Greece in droves, many of those who were brought into Salonica were placed in the Rotonda temporarily until they could be put into basic homes. It was an awe-inspiring experience for me to stand in this place of vast and such diverse history, and considered myself very lucky to visit it at a time when there was no one else around but my husband, Andy, and I.

The Rotonda is cylindrical in shape and so reminiscent of the Pantheon in Rome, except the Oculus (the ‘eye’ on the top, at the center) is not open in the Rotonda.

The White Tower and the seafront were that something else…

I thought I was impressed enough visiting Roman ruins and Byzantine churches, admiring old mosques and the impressive arched openings of the city’s famous indoor markets, and then we wound up on the seafront, where the White Tower stood, a beauty to behold, and our excitement hit the roof. I always wanted to visit the White Tower, and, let me tell you – it was well worth the wait.

The ascend is comfortable, with wide corridors and steps, and on every level there are displays that offer old pictures and information where the holding cells used to be, at the time of the Ottoman Occupation of the city. The Ottomans built the tower in the 16th century and were brutal rulers. After they massacred the rebellious Gennissaries inside the tower, the latter acquired a new name… It was referred to for some time after that as the Red Tower or the Tower of Blood.

Today, the displays on each level explore a different facet of the history of the White Tower and Salonica, too. The mentions to the harrowing Nazi occupation era linger on my mind still. During WWII, the Nazis rounded up Salonica’s large Jewish community and put those poor souls on trains to the butcher camps of Europe we have all heard about… Only a few returned to Salonica to tell the tale. Mentions to contemporary times were included on the displays in the White Tower, including ones to Greek movies and songs that are relevant to the city. The view from the top of the tower was too beautiful for words, on all sides…

By far, the best was the sea view, of course, and we marveled at the wide bay that stretched as far as the eye could see. A couple of pleasure boats were docked down below, and others were cruising up and down along the bay, offering even food on board as they gave the tourists a fun ride in the sea air. The most delightful were the pirate ships.

A Captain Jack Sparrow character stood on the dock at the entrance of one ship luring the little ones in, who tugged at their parents’ sleeves from afar, rushing to get a ride. Clever marketing, I say, and it definitely works! But, we didn’t get a boat ride. Our time was limited and we wanted to visit several popular quarters of the city before nightfall. So we went for a walk along the seafront instead, where we made sure to tick off all the famous landmarks on our list of things to see.

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The famous ‘Umbrellas’ didn’t disappoint. Everyone wanted to take the same photo, it seems (unlike this pretty girl in this photo, but then she had loads taken, including THE pose). What’s THE pose, I hear you ask? Well, you’re supposed to grab one of the umbrellas by the handle and have your photo taken with one foot mid-air, knee bent, as if you’re being lifted off the ground. We stood nearby for a while and everyone seemed to know what to do. It made us chuckle.

We also loved the fountains (you can see part of these on the right of this photo). It certainly made the little ones giggle. Standing on that platform you never know where the water will spurt from next. I must return in the summer to try that on a scorching hot day, LOL The famous sculpture of Alexander the Great, King of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia, on horseback was beautiful, though our guide ruined it a little for us, by telling us a secret…

There is a mistake in the depiction of this great king and general. His horse is depicted with both its front hooves up in the air, which signifies the rider died in battle, but this wasn’t the case with Alexander. Since he died from disease, one irrelevant to a battle wound even (that would call for one hoof off the ground, BTW), the horse’s front legs would have to both be on the ground.

Still, the statue looks beautiful, and more impressive, that way. And Alexander did love his horse, Bucephalus (pronounced ‘Voukefalas’, in Greek, which means ‘Head of an Ox). I am so glad it was included in the sculpture!

St Dimitrios was the most amazing among all the churches I visited. That says a lot, believe me… Salonica reminded me so much of Rome, and not just because of the Roman ruins and history. It did that also in the sense that its ancient yet magnificent churches filled me with a sense of unparalleled awe. And that was mostly the case when I entered the grandiose church of St Dimitris, patron saint of Salonica. Inside the colonnade on both sides of the main space, one will find a multitude of relics and beautiful icons to marvel at. The top floor offers another impressive prespective, as you can see, and we loved it that it was Sunday when we visited, and a mass was underway, the church full with people.    

As stunning as the main church space is, though, nothing prepares the visitor for the true magificence of what hides in its bowels. Truly, I pity the visitor not in the know, who enters this church and leaves it without ever visiting the Roman crypt underneath – a labyrinthine space that easily throws you back into Roman times, if you let it…

And let it, I did, looking at ancient artifacts scattered everywhere as I visited various cell-like spaces in this underground, outwordly place. It all resonated in me like a chill on my spine, and it was an odd experience because at the same time the comforting sounds of the mass from the ground floor echoed down into the ancient spaces and pleased my ears.

At the centre of it all, stands the exact space where St Dimitrius himself was once kept imprisoned and ultimately executed by the Romans.

Galerios himself ordered the Saint’s imprisonment and ultimately his execution, simply because he prayed in public spaces and believed in Jesus Christ. St Dimitrios is heralded as the Holy Great Martyr (Megalomartiras), and also as the ‘Myrrh-Gusher’ (Mirovlitis) because according to legend, streams of scented oil came forth from his relics.

According to some sources, he was a soldier of the Roman army, which makes it hard for me to fathom just how much hate the Romans might have had for Christianity, enough to turn against one of their own, in a sense. St Dimitrios was young when he was martyred, around 26 years of age.

It was very moving and awe-inspiring for me to stand alone for a few moments before this beautiful monument raised to honour the Saint and pray to him.

A plain bougatsa…. is a ‘bougatsa me krema’ in Salonica!

Salonica is very much about food… and desserts especially. But you have to order them right!

We spent the rest of the time visiting famous quarters of the city, starting from Ladadika. This popular area took its name from the word ‘ladi’ (oil), as this was where the merchants once kept their stock of olive oil, and it was truly fortuitous that the Great Fire of 1917 that destroyed two thirds of the city, leaving 70,000 homeless, never reached this area.

Ladadika became a red light district later in time and today it is a hip place to be, full of vibrancy, a place where locals and tourists alike go for a meal or a drink and it really comes alive in the evenings, or so I hear.

We sat there lunchtime for a gyros pitta, but I forgot to call it a ‘sandwich’ when I ordered, like the locals oddly do. Luckily, the young waitress was well versed on the Athenian vernacular and got me the right meal haha

Same thing happened when we went to one of many small family establishments, just off the famous Aristotle (Aristotelous) Square, to order a Bougatsa. I asked for one and the lady asked, ‘Savoury? With cheese? Or sweet?’ And I had to laugh, because I’d promised myself that when I got to Salonica I’d order for a ‘Bougatsa’ the right way, but force of habit got in the way and I failed. The Athenians and the Salonicans have forever been teasing each other on the subject of Bougatsa…

You see, in Athens, a Bougatsa is filled with custard and sprinkled with cinnamon. It’s sweet. You can’t get it wrong if you ask for one. But in Thessaloniki, a Bougatsa means ‘pastry’. It’s a vague term. So the Salonicans differentiate by saying Bougatsa with cheese, Bougatsa with spinach, Bougatsa with cream, and so on.

So, when the nice lady asked what kind of Bougatsa I wanted, all I could do was say, ‘Sweet, with cream! Sorry!’, chuckle awkwardly, and try to save face… for being one of those odd Athenians haha

We also had the chance to walk quickly past the Louloudadika area (an open-air flower market) that was heaving at the time. It was like Monastiraki in Athens, but on speed! Since it was New Year’s Eve, it was packed, vendors were cooking souvlakis on a couple stalls, and people were eating standing all over the place, dancing and whooping to loud live music.

We found the same kind of crowds and commotion in Fraggomahalas, an area that used to be the French Quarter back in the day.

We didn’t stay long there for the same reason, but we did admire beautiful old buildings, and the most renowned landmark of this quarter – the Old Clock on the impressive bank building that still shows the time it stopped (at 11:05) during the Earthquake of 1978.

After sundown, we headed back to Aristotle Square to watch a beautiful event. Crowds started to gather way earlier than the pre-announced time, and more kept on coming, to place written wishes inside paper lanterns and lit them up.

Soon, a multitude of lanterns was rising into the night sky, offering a magical spectacle.

I took this photo as we were heading back to the hotel, at the end of a tiring (14 hours walking and exploring!) but truly unforgettable day.

I was standing before the Roman Forum, looking towards Aristotle Square and the seafront. It was a whimsical sight with the lanterns in the night sky. The photo doesn’t do it justice, but I hope you’ll enjoy this little peek.

A couple of weeks have passed now, and I miss Salonica beyond words. It was a short stay and we only had one day (New Year’s Eve, hence the crowds) to explore it in the daytime, as we were on the coach travelling or seeing other places of interest on the other days. I hope to visit it again, just hubby and me, to take it all in, in our own pace. And to visit the Ano Poli, which we missed totally during this trip.

Overlooking the city on high ground, Ano Poli (Higher City) offers generous views to the city and the bay. There are beautiful lanes and churches to explore up there, great cafes and eateries, but most of all, there are the ancient walls of the city to admire, as well as the ‘Yedi Koule’ (aka Eptapyrgion) – an Ottoman Fortress of 7 towers. These ‘promises’ are certainly enough to keep me dreaming of Salonica and aching to go back.

Not to forget those pirate ships… I certainly hope to enjoy a boat ride with ‘Captain Jack Sparrow’ at the helm next time!

VISIT FACEBOOK TO SEE THE PIRATE SHIP, ALEXANDER’S STATUE, AND MANY OTHER OF THE PHOTOS I TOOK IN SALONICA!

GO HERE TO WATCH A SHORT VIDEO THAT I MADE FOR YOU AT THE TOP OF THE WHITE TOWER!

 

Finger-licking stuff! Greek lamb roast using a delish marinade with herbs and spices

Today, I am pleased to share my special marinade for lamb (or pork). The combination of mustard, garlic, dried mint, paprika, and rosemary makes the kind of magic I cannot possibly describe. You’ll just have to try it to know. You can use oregano instead of mint, and you can add carrots and tomatillos in the pan for a colourful dish. 

GO HERE FOR MY RECIPE, INCLUDING THE ONE FOR THE TZATZIKI DIP. ENJOY!

 

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Greek Epiphany customs and a scary Santa!

Hi, All! Today, I am sharing about the Greek customs of Epiphany, and a little from Italy too. 

This is a pic from my little town’s seafront last Saturday, and as you can see it was packed!

Crowds had gathered once again to watch the annual Blessing of the Waters ceremony.

It was Epiphany, you see, January 6, and we were standing near St George’s church, waiting for the mass to finish, as we listened from the speakers.

These brave lads you can see in the photo got in the cold water well beforehand and stood there, I presume to get used to the freezing temperature before it was time to start swimming.

In case you’re not familiar with this Greek custom, I must explain that the Blessing of the Waters takes place in every church all over Greece on Epiphany (‘Theofania’, in Greek).

The mass of the day commemorates the baptism of Jesus in the river Jordan by John the Baptist, who is honoured by the Greek church the next day, January 7.

During mass, when the priest chants about the Holy Spirit appearing in the form of a pigeon during the baptism of Jesus, the priest frees from his hands three pigeons that typically take to the skies at once, circling over the church, as the crowd marvels.

The three pigeons signify the Holy Trinity and the ‘Theofania’ itself, i.e. ‘The appearance of God’, as the full Holy Trinity was present on the day Jesus was baptised. The Holy Spirit showed itself as a pigeon, and God’s voice was heard from the sky too, to declare Jesus as His beloved Son.

In every church around Greece, the priest blesses the water in a tank at the church yard. It usually has little taps on it, and after the ceremony it stays at the church yard for a couple days so that people can come and collect the holy water (Agiasmos) in bottles.

Many Greeks will take this ‘Agiasmos’ home and everyone in the family will drink some, careful not to spill any. They will then keep the remainder in the bottle all year round to be able to drink some when ill, for a prompt healing, or to drizzle around the home when they wish to bless it.

Being holy, the ‘Agiasmos’ is not supposed to be thrown in the drain or the trash, but it is okay to sprinkle some in the garden or in the bowl where animals drink water.

Back to the ceremony of the Blessing of the Waters:

When there is a large body of water near the church, the priest will bless that too. So, in our seaside town, the priest leaves the church ceremoniously after the mass is finished, accompanied by a brass band, and gets on a fishing boat…

By that time, the swimmers are in the sea waiting in the shallows, and there are many other boats in the water, including one of the port police.

The priest gives the signal to the swimmers and throws the cross in the sea. It is usually made of wood so it can float, and is always attached to a string.

The swimmer who gets to the cross first is believed to be blessed all year round.

This year, the lad who got to the cross first to lift it high and cause the crowds to erupt into applause, did so 5th year in a row! Amazing!

GO HERE TO WATCH A SHORT VIDEO OF THE RACE!

Nuh-uh. I wouldn’t like to be a kid in Italy. With the wild imagination that I have, I’d be going mental throughout the Christmas season, never catching a wink he he

This is Befana, the Italian Santa Claus. She doesn’t go ‘Ho ho ho!’ and she arrives riding something much less glorious than a sleigh led by reindeer. This santa rides a broomstick, folks!

Befana comes on the eve of Epiphany to leave candy inside the socks of the good kids. If they’re bad she’ll leave them a lump of coal, or dark candy at best. Sometimes, she may also leave the bad kids onion or garlic. Admittedly, that won’t be tasty at all haha

And what do you know? This witch is very tidy! She will sweep the floor before leaving! This symbolizes a wish for all things bad to be swept away from the home at the start of a new year.

Italian children are taught to leave a glass of wine and a few morsels of food for Befana overnight.

I spent New Year’s in Rome once, and the stalls on the streets were full of Befanas on their broomsticks.

By the way, I wrote a post upon my return, giving my readers a virtual tour of the most beautiful churches of Rome. They kept me awestruck throughout my short stay, and I was oohing and aahhing all day long. Truly, I am still to see a church half as awe-inspiring than the average church in Rome!

GO HERE TO SEE THE POST

 

Interested in Greek customs and culture? Check out this blog reel where you’ll find a few of my best posts on these subjects. The New Year’s cake with the hidden coin, the plant that brings good luck in the new year, St George and the ‘Red Egg’, Greek memorial food for the dead, the use of vigil lamps and more. Enjoy!

 

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NEW! A historical paranormal romance box set. This is the timeless love story that will stay with you forever. Set in Moraitika, Corfu and Brighton, England. Visit Amazon: https://bit.ly/3HEvMPG
Clean romance short read, FREE with Kindle Unlimited. It’ll transport you straight to Corfu to experience summer in an idyllic Greek seaside village. Visit Amazon: https://bit.ly/3pAP3rf

 

Kelly ran a marathon and wound up running a house. With a ghost in it! Both humorous and moving, with delightful sweet romance, it’s just the ticket to lose yourself reading! Read more on Amazon
Summer love and a mysterious haunting in Corfu! Effrosyni’s debut romance, The Ebb, has received an award from Amazon! Check it out here

Beach fun and sweet romance mixed with magic spells and bird shifters… The Raven Witch of Corfu is an original story that will rivet you with its unrelenting suspense. The final twist will blow your mind!
Available in paperback , box set or 4 kindle episodes!
 
Planning to visit Greece? Check out our FREE guide to south Corfu!

 

For delicious Greek recipes, go here. Are you an author? Check out our FREE promo tips & resources here.

 

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A strange event in my sleepy little town and an old Greek movie

The derelict old factory in my seaside little town of Nea Peramos (just 36 kms west of Athens) came to life last month… but only for two nights. The old factory used to produce linen and distribute them all over Greece – the brand name was Peiraiki-Patraiki, and later it was taken over by the paper company, Softex, around the 80s-90s. Then, in the 00s, it was abandoned and left to its fate, to weather away through the decades that followed. The factory, and especially its beautiful facade, became famous all over Greece in the 60s as it became the set of the legendary Greek movie, ‘I Kori mou i Sosialistria’ (My Socialist Daughter) starring the most popular Greek movie stars at the time – Aliki Vougiouklaki and Dimitris Papamichael.

Today, the factory is derelict and it’s always quiet over there, since it’s flanked on both sides by open fields for quite a distance. This is why, as I drove past one evening last month, I found it very peculiar to see cars parked back-to-back along the road, for hundreds of meters before and after the factory building.

What’s more, from a nearby field, I saw youngsters emerging in large numbers onto the road. They were walking along the field on a dirt path that was situated on one side of the building. So, if they were visiting the old factory, why were they coming out via a field and not out the main gate, which remained locked like always?

It was all very peculiar, and my first guess was that perhaps something illegal was going on. A rave party? (if these are, indeed, still happening? I wouldn’t know as I am too old, obviously haha!) Some kind of happening for sure!

The people were just too many, most of them looking barely out of puberty too. Arriving home, I checked for new posts in a local Facebook group where the people of Nea Peramos discuss events, and share advice and information among them.

Sure enough, someone had already expressed their intrigue about the parked cars and the many people sighted near the derelict factory.

‘Not to worry!’ someone commented under the post. ‘It’s just a painting exhibition. It’s happening just this weekend!’

‘Oh, now it makes sense!’ another quipped. ‘I spotted a black Jeep parked outside the building the other day. Some guys were standing at the gate and talking’.

The rest of the comments were complaints, as one might expect. ‘An art exhibition? In our town? But, how come we are not aware of this?’

‘Yes, how come?’ another frustrated local would add. ‘Why didn’t they advertise it anywhere so we can go? Who are these people going there and how did they find out then?’

My own reasonings were similar. If, indeed, this was a legit ‘painting exhibition’ then why didn’t it get advertised properly and openly? Why all the secrecy? The factory gates weren’t even opened. And how was it that the only visitors I saw at the site were youngsters? Surely, middle-aged and even elderly visitors would jump at the chance to visit an ‘art exhibition’!?

To cut a long story short, this same oddity was repeated the next evening, and after that, the factory reverted to its usual ghostly state. And that’s when we got to hear the rest of the story…

As it turned out, this was a street art exhibition, after all, and it had been prepared and opened to the public secretly, on purpose. Whoever planned this, wanted to experiment, apparently, to see if such an event could be advertised secretly and still be a success among the young.

For two years, 20 street artists visited the building under wraps to work on a total of 70 murals!

The team that organised the whole thing gave the project the code name ‘Project Peramo’ (from our town’s name, Nea Peramos). The code name had been whispered from person to person these past two years, making its way online only via private Direct Messages – never posted properly on social media. And it still became a success on the weekend of the opening.

Two years of work resulted to this event, a spotlight of just a few hours. No one knows what will happen to the murals post-event. The only thing I have found that I perceive as good news is that the old factory has recently been acquired by a construction company called Dimand and that another company – Royale Sugar – is planning to operate in the building.

The locals, including yours truly, have grown upset over the past decades to see this old gem left to its fate so this is going to excite everyone – to see it in operation again after twenty odd years.

It seems to be frozen in time, judging from the pictures I saw in a blog post online (in Greek) that reported on the street art event.

In one of the photos, you can see a chart where work shifts were being recorded back in the day. And on another, the sign of the staff canteen sports the old font anyone will recognise from the 70s and 80s…

Go here to see plenty of photographs from the street art event!

UPDATE: In 2024, works in the old factory began under new management and are still ongoing as I write this. I look forward to seeing it operational again!

 

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Get Effrosyni’s FREE books with your signup to her bimonthly newsletter! Fun news from her life in Greece and a load of FREE kindle books in every issue! http://bit.ly/2yA74No

NEW! A historical paranormal romance box set. This is the timeless love story that will stay with you forever. Set in Moraitika, Corfu and Brighton, England. Visit Amazon: https://bit.ly/3HEvMPG
Clean romance short read, FREE with Kindle Unlimited. It’ll transport you straight to Corfu to experience summer in an idyllic Greek seaside village. Visit Amazon: https://bit.ly/3pAP3rf

 

Kelly ran a marathon and wound up running a house. With a ghost in it! Both humorous and moving, with delightful sweet romance, it’s just the ticket to lose yourself reading! Read more on Amazon
Summer love and a mysterious haunting in Corfu! Effrosyni’s debut romance, The Ebb, has received an award from Amazon! Check it out here

Beach fun and sweet romance mixed with magic spells and bird shifters… The Raven Witch of Corfu is an original story that will rivet you with its unrelenting suspense. The final twist will blow your mind!
Available in paperback , box set or 4 kindle episodes!
 
Planning to visit Greece? Check out our FREE guide to south Corfu!

 

For delicious Greek recipes, go here. Are you an author? Check out our FREE promo tips & resources here.

 

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Majestic views in Lake Doxa and a secret school

This view took my breath away…

My husband, Andy, and I spent one cold Sunday at the end of November filling our minds with images of breathtaking beauty at the mountains and plains of Feneos in Korinthia (i.e. the prefecture of ‘Korinthos’ – Corinth, in English).

I took this photo from the top level balcony of the stunning St George’s Monastery which overlooks Lake Doxa. The monastery of St George was originally built by the lake, but in 1693 the water level rose much too quickly and the monks fled, barely having time to save themselves. The ruins of that monastery are still underwater today. The same year, upon losing their home, the monks got to work building a new monastery high up on the mountain, to make sure history will not not repeated. In the monastery’s garden today, the monks grow a special variety of roses from the Peloponnese that are particularly aromatic.

Once a year, at harvesting season, they get to work using the fragrant flowers to make a syrupy sweet, which they sell at the monastery’s gift shop in jars. They also welcome the guests with a free treat of this sweet, and I can attest to the fact it is highly aromatic and delicious (albeit a little too sweet for my liking). Walking around the charming court of the monastery (that’s decked in stone everywhere you look) and around its different levels and corridors is a pleasure in itself. I was also impressed by the seemingly tireless tour given by an elderly monk. He was such a sweet soul and kept welcoming coachfuls of guests inside the tiny church, sharing about the history of the place in a low soft-spoken voice that rang with kindness and humility.

A depiction of krifo skolio by painter, Nikolaos Gyzis

But, above anything else, for me, the highlight was, by far, my chance to see the tiny nook inside the roof of the monastery that used to serve as a ‘krifo skolio’ (secret school) during the time when Greece was occupied by the Ottoman Empire (1453-1821). To get to the roof, one has to take two short stairs that are more like ladders and thus require a lot of attention. The wood they are made off, and the tiny landing in between, creaked with every step, so guests had to allow up to two people to be up there at a time. Time was precious once you got to the top to admire this precious little space.

The first time, out of respect for everyone waiting below, I took a quick look and felt embarrassed to take out my camera. Luckily, the crowd dispersed later, before it was time to leave on our coach, so I was able to go back up again, my camera in hand this time, to drink in the small space a little better, more reverently as it deserved, and to take a couple of photos. I didn’t go over the high wooden hurdle to venture inside, taking the hint that the place was off limits.

Two elderly men had stepped inside earlier to take a closer look and I thought it was a bit of a naughty thing to do… but also potentially dangerous (creaking floors and all that). But anyway, the photos came out clearer than I’d expected, since the place was deeped in semi-darkness. I love the ray of light captured by the lens, which wasn’t visible with the naked eye. It gives the space that reverence I believe it has. Truly, the ‘krifo skolio’ is romanticised enough in art, just like it is in the famous painting by Nikolaos Gyzis, and it does deserve to be.

After all, every priest and every monk during the Ottoman rule in Greece must have taken it upon themselves to keep the Christian faith and the Greek language alive during those dark 400 years. Had they not decided to organize these meetings in the dark of night to teach Greek children how to read and write in their own language, as well as all about Christian doctrine, chances are the Greeks would not be today the kind of people they are – i.e. people who regard their ancestry something to be proud about and also people that keep God alive in their hearts.

The following stanza from the Greek poet Polemis illustrates the atmosphere of ‘krifo skolio’ perfectly. This is my best effort to translate it into English:

“Outside, black-cloaked desperation

The tangible darkness of a bitter slavery

And inside the vaulted church

The church that every night morphs into a school

The apprehensive light of the oil lamp

Stirs the dreams while trembling

And gathers the little slave children all around.”

When we visited the lake, I quickly turned around to realize my hubbie was nowhere to be found. Crowds had gathered everywhere to admire the local produce on offer that was laid out across many stands along the bank.

I spotted Andy again a little later emerging through the wandering tourist crowds, and he was singing the praises of the locals, saying how hospitable they all were acting. Turned out he’d only gone on a little tour by himself while I was buying all sorts of lentils from the local plains at amazing prices. He was over the moon, having been offered in that short time various kinds of rusks, cheeses and tsipouro to try. I quickly followed his advice and tried some of the samples on offer as well. He was right; it was all delicious. If you’re ever in the area, make sure to try everything. I think we did haha. And we did go away with a couple of big bags. What a saving it all was haha

I’ve already cooked beans and fava and they were both as delicious as they had promised they’d be. I am still to rub the wild oregano I got off the stalks and put it in a jar. That was incredible timing as my longstanding stock of wild oregano from Moraitika, Corfu had recently been depleted 🙂

The lake itself is phenomenally beautiful. I’d love to go back one day and go around it to drink in its beauty at my leisure. In the summer, one can even rent boats (or is it pedalos?). People can cycle along the bank all year round or rent horses and ponies. We only had a short time to enjoy the views as it was quite cold and threatening with rain, but we managed a short walk to the Agios Fanourios church. It is tiny and sits at the end of a long strip of land extending far into the lake.

Our beautiful day out continued with lunch at the village of Feneos – we had roasted lamb, Choriatiki salad, and a side dish of local butter beans in tomato sauce. All enjoyed with fresh bread as we sat by the fireplace. We couldn’t have been taken to a better place for lunch. After all the walking around in the cold, everything hit the spot perfectly.

It’s been almost two weeks since that day and my mind is still full of beautiful images. The colors on the forest trees, the sparkling lake waters, the ancient woodwork and stonework of the monastery, and, last but not least, the sunrays reaching down to the plains as they pierced through dramatic dark clouds. It all helped to take pictures I will cherish forever. This part of Greece is not well known but well worth a visit.

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