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FREE books, The island of Ali Pasha, a scary little duck, and fish in tomato sauce

 

The island of Ali Pasha in the lake of Ioannina offered sadness but also laughter

During my recent trip to Epirus where my husband and I stayed in the historic city of Arta, we visited another historic city – Ioannina – for a day. Ioannina is a stunning city built on the lake Pamvotida, and there is a small inhabited island in it that people can visit on small tourist boats. All day, they go back and forth on the lake, full of tourists.

The first thing we did when we arrived at Ioannina was to queue up for the next boat to the island to see the museum of Ali Pasha and have a walk around.

Seeing that this island was never given a name, it is colloquially called “The Island of Ioannina”, “The Island of Ali Pasha”, or “The Island of Kyra Frosini.”

Ali Pasha was an Albanian from Tepeleni who became a ruler of Epirus in the days of the Ottoman Empire. Although during his longstanding rule over the Greeks he built many Christian churches, roads, and generally benefited the Greek people greatly, he was also infamous for his cruelty.

In my post about the famous bridge of Arta I mention an ancient plane tree by the bridge where Ali Pasha would have people hanged. He loved to sit under it and watch the people hanging on the branches.

That was him all over. And the comeuppance he got in the end was just as cruel, I believe. As they say, what goes around comes around… I’ll tell you about that a little later in this newsletter…

Perhaps one of the most cruel deeds of Ali Pasha was the heartless decision to have a local woman, “Kyra Frosini” (Lady Effrosyni), drowned at the lake along with seventeen other young women on the night of 11 January 1800.

Kyra Frosini was no Jane Doe, and her execution caused much upheaval in the community. She was an aristocrat and socialite, a mother of two children, who was greatly admired for her beauty and her intelligence. Her family was local but very rich, seeing that her father was a merchant in Venice.

Frosini had an affair with Ali Pasha’s son, and Ali Pasha’s wife couldn’t stand it. It was because of her insistence that Ali Pasha gave the order to have Kyra Frosini arrested and drowned at the lake for adultery, while punishing at the same time seventeen other innocent girls in the same way.

However, there are rumors that Ali Pasha himself was in love with Frosini and thus had her killed out of spite as she’d chosen his son instead of him, and that he had the other girls executed to hide his real motive.

Whatever was the real reason for the executions, the legend still holds strong today. The name Kyra Frosini is famous all over Greece. Her name is especially prominent on the lips of everyone who visits Ioannina, seeing that through the centuries the attrocity transpired in the lake is still deemed so difficult to digest that everyone keeps speaking of it, unwilling to let it be forgotten.

The museum of Ali Pasha is housed in a traditionally stone-decked old building that is in the grounds of the old Monastery of St Panteleimon. Before entering the museum, I visited another small building at the court. It had a single space inside, the display dedicated to the drowning of Kyra Frosini.

Inside a small barge, the visitor will see dummies of Kyra Frosini and the Turks who carried out the merciless deed of her execution. A lament echoes through the speakers while a large TV screen silently plays on a loop the scene of the drowning from the 1959 movie, The Lake of Sighs starring Irene Papas in the role of Frosini.

It was heartbreaking to stand inside that room and witness all that, to say the least, and I lingered a few moments silently in there to contemplate upon the cruelty and attrocities of evil rulers, and the longstanding oppression of the barbaric Ottoman Empire over my homeland, in particular.

 

In Greece, we have a saying that goes, “He/she put on Arta and Yannina” (Yannina is a colloquial way to say “Ioannina”.) The saying is used when someone is overdressed, especially when they’re wearing too much jewellery.

This is a remnant from the days of the Ottoman Empire, where places like Arta, Ioannina, and Zagori were inhabited by rich Greek merchants. They lived in luxury, displaying their wealth with gold-threaded clothing and heavy jewellery, in huge contrast to the masses of their countrymen who lived under miserably poor conditions.

Inside the museum of Ali Pasha, the many artefacts of clothing and jewellery from that era attest to that fact, showing how this saying came about.

The museum has two levels full of displays, some easier to digest than others. I refer here to the dungeon and torture instruments part of the displays where one can see torture tools that I am having trouble to forget.

The most gory of all was an instrument that ‘separates flesh from bone’. Just looking at it behind the glass and imagining how the very thing had been used, surely even on innocent people, caused my blood to chill. Sometimes, being an author with an active imagination can be counterproductive LOL!

After considering the oppression and the cruelty of the Turkish rulers, and the suffering they have caused to my countrymen while I shuffled from display to display, I finally reached one that told the story of Ali Pasha’s day of demise.

In the end, it was his own people who turned against him, branding him a traitor. So, on January 24, 1822, knowing that Ali Pasha had found refuge at the Monastery of St Panteleimon on the island of Ioannina, Turkish military men attacked him there. Ali Pasha shot at the men and a short battle ensued.

Having been mortally wounded, the 81-year-old was rendered helpless. The men dragged him to the court outside and beheaded him there, at the same space that is now the entrance to the museum. They then took his head to the Sultan Mahmud II, who had ordered the execution, to show proof that it had been carried out.

Leaving the main museum building, I entered another small one across from it. It had two tiny halls that house letters from prominent Greeks, like Alexandros Ipsilantis, and many household items too, like porcelain figurines and pottery.

After that, making a right turn past the Ali Pasha Museum I arrived at the small caves that were used by the locals in WWII. They fled there to shelter themselves from the bombings carried out by the Italians in November 1940.

In the cave openings, now stand dummies of men, women and children, while old items of the era are scattered everywhere, like a radio, lanterns, flasks, stretchers and petrol containers. Sounds of bombings echo from the speakers. It is a bleak, yet, I expect, accurate representation of another harrowing era in this city’s vast past.

The same caves also served as dwellings to holy men in the 15th century – like Saint Savvas and monks Theophanes and Nektarios Apsarades who founded the Varlaam Monastery in Meteora.

An insistent (and rather scary) little duck

After seeing all the displays, it was time for some fun outdoors. I had kept some ‘koulouri’ (sweetened bread with sesame) to feed the ducks and once they saw me holding it they swam straight at me. One of them quickly proved to be the quickest to get to the bits of sustenance, but it also turned out to be insatiable!

Once I’d thrown all the bits, it came out of the water and started to follow me around. I kept shooing it and laughing, and it kept looking at me inquisitively, as if saying, “Come on! Where’s the rest of it?”

Somehow, it let me go in the end, and once it began to waddle away from me an Asian lady approached it and tried to pet it. The moment her hand hovered over its head, before she even got to touch it, this duck emitted the most shrill loud scream one could ever imagine would come out of such a small creature.

The poor Asian lady literally jumped back in horror, then walked away in a hurry from the mad fowl. It’s been four months and I still laugh when I think about it haha

More fun awaited at the sweet shop, “A Thousand Quintals of Sugar.”

Before visiting the island someone had tipped me off to look out for the ‘funny guy’ who is famous on Tik Tok. They said he sells traditional syrupy desserts of Ioannina in his shop that are unmissable. The family make them in their own preparation facility a little further down the road from the shop.

I clocked the guy easily! And you can’t miss the shop. It’s on the path from the dock to the museum of Ali Pasha, and it’s right in front of you when you get to it.

The shop is called A Thousand Quintals of Sugar (In Greek, Χιλια Κανταρια Ζαχαρη) and the logo is a drawing of Kyra Frosini (I told you she’s everywhere!)

The man stands at the shop entrance giving people little treats to entice them to buy while making funny faces, calling the strangers funny names and saying the most hilarious things. I had a little taste of the guy’s humor and I soon was in stitches just like everybody else.

He called me ‘bourbourini mou’ and I have no idea what that means LOL! And he called all the men ‘Pashako mou’ which means ‘My little Pasha).

There are some absolutely hilarious clips of him on Tik Tok (hashtag #γαργαλιαρης), if you’re interested in seeing him firing on all cylinders with a big crowd. You can watch the short video I took of him to get an idea. You’ll hear me giggling away 🙂

He didn’t stop speaking both times I passed by and while I shopped inside the store, and people kept laughing. He is like the Duracell bunny champion of salesmen, what a guy!

Well worth visiting the island just to meet him! Chances are, he’ll see you and call you over before you even spot him LOL!

I don’t know if he’d be interested in a career as a comedian, but he definitely has the talent!

After purchasing a selection of his delicious desserts we also got some souvenirs from the many Greek art stores. If you’re ever in Ioannina do check out their silverware on display. The silver craftsmen of Ioannina are famous, and you’ll find something to take away with you at a low price to cherish forever, that’s for sure.

I have uploaded my photos from the island on Facebook. Go here to check them out! You will see more artefacts at the museum, the caves with the WWII display, and also the glass tanks full of live eels and frogs at the tavernas on the dock.

Oh yes! Eels and frog legs are on the menu over there, but, of course, I shied away, LOL!

You can also visit the museum website to see more photographs.

 

Fish and prawns in a light tomato sauce is yummy!

This quick and easy meal with fish and prawns is best served on a bed of rice or fries. I’ve also had it with boiled potatoes. That works too!

The tomato sauce is very light as the recipe uses only fresh tomato in small quantity. It’s a light but hearty meal to have for dinner.

Although it’s aestherically pleasing as it is, being so colorful, I sometimes add a final touch using the super-nutritious black sesame seed as you can see in the picture. It adds a dash of color to the boiled rice, too.

Hubby loves it!

GO HERE TO GET THE RECIPE

 

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The stone bridge of Plaka in Epirus and Greek baked fish with onions and tomatoes

The most intrepid thing I’ve done in ages…

During my Christmas break in Epirus where my husband and I stayed in the historic city of Arta, we visited the mountain area of Tzoumerka for a day. Our first stop was the famous stone bridge of Plaka dating from 1866.

An earlier attempt to build it was made in 1863, but the bridge had collapsed on the day of its inauguration!

During WWII, it was bombed by the Germans near its centre but the damage was easily repaired.

This bridge is the biggest of its kind in the Balkans and the third biggest in Europe. The arch is 40 metres (130 ft) wide and 17.61 m (57 ft 9 in) high.

This marvelous single-arch stone bridge was demolished in February 1, 2015 during a flood caused by a heavy rainfall. Only a small bit on either side remained, only what touched the ground. The rest of the bridge, all parts that hovered in the air, collapsed.

It was on the news in Greece at the time, and everyone got upset about it, seeing that the stone bridges of Tzoumerka, just like those in Zagori, are legendary, unique in their mastery, and it’s not easy to replicate these nowadays.

Still, the architects and engineers at the Athens Polytechnic University stepped in, worked diligently, and were able to reconstruct this magnificent bridge, while trying their best to make it look as similar as possible to the original one.

The undertaking was huge. The university team comprised of 30 professors and 40 researchers. Committed to reconstructing the bridge just as it was originally, they used no modern technology, no hidden supports, and not a single kilo of metal.

As I admired it during my visit, I was particularly impressed by the coloring of the stone. It doesn’t look at all brand new, as one would expect. In fact, if one looks at pictures before and after the collapse, the sight is identical!

The bridge was given back to the public in 2020, a little over five years since its destruction.

I was thrilled on the day of my visit to find out that I was actually traveling on the coach with one of the people who had made the reconstruction of the bridge possible! That person was a reporter who works in one of the major Athens newspapers. She read a published article of hers to everyone on the coach, which she’d written about the bridge of Plaka, as we made our way there on the mountains.

It was a treat for everyone to listen to her article as we traveled up and down on windy mountain roads, amidst a lush landscape that was crowned with heavily snowcapped mountains and thick cloud formations.

At the end of her beautiful and highly descriptive article, the lady reporter informed us that she had last visited the bridge a few days before it collapsed. She had taken several photographs that day, and, would you believe, those wound up playing an integral part in the reconstruction of the bridge!

This is because when the professors at the Athens Polytechnic University heard about her article they contacted her, hoping to acquire photographs of the bridge, so they could reconstruct it as closely as possible to its original design.

It turned out she had a wealth of photographs from all possible angles from surface level to give them, and these photographs made up the model they managed to recreate.

Sadly, I do not know the name of the reporter to give her credit here, but I am sure those who used her photos have already honored her by name for her contribution to this amazing reconstruction. I cannot help but think it was fate she had visited just a few days before the catastrophe to take all these photos.

 
 

As we took the beautiful paved path alongside the river Arachthos from the large parking area to the bridge, we couldn’t help but marvel at both its size and its beauty.

The lush mountains crowned by the fog that quiet Christmas eve morning when we visited served as the ideal backdrop that encouraged everyone to keep taking photographs and made the atmosphere even more enchanting.

Walking on this bridge remains to this day an unforgettable experience for me. I have walked on several stone bridges in Zagori, but the incline on this one towards the center was that something else. The top of the arch is on a much higher level than one would expect, because of the steep incline leading up to it near the center from both sides.

I found walking on the bridge very difficult near the top, especially coming down from it.

Plus, seeing that the ledge was low, there was nothing to hold on to up there. Therefore, I wouldn’t recommend walking on this bridge near the top unless you are confident on your feet, or, at least, without having someone strong to hold on to.

 
 

Just look at me on this photo. It may not show, but I was getting ready to faint😵‍💫hehe

No, seriously now, it was a wonderful experience. The view from up there was fantastic.

Go here for a super-short video that shows a 360-degree view from the top of the bridge.

But getting up there wasn’t the only reason why I used the word ‘intrepid’ on the heading earlier!

The more important reason is related to a sign that stands at the entrance of the bridge. According to it, the architects who rebuilt it in the recent years did not apply any modern reinforcement techniques whatsoever. This was so they could maintain the exact look that the stone bridge had always had.

Thus, they simply couldn’t vouch that it was safe! As a result, the sign warns visitors that by walking on the bridge they do so at their own risk!

I tell you, I haven’t taken that many risks in one day since I was a reckless teen 😂

GO HERE for all my photographs from the bridge as well as for beautiful vistas along the mountain roads.

My travel report from Epirus isn’t finished yet, by the way. See you in the next newsletters for the final two parts!

 
 

The secret of “Psari Plaki” is in the layers…

In Greek cuisine, “Plaki” is a type of cooking that involves either fish (psari plaki) or lentils, like broad beans (fasolia plaki).

Today, I am pleased to share my family recipe for ‘psari plaki’, meaning ‘fish plaki’. The word ‘plaki’ is probably derived from ancient Greek, as ‘plakion’ was the name of a marble or iron slab used for baking, a tradition that still survives today in some parts of Greece where housewives still use iron pans to bake breads or savory pancakes that they call ‘plakopitta.’

In the Greek language today, the word ‘plaka’ means a marble slab or a tile, and thus, in my understanding, ‘plaki’ means baking that requires some kind of laying, as in setting the food in layers.

Such is the case in my recipe, where the fish is cooked whole, covered with thick slices of tomato and onion, in this particular order. Under this covering, the fish absorbs the aromas and the juices of these vegetables and, thus, is kept soft during baking. The result is a succulent fish that tastes phenomenal, especially as this recipe also involves the rich aromas of dried oregano and garlic.

Please note that there isn’t one standard recipe of plaki, and that there are infinite varieties from all around Greece. Some recipes involve a rich tomato sauce and no vegetable covering for the fish, and others include potato and carrot chunks in the pan. My recipe is basic, and, thus, quicker to rustle up.

This is the classic ‘psari plaki’ recipe. My mother and her own mother never made it any other way.

The fish should be baked whole and thus only small to medium-sized fish must be used. I use mackerel in this recipe, but you can also try scorpaena, plaice, haddock, swordfish, sea bream etc. Basically, any fish with white flesh that comes from the sea will do.

So, what do you say? Will you try it?

GO HERE to get the recipe and enjoy!

Hey, before you go! In my latest newsletter, I am sharing a plethora of FREE kindle books! Check it out here!

 

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The alluring sea lake of Messolonghi and a family recipe for squid stew

I visited Messolonghi by coach during my Christmas break in Epirus where I stayed in the historical city of Arta.

On our way back to Athens, the driver took us for a ride around the sea lake of Messolonghi, a historical town that is famous for an amazing feat of bravery during the Greek war of Independence.

The town was under siege by Turkish forces for many months, and the people had suffered for a long time with hunger and thirst. Seeing that their demise was certain, instead of surrendering to the Turks, they decided upon a heroic exodus from within the city walls, attacking the enemy with what little strength they had left. It was the night between the 10th and the 11th of April, 1826, and their heroism is still remembered today, as one of the most humbling acts of bravery the Greeks have ever known.

Today, Messolonghi is a stunning bustling town, graced by its beautiful sea lake (lagoon) that offers a treasure of gifts to both locals and tourists.

In the quaint residential areas of Kleisova and Tourlida, where I took the photos you can see above, the landscape is dotted with colorful and charming stilt houses on the sea lake that the locals call “pelades.”

The salt produce of Messolonghi, which comes in various types, is famous and highly sought after all over Greece as it contains high nutritional value (92 different metals and other nutrients).

On the quiet beach where we made a short stop a little further away from Tourlida there is a small museum dedicated to salt. There, at the little shop, people can buy various types of salt.

Messolonghi is also famous for its fish produce, including sea bass, eel, and tarama (i.e. bottarga – a mediterranean kind of caviar). At the many exquisite tavernas in town cooks prepare fish dishes with flair, confident about the freshness and high quality of the fish on offer that the sea lake provides in abundance.

One of the resident birds at the sea lake is the colorful Akyoni bird with its mournful song that resembles a kingfisher.

According to the ancient Greek legend, Alkyoni used to be a princess… She and her husband Ceyx were boastful and blesphemous towards Zeus and Hera. To punish them, Zeus killed Ceyx with a thunderbolt. When Alkyoni found out she threw herself into the sea. Then, the gods took pity on them both and turned them into Alkyoni birds.

On top of that, and as the Alkyoni birds made their nests on the rocks by the sea, the gods decreed that in the middle of winter there should be about 14 days of calm weather so that the alkyoni eggs can hatch safely.

Hence, the term the “Days of Alkyoni” (“Halkyone Days” aka “Alkyonides” in Greek) that traditionally come around the middle to the end of January in Greece every year, when it’s sunny and generally mild.

On our way out of the town of Messolonghi we stopped at the “Garden of the Heroes,” a grassy park of about 14 acres with tall palm trees, eucalyptus trees and pines that is dotted with 69 beautiful monuments, and even some tombs of local heroes, from various wars.

Some of the monuments were donated by armies of other countries that were allies or enemies to Greece in its many wars, such as Russia, Italy, Germany and France.

The buried remains here include those of the hero of the Greek war of Independence Markos Botsaris. In 1858, King Otto and Queen Amalia of Greece financed the planting of trees and donated a marble lion for the park.

I loved strolling around this beautiful park on a sunny day with the sound of birdsong delightful in my ears. However, my experience was considerably enriched, albeit with a great measure of sadness, to see the decrepit building of the town’s old hospital barely standing erect right beside the park.

Old image credit: Fourtounis.gr

Messolonghi’s old hospital was built in 1906 and was in operation until 1999. It is such a pity that it was abandoned and turned derelict to this tremendous extent in just over a couple of decades, having been totally left to its fate to battle the elements.

The marble plaque above the entrance reads: “Chatzikosta Brothers Hospital, founded 1906, during the years of the Mayor Sokratis…” (the surname is illegible).

Indeed, a bit of research confirmed the hospital was built and financed by brothers Georgios and Anastasios Chatzikostas. This is one of the oldest hospitals of Greece.

As I looked at it from behind the fence, unable to get closer, I tried to imagine its heyday, when it was busy with staff, visitors and patients coming and going in haste, the latter arriving by foot on stretchers, and others in army vehicles, during the many dark years of wars that my country has known since 1906. That’s two world wars, and the bloodiest one of all for my country, i.e. the civil war that followed WWII.

I look at the old photograph above which provides such a depressing contrast to the forlorn look of the hospital today and can only shake my head ruefully.

Still, I always aspire to a future in my country where gems of the past such as this one will be cherished and protected, instead of being left to go to ruin by neglect.

On a cheerful note, GO HERE to see all my photos from Messolonghi.

It was a swift visit, so I feel I need to go back there and stay awhile. For one, to absorb the beauty of the place and to walk along the seafront road that stretches for miles, the lake stunning, a splendid silver mirror under the blue sky.

I can see why Lord Byron loved Messolonghi so much… The great romantic poet was forever inspired by the brave Greeks, who fought for their freedom. He died in his cherished Messolonghi on April 19, 1824, at the age of 36, having been defeated by a high fever.

His body was embalmed to be sent for burial back to England, but the people of Messolonghi, who loved him just as much as he loved them, asked that part of him stays there. According to some sources, Byron’s heart remained in Messolonghi…

I don’t know about you, but all this talk about the sea lake of Messolonghi and its produce made me think ‘seafood’ LOL! So, I thought it would be apt to share one of my seafood recipes here with you.

It is my father’s recipe for cuttlefish (‘soupia’, in Greek)  in tomato sauce, but squid (‘calamari’), which is smaller, can also be used. This meal can be equally enjoyed with rice, potato or pasta.

GO HERE TO GET THE RECIPE

Enjoy!

 

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My family recipe for fasolada. Bean soup with pasta tubes

Hello All! Today, I am sharing a traditional Greek recipe for bean soup, i.e. “fasolada”, and it happens to be one of my father’s best.

Truly, my late father, Fotis, made the best ‘fasolada’. More often than not, he cooked it with tubular pasta. It was like no other meal he made, a real masterpiece.

I am thrilled to share the recipe with you today, as well as a little about my father himself, and his cooking abilities.

You can enjoy fasolada, this traditional Greek soup, with or without the short tubular pasta (‘koftaki’ in Greek or ‘ditalini’, in Italian). But if you do use it, it needs to boil thoroughly. If the pasta tubes don’t melt in the mouth, they’re not done! You’ll know why when you eat them, once they have absorbed fully the starchy yumminess of the beans.

This recipe uses white (navy) beans, and this is the typical ones Greeks put in soups. I do not recommend that you use another type for this traditional recipe.

My family and I spent many Easters in the 1980s with my grandparents in Moraitika, Corfu. During that time, my father took over as a cook for the big day from my mother, Ioanna, and grandmother, Antigoni.

Here is something odd about my father, Fotis, and his cooking… When I was a child and a young woman, the only time I ever saw him in an apron was at Easter when he’d prepare and cook the lamb and the ‘kokoretsi’ on the spit.

My mother did all the cooking all year round, so, naturally, I thought my father couldn’t cook. When my mother got ill with cancer back in 2016, my father began to do the cooking in their house. At first, he’d ask my mother to stay closeby and provide guidance, but soon enough, he was able to cook confidently (and surprisingly well) on his own.

When I asked him one day how come he’d learned so quickly and could cook all those delicious meals, he told me he used to cook as a young man, and had even worked in a bakery…

GO HERE to read the rest of the post about my father’s cooking, and to get his fasolada recipe, of course!

 

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A Corinth Canal cruise and Corfiot Pastitsada

 

A cruise along the Corinth Canal

Today, I am thrilled to share about my day at Isthmia, cruising along the Corinth Canal! 

First, we had coffee at the Isthmia Bridge Cafe, on the side of the Peloponnese, where we got to see the small bridge submerge in the sea and resurface a few times, allowing people and cars to pass from the Peloponnese to the mainland and back. We even got to see our booked pleasure boat, Anna II, pass by, before boarding it. We got so excited! 

Here is a short video my husband took at the cafe, just as our boat appeared to cruise past us. 

Just as we were about to board, a large number of jet skis floated and revved past en masse to get into the canal. I’d never seen so many together before – It was such a treat! 

The cruise was amazing. The canal is so beautiful. See this short video for a small taste!

 

During the cruise, I recalled a story one of my Corfiot aunts told me the last time I saw her. It was a miraculous incident that took place in the canal. Here’s what happened:

Many decades ago, when my elderly aunt was a young married woman, she found a lump in her breast one day. As soon as they could make it, she and my uncle boarded a boat from Corfu town to visit a hospital in Athens. 

As they were traveling through the Corinth Canal, she and my uncle were lying on their backs on the deck in the sunshine. Auntie had her eyes closed, listening to a man relay an anecdote from the days when the canal was being constructed.

The man was saying that the cook on site caught a snake one day. He prepared half of it fried and half of it boiled. The workers who ate the fried snake all died, but those who ate it boiled were not harmed. Just as the man was finishing the story, my aunt heard a man ask her, ‘Where are you going?’ She opened her eyes and saw a monk towering over her. She told him she was going to Athens to see a doctor.

To her surprise, the monk then lunged forward and grabbed her by the chest, real tight. She began to shout, protesting, as anyone might expect. Suddenly, she opened her eyes and realized the monk had simply vanished. Turning to her husband, she asked about the monk. He hadn’t seen him. And now, it all seemed like a terrible dream. Or was it? It had felt so real!

When they got to the hospital and the doctor examined her, she was astounded to hear the lump was no longer there!

Later, she realized the monk she’d seen on the boat had to have been Saint Spyridon, as he is portrayed as a monk in all the icons, and he has been seen in the same form in many recorded miracles where he appeared before people in visions. Being the patron saint of Corfu, she had always prayed to him and kept him close in her life.

And she’s not the only member of my Corfiot family who have told me stories of St Spyridon’s miracles they witnessed firsthand either! My granny was another. Actually, I have put her own personal story in this post, a story from WWII, no less, along with a load of info on St Spyridon and his famous miracles.

Coming out on the other side of the canal, we were enthralled to see the beautiful views of the spa town of Loutraki and the Corinthian Gulf. After a short cruise around the gulf, while waiting for the go ahead to go back into the canal, we returned to our initial point of departure, on the Saronic Gulf side. 

On our return journey along the canal, we noticed this part where new works were made in the recent years, when part of the canal wall began to crumble, causing it to close a couple times because it wasn’t safe. If I recall, it happened after a couple of earthquakes that affected this area. As the workers seem to have dug so low to the water surface, building this really wide road from the top to carry away the debris, the chance of rocks falling on the canal again at this part is no longer a possibility.

A little further down, we were astounded to see a massive ‘ZAXARIAS’ (i.e. Zachariah) carved on the rock. It was HUGE! We all wondered about it! Soon, we found out it was one of the workers of the canal who had done this, back in the days of its construction. He wanted to carve his own name for posterity, but he wasn’t anywhere near as humble as all the others who had done the same. We saw many names carved in the canal rockface as we went through it, including some sounding very Italian.

But this Zachariah dude certainly overdid it, and as we heard, he got a huge fine for his huge audacity haha! If you do this cruise and want to check it out, it’s on the Peloponnese side, i.e. the right side when you return to Isthmia.

Another thing to look out for as you travel through the canal is this:

On the outward journey, if you sit at the right side, near the beginning of the cruise, you may notice high up on the rockface a figure protected behind a wooden frame. It is a Nero relief that is part of an ancient temple dedicated to him. Where this is situated, you will see two square cemented bases on both banks that used to support an old bridge that is no longer there. The Nero relief is high above the base on the right side.

And now, some trivia for you:

The Corinth Canal is 8 meters deep, 21 meters wide, 80 meters high, and 6.4 kms long. It took about 1.5 hour to cruise through it and back on the boat.

Work on the canal began in 1882 and it opened in 1893. It unites the Corinthian to the Saronic Gulf, and it separates the Peloponnese from mainland Greece – essentially making the former an island!

The ancient Greeks were the first to conceive the idea of a canal there and were keen on constructing it, but Pythia forbid it when they asked the gods for advice on it. 

Zeus told them through Pythia that he wasn’t in agreement – he said plain and simple that if he’d meant for the Peloponnese to be an island he would have made it one himself!

Well, I wonder what he’s thinking right now if he’s still around, LOL!

Guess how much it costs for a big ship to go through the canal? We were told the entrance fee is 5,000 euro! And guess what? The canal company employs its own captains, who are pefectly trained to navigate ships through the canal. Every shipping company has a choice to make! If they want to be covered by insurance as they go through the strait, they have to allow one of the canal’s captains to take the wheel. 

If the shipping company opts out of this, whatever damage occurs will not be compensated. I hope they all say yes! I’d hate for any damage to a ship or this beautiful canal!

In case you’re wondering, the company that does the cruise is Corinth Canal Cruises. They also go to the islands of Aegina and Agkistri!

The boats board at Isthmia. The ticket for a cruise through the canal and back is 28 euro per person. For further details and to confirm the price, please visit the website of Corinth Canal Cruises. 

I loved Isthmia so much I am bound to return next summer. It’s not just the idyllic setting at Isthmia Bridge Cafe, but the beach that is situated a short distance away looked just as amazing as I viewed it from the boat. I may even be tempted to do the cruise again. I highly recommend Isthmia for a visit!

In a later post, I will share about the other places my husband and I visited that day. We made our first stop at the Isthmia museum and archeological site. I fell in love with the marvelous fresco at the Roman Baths that is full of intricate designs of marine creatures, and I can’t wait to show it to you!

We also visited Loutraki for lunch and coffee. It was a 4-hour stay where we walked a lot, sat in the shade, and enjoyed generous sea views. All the while, we really kicked ourselves for not having brought our swimsuits. It was a marvellous sunny day, scorching hot, and people were swimming, even though it was mid-October!

Visit Facebook to check out my pictures from the Corinth Canal cruise and Isthmia Bridge Cafe.

Corfiot pastitsada – my easy, and just as yummy version!

Today, I am pleased to share my recipe for Corfu’s iconic dish of Pastitsada, i.e. beef and pasta in a rich tomato sauce. 

My Corfiot granny, Antigoni, always made this meal with tomato paste from a tin, but passata (tomato puree) is a personal preference of mine. Both options work and the food tastes the same.

Sometimes, Granny also used number 2 pasta (thick, with a hole), but I find it very messy on the table. Let’s just say it’s a surefire way to get sauce on your clothes 😛 Spaghetti is way easier to eat lathered in tomato sauce!

GO HERE TO GET THE RECIPE

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Did you enjoy this post? Here’s another from the area of the Isthmus: 

A stunning fresco at the Isthmia Roman Baths, Nero, and a mollusc with a royal secret

 

 

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FREE books, Greek stuffed veg, and Nicholas Cage in town!

Good morning, All! Today, I’ve got awesome news! Sunny photos from my summer vacation, my family recipe for Gemista and…. wait for it… a picture of Nicholas Cage in my neck of the woods! Yes, folks, it’s true! The Hollywood actor was staying near my town of Nea Peramos all summer, filming his new movie up in the local mountains! Scroll near the bottom to find out more!

Summer’s almost over. Well, almost.

My husband took this photo of me on the beautiful beach of Lychna on the island of Limnos. This was where we spent our annual break this August.

I posted a bunch of my photographs from that vacation on Facebook earlier this week. Go check them out HERE, and fill your day with sunshine!

This summer refuses to go, folks, and I am glad, because the sea is still warm enough to swim in. It’s almost mid-October, and it’s just incredible. We just had a couple days with wind and thunderstorms, but the temps are heating up again. Whoahey.

This year, I spotted a massive sea turtle as I swam at my local beach. To ensure my eyes hadn’t fooled me I asked other people about it. Many said they’d seen it too on other occasions, and one old man claimed it has been here for many years. There is just one, he said, confirming it is indeed massive in size.

I saw it from a good distance one day, its big head emerging through the water, then it began to look around, reminding me of the periscope of a submarine haha. Its head seemed huge, even from this long distance. I was glad it was far away, I tell you.

I was shocked. But not as shocked as I was another morning when I looked down under me in the deep and I saw it looking up back at me. YIKES. It was sooo big. I am not ashamed to say I panicked and swam away as fast as my flippers could carry me LOL.

An old lady told me that the sea turtle broke the surface of the water as she swam with her son one day. She saw it from up close, and it was staring back at her with ‘big round eyes’. Said it had ‘greenish scales’ and it took all she had not to freak out as she asked her son calmly to move toward her slowly, since he had his back to it and hadn’t seen it. But, as soon as she spoke, the sea turtle panicked too, apparently, because it then retreated and swam away. I guess it’s not as dangerous as I thought, LOL!

 
 

My name day, Effrosyni Day, was on September 25, and my husband Andy and I celebrated it with a lovely meal on the seafront of our town. We ordered a seafood platter, as you can see here, which was delicious, as well as baked vegetables drizzled with balsamic. It was all amazing.

But nowhere near as amazing as what I discovered that same week! See if you can recognise this guy on the right… Believe it or not, he was photographed in my neck of the woods this summer!

WHAAAAAT?

As you can see here, folks, this is no ordinary tourist, but Hollywood superstar, Nicholas Cage!

I found this photo on the website of my nearby seaside town of Agioi Theodoroi! Apparently, Nicholas Cage has been renting a villa there all summer, and often visited the eateries in town with his wife during his long stay. A local beach bar, as you can see here, was where he was captured on camera. (note: credit for the photo goes wherever it is due).

But that is not all, folks!

A little digging online yielded for me another shock! It turns out that Nicholas Cage has been driving to my town in the wee hours of the morning daily, going to a remote area on the mountains, to shoot a movie!

 

Kryftes, an ancient hideout on my local mountain range, becomes a Hollywood film set!

This image is from the Greek channel ‘Skai’ which ran a story on Nicholas Cage’s upcoming movie. It is set on the majestic Geraneia Mountains that crown both my town and Megara and reach over all the way to Loutraki.

The area of ‘Kryftes’ on these mountains, a word that means ‘hidden’, used to be the perfect hideout for the people of Megara for centuries. Whenever they expected a raid, they would go there as it was invisible from all the routes, all around.

This is the place that the location scouts chose for the movie, ‘The Carpenter’s Son’, which is based on the apocryphal gospel of Thomas. It tells the story of Jesus as a child. Nicholas Cage plays Jesus’s father, Joseph.

Last spring, the location scouts contacted the council of Megara and asked for assistance to provide better access by road so that they could commence building the sets, and then start filming at Kryftes. The council was happy to oblige and agreed to keep the whole operation strictly confidential.

Indeed, everyone kept mom about it, and no one discovered this among the common people like me until after the cast and crew were all gone! I was soooo miffed when I found out, but of course it is all understandable. I mean, had we known, we’d all have been up the mountains each day, pestering the crew, hoping to capture Nicholas Cage on our phones. Probably led by yours truly too, LOL!!!

Apparently, it was the superstar himself who insisted on the filming taking place in Greece. He said this country is still in his heart since filming here Captain Corelli’s Mandolin (and what a gem that was, folks, huh?)

Anyway, I found out he had a black trailer all to himself up there to spend time in comfortably when he wasn’t filming in this rugged, remote landscape.

Sadly, though, the filming ended abruptly. Early September, they all left the area in a hurry! Why, I hear you say? Because while filming in one of the natural caves over there, a swarm of wild bees attacked both actors and crew alike!

They all fled unscathed, or so we heard, off to film what was left to film in the caves on another location down their list (in another country).

As for the sets they left behind, mainly ‘Jesus’s House’ and ‘Calvary’, these had to be destroyed. The council did ask if the producers could leave them behind, thinking perhaps they might repurpose them as a tourist attraction, but the Forest Authority did not permit it. They had to go.

Still, they are going to be immortalised on celluloid, and I, for one, cannot wait to watch the movie, even though I am a little dubious since it is said to have horror elements in it! Not my cup of tea, folks, but it’s Nicholas Cage, right? Worth risking it, me thinks!

The director/writer is Lotfy Nathan and young actor Noah Jupe plays Jesus.

Curious to take a peek at the sets?

Go here to watch a short Tik Tok video of’ ‘Jesus’s House’.

Go here to watch a short Tik Tok video of ‘Calvary’.

Neither of these are my copyright, of course. Full credit is due to journalist @Nikolizas who created and posted these clips. If you enjoy them, do consider following his account.

 

If your tomatoes are ripe, it is time for GEMISTA!

Gemista is a summer dish, but if you can find tomatoes grown in fields as opposed to greenhouses, chances are they will be fleshy and sweet for a good period before and after. That’s why I thought there’s still time to share my family recipe for this delicious Greek meal.

A mixture of raw rice, tomato and herbs are used to fill tomatoes and peppers and they go in the roasting tin with potatoes and lashings of olive oil.

Greek housewives often use courgettes and aubergines as well but I never do. I find they are not juicy enough. Also, I have never added mince meat to the mix, as some housewives do. It just tastes wrong to me that way. Oh, so wrong.

My version is strictly vegetarian and I wouldn’t have it any other way. GO HERE to get the recipe and see what you think!

 

 

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A day out in the ‘Seychelles of Greece’, plus… a delicious weed!

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The “Seychelles of Greece” delivered the promise

We recently had a day trip to Lichadonissia, a small cluster of volcanic islands between the shores of Kamena Vourla and the northwest tip of the island of Evia.

To get there, we travelled by coach with a local tour operator to the spa town of Kamena Vourla, then hopped onto a taxi boat that took us to Lichadonissia in just a few minutes.

According to Greek mythology, Lichadonissia took their name from Lichas, a man connected to the myth of Hercules.

Hercules’s wife was the jealous type. Thinking he had cheated on her, she sent Lichas to give Hercules a poisonous tunic (chiton) to wear in order to take revenge on him. When Hercules put it on, he suffered terrible pains. Full of rage, he grabbed Lichas and hurled him into the sea, and as his body parts scattered when he hit the water they formed the Lichadonissia. Stroggyli, the distinctive island of the complex that has a round shape, is Lichas’s head according to the legend.

In scientific terms, the story is different, of course. Some 500,000 years ago, a volcanic eruption formed the Lichadonissia, and it is believed that Stroggyli was where the crater used to be. Stroggyli, as its name suggests, has a rounded shape. It is fully covered by vegetation and a lighthouse stands on it, placed there a few decades ago by a French company.

You can see Stroggyli and the other Lichadonissia islands in my photographs. I have included a couple that I found online which show them from high above – truly stunning images that make you want to dive straight in for a swim.

The skipper gave us a wonderful tour, bits of which I will share a little later in this artcle. I’ll just squeeze in here a cool fact that he told us:

Aidipsos (a nearby town in Evia) and Thermopylae (you may know it as the Hot Gates where Leonidas and the 300 fought the Persians) both owe their natural hot springs to the volcanic eruption at Lichadonissia.

He said that the distances from Lichadonissia to these two places are equal. This is a clear indication that it was indeed this volcanic eruption that blessed both Aidipsos and the Hot Gates with this unique therapeutic gift of nature that keeps on giving, hundreds of thousands of years later.

Here I am, trying to show you just how clear the water is in Lichadonissia and probably failing. But perhaps this video will show it more clearly. You’ll also get to hear the sounds of cicadas and the excited squeals of children that complete this idyllic scene of Greek summer bliss.

This video is super-short. Turn up the volume 🙂

The island where we spent two hours swimming and sunbathing is the biggest of the complex and it’s called Monolia. The setting was clearly volcanic, the beach strewn with large volcanic boulders, but in the middle of the bay there was this perfect small stretch of sand. There is a small beach bar and the umbrellas and deckchairs are free. We were made up!

It was just a perfect interval of two hours that ended much too soon. I would have been happy to stay there all day, just swimming and napping.

If you’re interested to go there, you could combine your visit with a stay in the spa seaside town of Kamena Vourla (about 2 hours drive from Athens). Every day, taxi boats go back and forth from there to Lichadonissia.

When we left Monolia beach, the skipper took us around Lichadonissia to show us other locations of interest. The first one was this small settlement on the island of Monolia. Just a few decades ago, some families tried to settle there. They even built a church, Agios Georgios (it’s the smaller building on the left of this photo, half-hidden under the trees).

They tried to sustain themselves in this inhospitable land without electricity or running water. They tried the best they could, including collecting rainwater, but the hardships they faced proved impossible to handle. In the end, just a few years later, they gave up and left. These hollow decrepid buildings stand like vigils on the island still, telling a silent sad story of trial and defeat.

Still, I wasn’t too sad about the people when I found out they hadn’t gone too far. Together with people from other areas of northern Evia, they formed a brand new village that flourished and still thrives today.

I’ll tell you about that village, which I also visited, in a moment. Keep on reading… I have something amazing to show you, which I discovered during the same tour…

Image credit to ERTNEWS.GR

This is Pioneer I, the fully submerged shipwreck of Lichadonissia – a German boat that was bombed during WWII.

The skipper stopped our boat right above it, and it felt eerie but enthralling too. It looked so white in parts under the crystal clear water, like time had never touched it.

The boat was made of reinforced concrete. This craftmanship for making ships was developed by the Nazis in WWII. Concrete was cheaper than iron and steel, easier to find, and ships could be built a lot faster too.

Pioneer I sunk on july 8, 1944 and lies at a depth of about 10 meters.

It is said that it carried war provisions and guns to supply the islands and also the German troops in North Africa.

Today, the shipwreck has become a magnet to tourists but also other creatures… Would you believe, this place hosts a small population of Monachus Monachus seals (aka monk seals)! The skipper pointed, and we all caught a glimpse of not just one but two seals swimming near the shipwreck. I was so pleased, as I didn’t expect this.

Go here to watch this mesmerising short video I found on Youtube.

You will see the seals, the shipwreck, and the islands from a drone, and also divers going underwater to explore the ship! I loved this video, and I think you’ll love it too. If only for the sunshine and the cute sounds of the seals!

Agios Georgios, a village of avid fishermen!

After our enthralling short cruise around Lichadonissia, we set sail to the northwest tip of Evia. A few minutes later, we entered the harbour of Agios Georgios.

This is the village that was partly founded by the people who had abandoned the small settlement I mentioned earlier. And this time, they picked a spot that guaranteed a more comfortable, prosperous life.

I noted that the village was named after St George, the same saint to whom the people had dedicated the small church at the abandoned settlement.

Agios Georgios is a thriving village today that is sustained mostly by the work of its able fishermen. They are renowned for their catch of local fish, and especially sardines. These able, busy fishermen are well networked, too. Within record times from catching the fish, it arrives to be sold in the central fish markets of Athens!

Agios Georgios is small and idyllic, and seems to be a fantastic place for a quiet beach holiday. It is situated within short distance from other wonderful destinations of Evia, like the spa town of Aidipsos, Istiaia, as well as a bunch of wonderful monasteries too.

There are small hotels on the beach, nothing huge and fancy, which was wonderful to see, and some of the local houses on the seafront are whitewashed and very quaint. I fell in love with a specific corner that looked and even smelled (some herb or flower I guess!) like the lanes at my beloved Messonghi village on Corfu. It made me homesick. I sat on a ledge in the shade to take in the atmosphere for a while and didn’t want to leave ha ha

We ate in the highly recommended taverna Antonis, a couple minutes walk from the port, that offered anything the heart could possibly desire. Meats, fish, seafood, and cooked meals too. Everything we sampled was delicious. But, before we ate, we made sure to have a little dip in the sea first, just outside the taverna.

The water looked inviting and the shingles on the shore made that irresistible sound that reels me right in. It was around 2 o’clock, very hot, and we were famished by then, so we didn’t stay long, but that swim will stay indellible in my mind forever.

It was the perfect beach for me, not just because I love beaches with shingles (the sound of seawater rushing through the shingles is one of my favourite sounds in the whole world!) but also because the water became deep quickly. We don’t often get to swim in beaches like this. It was a true gem, and if I ever get the chance to return there for a day or two I’ll go running. If only, to try some more of that fresh sardine!

Purslane is too good to give to the pigs!

An American friend told me once they call purslane ‘pigweed’ in their neck of the woods. Not sure if this is true in other parts of the States as I’ve seen pictures of other weeds online that are called pigweed too.

In any case, I expect purslane is eaten by pigs. I know chickens love it. But, if you have animals, and love to recycle your weeds by throwing it to them, do think twice! Like in the case of dandelion, that I know rabbits love to eat for example, purslane is packed with nutrients too precious to miss out on!

First off, it has the highest levels of omega-3 fatty acids of any land-based plant. The omega-3 fatty acids keep the arteries healthy and thus help prevent strokes, heart attacks, and other forms of heart disease. Purslane also contains nutrients that protect from cancer and also benefit the bones and the liver. It contains many vitamins and important minerals like calcium and magnesium. It even helps the overweight and obese to lose weight! I mean, it is a precious gift of nature that, unlike medicine and supplements, is perfectly safe, without any side effects, costs nothing, and is waiting for you, right now, in your garden!

I love to eat it raw in a salad with tomato and cucumber. For the dressing, I use salt, olive oil and a generous amount of red wine vinegar.

I cook it too, in a recipe with chicken that I partucularly enjoy all summer when the front patch of my garden is full of purslane.

As I stated earlier, I love it raw. Purslane is succulent and fresh with a wonderful texture and taste, but when cooked, it acquires a totally different tang that’s all the money!

GO HERE to see my recipe and learn more. Enjoy!

 

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Prespes Lakes and Greek broad beans in tomato sauce (gigantes)

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The Prespes Lakes under the rain….

I wanted to visit the Prespes Lakes all my life, and thus was a little gutted to arrive with drizzling rain there last month!

Still, the vistas were so fantastic and the energy of the place so compelling I soon forgot it was raining as I walked about carefree, sans unbrella…

At the Small Prespa Lake, we took the bridge to the tiny isle of St Achilleios (Acchiles). The air was fresh and full of birdsong. The isle was lush all over as you can see in the photographs.

In the short time we had we managed to visit the remains of the Basilica of St Acchileios dating from the 10th century.

A short ride on the coach later, we arrived at the fishing village of Psarades on the shore of the Big Prespa Lake where we enjoyed trout on the BBQ and a plate of locally farmed broad beans (gigantes) in a rich tomato sauce.

Actually, the lovely waitress offered me a choice between the trout and another lake fish called ‘grivadi’ which I had never heard of. She told me it has an acquired taste so I got the trout to be safe. The latter was delicious and I was glad about my choice. But I was even more glad when I found out what the ‘grivadi’ fish actually is, as I wouldn’t have been too happy to eat that, LOL. You can find out why in this post from my visit to the Aquarium of Kastoria!

Above, you can see the table where we sat. I was instantly drawn to this corner as I loved the painting of the Big Prespa Lake. And that says a lot because on the other side of the seating area there was a woodstove burning, which would have been nice, seeing we arrived to eat rather damp all over haha

Walking around the village after our meal didn’t take long as it is tiny, and it looked rather forlorn that day – hardly any locals or tourists about. Water buffaloes and rare species of dwarf cows were grazing by the lake. It all made for a thrilling sight. All the while, it didn’t stop drizzling with rain, and it was pretty chilly too, but nothing could mar the experience for me.

The Prespa Lakes are on the Greek border to the countries of Albania and North Macedonia. Greece shares the Small Prespa with Albania, and the Big Prespa with Albania and North Madedonia.

Delicious Greek ‘giants’

‘Gigantes’ means giants, and this is the cute ‘ name the Greeks use for broad beans.

Coming back home from the Prespes Lakes, I brought a big pack of gigantes with me, which I’d bought from a local producer on the shore of the Small Prespa. It doesn’t get better than that, I guess, to get the real deal, as the Prespes beans are famous in Greece.

The taste was superb, just like the meal tasted during that taverna meal I mentioned earlier. I included celery (the thick variety, not the slim Greek one) and it gave the meal the exact taste I recall from that taverna meal. GO HERE to get the recipe. It includes mentions to two different variations you can try! Each uses different ingredients that provide a totally new experience every time.

 

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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 rolled up cheesepies from scratch (as well as spinach pies and pumpkin pies, sometimes) on the eve of Lent Monday. 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 stunning monastery of Hosios Loukas and bacon pastry pinwheels

From the left: Virgin Mary church and Katholikon church

Hosios Loukas, a spectacular Byzantine monastery

It was a sunny autumn day when I discovered, much to my delight, this secret gem of Greece… Now, because of my strong faith, I have visited many monasteries in my life, but I had never heard of Hosios Loukas.

I consider it very fortuitous, therefore, that my coach journey to Arachova late last year included a stop at this monastery.

Built on the western slope of Mt Elikon with a valley teemed with olive trees stretching out before it, this 10th century A.D. Byzantine monastery is more than that. It is, rather, a fortified complex of not one but three churches, each one built at a different time in a different style.

The combination of all three provide visitors with an awe-inspiring, highly diverse visual experience.

‘Katholikon’ was a marvel to my eyes

The main church, ‘Katholikon’, is dedicated to Hosios Loukas. ‘Hosios’ (or the more phonetically accurate, ‘Ossios’) means ‘Devoted to God’ and it is a title that the Greek Orthodox Church has given over time to many devoted monks and nuns.

Hosios Loukas was a hermit called Loukas Stereiotis, and he lived in the area since 945 A.D. until his death in 953 A.D. He founded the monastery and was alive when the church of the Virgin Mary was built in the middle of the 10th century. The larger church of Katholikon was built later beside it, early 11th century.

His full-body relics are kept on display today inside the Katholikon. They were stolen by the Crusaders during the 13th century A.D. and kept in the Vatican for centuries before their repatriation.

When I entered the imposing Katholikon, my jaw literally dropped and I was overcome with awe. The exterior was imposing enough but nothing prepared me for the scale of things on the inside… for the stunning marble slabs, the intricate designs on everything I caressed with my eyes, especially the beautiful mosaics and the frescoes that are characteristic of the 10th-11th century A.D. because of the golden background.

Even the sunlight contributed that morning to make the scene one of astounding beauty, as it streamed in eagerly through the many elaborate windows.

On the left of the interior there is a portico, where people can pay their respects to the full-body relics of Hosios Loukas and then walk on a little further to enter the other, adjacent church…

 

More awe-inspiring beauty awaited me at the adjacent Virgin Mary church (Theotokos)

The masonry and brickwork of this older church was breathtaking. From what I found out later on line, it boasts a special style of masonry that combines stones with bricks to form decorative motifs. In time, it became the prototype for all the classical Byzantine churches of southern Greece.

I have very basic knowledge of Byzantine architecture, but I can tell you it was just as spectacular as Katholikon. It was amazing for me, actually, to see that mere stones and bricks can create such a stunning decoration. Truly, this church has all it takes to stand unabashed beside another that practically beams ‘dressed’ in polished marble.

There were many people inside Virgin Mary church, so I just followed the queues to explore it…

In one corner, people gathered up to write names on little notes of papers, leaving coins to the priests in return for blessings for their ailing loved ones or their departed from this world.

Another monk stood further away offering blessed chunks of bread to the visitors.

Outside, in the streaming sunshine, eating my piece of blessed bread, I closed my eyes for a while and inhaled the crisp Autumn air, feeling really blessed to be there as the birdsong reached my ears.

The main court was a pleasure to explore, and I went stepping up and down on different levels to photograph the two churches and the buildings of the monks’ cells from different angles against a cheerful azure sky…

Hosios Loukas had chosen to build the Katholikon on top of an existing church, that is still open to the public today. It is a stunning large crypt with groin vaults forming the roof, and it is dedicated to Agia Varvara (St Barbara).

Its entrance is around the back of the Katholikon building–not accessible from within the church. The tomb of Hosios Loukas is situated inside it.

Outside the monastery, nature beckons enticingly…

There is a large green space there, with grass and trees, and a couple shops that offer a wide variety of religious merchandise and local produce. And they also serve coffee, which visitors can enjoy sitting in this beautiful space that overlooks the monastery and the mountains on one side and the vast valley on the other.

The birdsong reached my ears busy and sweet as I took in the breathtaking views, and it was the perfect way to seal my memories of this awe-inspiring, blessed place, before it was time to go–much too early for my liking, but it couldn’t be helped as we were on a coach.

But, perhaps next time I’ll have more time to explore more spaces of this fortified Byzantine ‘little town’. According to the plan on display, there are old stables, an oil press, a museum, and other places of interest for the visitors.

My eagerness to see them serves as a wonderful motive for me to return.

Travel information: Hosios Loukas is in Boeotia (Viotia) north of Attica, about 170 kms from Athens along the motorway route Athens-Levadia-Delphi. It can be easily combined with other places of interest for a day out from Athens. It is situated in the area of Distomo, a part of Greece forever reminiscent of the harrowing atrocities against its locals carried out by the Nazis in WWII. Distomo is a beautiful village with places of archaeological interest and a Holocaust Museum. The bustling and quite cosmopolitan town of Arachova is 30 kms away from the monastery. You can see my travel report from Arachova here. Arachova is a highly recommended Greek destination. Some say it’s overrared, but others adore it and return there every winter for a quick break, so I guess you’ll have to decide for yourself! 😉

VISIT FACEBOOK TO SEE MORE PHOTOGRAPHS FROM HOSIOS LOUKAS!

  greek bacon pastry pinwheels easy

Easy and quick to make!

These puff pastry pinwheels are perfect to serve with meze and ouzo (or beer!), or you can use them as a side dish with virtually any meal. Just buy a ready pack of puff pastry and make them in no time!

The filling is cheese, bacon and red pepper. They make a treat that’s both colourful and highly delicious. So comforting during winter to have straight out of the oven. And the crunchiness is all the money…

Go on, impress your family and friends!

GET THE RECIPE!

 

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Interested in travel, food and books from Greece? Here's a blog you will love! #blogger #writer #Greece Share on X

 

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