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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Author, is META pirating your books to train AI? Check now and take action!

Today, I am blogging just for authors, because I found out something both incredible and infuriating and I feel compelled to share. For those of you who didn’t know either: There is a database of authored works called LibGen and it is used by META to train AI. I searched with my name today, and, to my horror, found one of my books is pirated on there. You can search for your author name here and I hope you find none:

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2025/03/search-libgen-data-set/682094/

If you have found your books on there don’t worry. There are ways to take action, and you are not alone.

The Authors Guild provides a ready template for authors to send an email to META and complain. I have done that, and now I am spreading the word. If you find your books on META’s pirated books database you can go here to use the Authors Guild’s letter template. It takes seconds to put in your details and send the email from the same page:

https://actionnetwork.org/letters/authors-guild-author-letters-to-ai-companies?source=email&

See also this post if you wish to take more action:

https://societyofauthors.org/2025/03/21/the-libgen-data-set-what-authors-can-do/

Please spread the word so that more authors find out about this! The more of us put pressure on META the better! To save you time, feel free to copy this post and use it exactly as is. You don’t need to credit me by name. I give you full permission.

Please consider putting this infomation all over your social media and in your newsletter too. Authors often subscribe to multiple newsletters so you’ll give them a good chance to see this and protect their works.

They will be greatful to you for sharing. I know I am grateful to my author friends Theresa Snyder and Jenny Burke who posted about this on Facebook!

 

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New! Clean Christmas romance. Two broken hearts. One magical holiday. A Santorini farm where anything can happen. Check it out on preorder! Launches December 4, 2025

 

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Start your FREE 30-day trial today

A new audiobook set in Corfu, Greece

Hello, All! Thrilled to announce I published my very first audio book this month!

My Corfu Love Story is a clean romance short read with a paranormal twist. The audio book’s duration is under 2 hours.

Spyri never forgot that old summer in Corfu when she met Markos…

Spyri is haunted by precious old memories from her summers in Moraitika, Corfu. This summer, she returns there and meets Markos, the one she never forgot since they were kids.

Sparks fly when they meet, but each one has their own hurts of the past to deal with.

Can two old childhood friends find happiness together with a little help from their loved ones beyond the veil?

🎧 Listen to the sample on Amazon US or Audible

Also available on kindle and paperback! Visit your Amazon store here

 

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New! Clean Christmas romance. Two broken hearts. One magical holiday. A Santorini farm where anything can happen. Check it out on preorder! Launches December 4, 2025
 
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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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A clean holiday romance set in Santorini, out on preorder!

Whoahey! American publisher, Written Musings, has offered me the chance to write a new book for their holiday selection and I am very excited!

All the books include the theme of a child sending a letter to Santa. We have been communicating the details back and forth since Christmas, and finally, we have the preorder up!

My holiday romance is called “My Greek Island Christmas.” I am still in the process of writing it, obviously, and it’s flowing out of me. I guess it’s because I am so happy and excited about this awesome opportunity🥳

A little about the story:

Two die-hard cynics when it comes to love meet on a small family farm on the alluring Greek island of Santorini, and the magic of Christmas goes to work.

Cathy Roussos, a Greek-American single mom, swore off love many years ago after a painful breakup. Her seven-year-old son, the energetic but rather shy Leo, is everything she lives for. When she takes a temp job as a housekeeper for the Christmas season at a small family farm on the island of Santorini, the last thing she expects is to fall in love with the standoffish son of the owner.

Alex Rallis, a veterinarian living in Athens, is a sworn bachelor. As Christmas draws near, he is offered an ideal job abroad. Before taking it, he has to sell the family farm in Santorini and find a new place for his elderly father. The last place Alex wants to be at Christmas is the farm that holds painful memories, but he can’t avoid it. His father will only agree to sell the farm and move out if Alex spends one last Christmas with him there. It seems the old man has a ploy in mind, and a string of adorable locals have their parts to play, too. Next thing you know, Christmas cheer is shared all around, old sad tales are retold in different ways, and romantic love swirls through the air deliciously, like the aromatic steam of hot chocolate.

Can these two wounded souls find happiness together? They say Christmas holds its own magic, and Santorini can be just as enchanting. Even in the midst of winter, its allure remains—enough to give anyone a chance to heal and open up their heart.

The ebook is in the process of getting published on all major estores.

So far, the preorder is up on Amazon and in Nook, but if you see this post at a later time, check for more stores on this page that I will be updating frequently.

A paperback will follow, and, I believe, an audible too. The ebook will be available for download on December 2.

The preorder is currently available at the special price of $0.99.

Go here to preorder now!

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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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The stunning Kipina Monastery in Tzoumerka, built inside a rockface

At the heart of Tzoumerka, Epirus, the traveler will come across the most enchanting sight. Kipina Monastery is literally cradled high up inside a rockface that has been carved masterfully to receive it in its snug embrace.

Although it is reminiscent of the famous Panagia Soumela Monastery in Pontos, Kipina Monastery is a lot less known, much smaller, and more humble.

The mountain landscape is ragged in places and forlorn, and the road to get there was rather treacherous, I thought. Maybe because I travelled up the winding mountain roads inside a large coach where masterful negotiations of hairpin turns were often required. We crossed narrow bridges with rusty old railings and, all the while, our wheels rolled near the edge of the precipice with the river Kalarritikos busily flowing below.

Still, when you arrive and you see this stunning view, you are instantly more than compensated…

The proper name of Kipina Monastery is “Monastery of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary.”

No one knows for sure when it was build, but according to one source it was build in 1212 by a bishop named Grigorios. According to a legend, it was build in that place because some monks at Viliza Monastery saw lights there in the darkness. When they got there, they found an ancient icon of Virgin Mary.

Plenty of icons of Virgin Mary have been found in many parts of Greece in inexplicable ways over time, even through visions and dreams that led someone to the place where Her icon was hidden. In every case, a monastery was then built in the place that the icon was found miraculously in order to house it there and to protect it from harm.

What harm, you may wonder?

For one, to keep them safe through the trecherous centuries of the brutal occupations that Greece has suffered over time, such as the one of the Ottoman Empire. The Turks loved to deface and to destroy religious artefacts. As for the Nazis that came later, they may have been respectful of the artefacts themselves, but they stole away from the Greeks, without shame, many of their treasures. Not just ancient artefacts, but religious ones, too, by the thousands.

Kipina Monastery flourished in the 18th century. It stopped being in operation sometime in the 19th century, and in 1931 it was put under the care of Tsouka Monastery, which uses its small grounds for cultivation.

To get to the monastery from the road, you take a beautiful cobble path, and at the end of it, just before entering the monastery, you cross a wooden bridge. There’s a sheer drop underneath, and it is actually a drawbridge that uses heavy chains. It is centuries old. It was installed to protect the monastery from the frequent raids of bands of thieves during the years of the Ottoman Occupation (1450s-1820s).

Using a lever, the monks would raise the bridge, sealing the entry to the monastery, thus making it impossible for the thieves to enter because of the sheer drop in between.

I am feeling so gutted I have been to this beautiful monastery and only managed to see a small part of it because of the bad timing… I was there on Christmas Eve, you see. On that special day, only the spaces on the entry level were open. Access to the upper two floors to see the church, the communal areas and the cells was not allowed.

I only hope to return one day to see all the spaces I missed as they are a rare sight. Being carved inside the rockface, they have the rock as a ceiling!!!

You can go to this image gallery on Mytzoumerka.gr to see photographs of the truly amazing interior. Enjoy!

At the entrance floor, we were welcomed by a local lady and her son who stood there displaying for sale a selection of works of art depicting religious figures. All the artefacts are made by art students and donated to the monastery so that the proceeds from the sales can finance its maintenance. That lady has the key to the monastery and is the one who opens it for the tourists daily, as it hasn’t had any resident monks for many years.

We were allowed to visit just one other small indoor space on that same level to light a candle. It was a cavernous space where an ancient, weathered icon stood on the rocky wall in the semi-darkness. A little further away, red ribbons hanging from side to side served as deterrents to the visitors so they may not venture any further as a vast cave system began there, apparently stretching for many miles below…

In times of war, the locals fled in these caves to hide from hostile armies, and in general, whenever persecuted…

As I stated earlier, the monastery is no longer in operation, and a local woman holds the key to give tours to the tourists at specific times. The monastery is open every day from 8:00 am till sundown. To find out when would be a convenient time for a tour, contact the monastery directly on this number: +30 26590 61186.

Perhaps, one of the best memories I’ve made from this visit that I am bound to treasure always is that amazing rainbow…

Leaving the monastery, we got back on the coach under a drizzle and when we descended to the level of the river, we crossed the small bridge and as we turned the first turn, through the trees, a rainbow came into view through our rain-drenched windows.

As we began to climb an opposite peak, the rainbow was visible fully, in all its magnificence. With the mountain where Kipina Monastery stood as a backdrop, it felt like a glorious goodbye from it, as well as a blessing from above. As I admired the heavenly sign, I felt ever so blessed and grateful, and emitted a silent thank you… hoping, one day, to return.

Go here to see my photos from Kipina Monastery.

 

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Greek Orthodox traditions and beliefs about the dead

The first ‘Psychosavato’ of the year was kept recently in churches all over Greece.

Psychosavato means ‘Soul Saturday’ and there are three in the Greek calendar each year. This is when the Greeks commemorate their dead.

I am sharing something extraordinary today – and I hope it will not chill your blood much 🙂

The Greeks are very serious about the spiritual world, especially when it comes to the deceased. As a result, they have a series of traditions that they dutifully honour. This is so they may ensure the rest of the souls of the departed in their family.

I guess some people don’t like to think about death, let alone to talk about it, but, being Greek, I am not one of them 🙂

Below, you will find information of various practices and customs that honor and aid the departed.

THE OFFERING OF KOLIVA

One of the most common practices is the offering of “koliva” (wheat berry memorial food) at the local church, to ensure the soul remains in peace and suitably “fed”.

The koliva is blessed at the church, where the priest mentions the deceased’s first name.

Many housewives make koliva at home, but I find that the ones that are bought are often tastier. I’ve offered koliva at the church many times, both for my mother and father’s souls, and I’ve always bought them. When you buy them, they come inside a deep bowl or a square tray.

 

In case you’re wondering, one does not simply walk into a supermarket or a bakery to buy koliva. This is something that only specific outlets prepare and are purchased by funeral parlors on behalf of the family of the deceased. The funeral services company will then deliver the koliva at the church in time for the mass, for the blessing to be made.

After the mass, you break up the sugary crust on the top and mix it all up to hand out the koliva in individual paper bags with plastic spoons. In memorial services this is also accompanied by a little sweet bun (tsourekaki).

“Koliva” (pronounced, ko-lee-va) is handed out to people at the church in the memory of a family member that has passed away. Traditionally, families offer koliva around the 9th day of the passing, then again around the 40th day, then once a year around the anniversary of the passing. The 3rd year anniversary is particularly important.

But there are other days in the year when families can offer koliva. One of these days is “Psychosavato” (Soul Saturday) which is not always the same date, seeing that it depends on the dates of Carnival and Easter.

There are 3 “Psychosavata” (Soul Saturdays) in any given year. The first one is in February, the second one is around Easter, and the third one is in June. Between the second and third Psychosavato, the Greeks believe that the souls stay on Earth, free to roam and to visit their loved ones. On the Psychosavato of June, when the koliva are referred to as “golden”, the souls are eager more than ever to hear their names at the church before “the gate closes” – i.e. when they leave the Earth plane to return to Heaven.

Now, about the koliva, one word of warning: If you’re offered some, take it only if you feel like eating it there and then. It doesn’t keep well, unless you put it in the fridge and eat it within 1 day tops. The wheat goes hard quickly out of the fridge, and then, it’s unedible. And please, whatever you do, do not throw it in the trash. Because it is blessed in the church for the dead, this is not recommended.

So, if you are stuck with more than you can eat, take it to your garden or anywhere in nature and throw it on the ground for the birds to have 🙂

When someone offers you koliva, you say “Theos horeston” if the deceased was a man, or “Theos horestin” if it was a woman. This basically means “May God forgive him” (or her). It is nice to spare a thought for the deceased when you eat the koliva, wishing for them to be forgiven for their sins and to be granted peace.

The basic ingredient of koliva is wheat berry (i.e. boiled wheat), which symbolizes the human body. It also contains almonds, walnuts, cinnamon, pomegranate, icing sugar, sugared almonds, raisins, and parsley. Oftentimes, the mix will have extra things like grated coconut or pine kernels.

No matter the mix, it always tastes sweet. For me, it is always a treat to be handed out some koliva, be it at church or at home by a neighbor. When I was a little girl in the 70s, I used to walk to school and back with my sister and we’d walk past a church. Oftentimes, we’d see old ladies dressed in black, standing outside the church and beckoning frantically to us to come over. We always ran eagerly to them as they’d offer us koliva on a napkin. A wonderful treat for us, every time!

If you are looking for a recipe to make koliva yourself, here is one by popular Greek chef, Akis Petretzikis.

THE TWO PAPERS

When you offer koliva at the church, you also hand two pieces of paper to the priest. One is for blessing all the deceased in the family and the other is for the health of those living. Only first names go on there. Surnames are not used.

So, even though you offer koliva for one person, in the papers you can request a blessing for a long list of souls and people. Family, friends, neighbours. Anyone really, that you care to bless. Including any people (or souls) who have no one else to do this for them 🙂

On the piece of paper where you put in the first names of the deceased you must draw a cross at the top.

You do not draw anything on the paper that contains the names of the living – you just write the words ‘YPER YGEIAS’ on top, which means ‘For health’. 

During the Psychosavato (Soul Saturday), the priest mentions the names privately during prayer before the mass begins, when the Holy Communion is being prepared. On the contrary, in the case of a Mnimosino (a memorial service), the names are read during mass before the congregation.

OFFERINGS OF BREAD, OLIVE OIL AND WINE FOR THE HOLY COMMUNION

It is customary to offer the priest a ‘prosforo’ (bread for the Holy Communion) and wine/olive oil as well when you request a ‘mnimosino’, where of course, you offer koliva as well. A ‘mnimosino’ is basically a memorial service that can be part of any Saturday or Sunday mass, where the name of the deceased is mentioned for the peace of their soul.

At the mnimosino, you offer all the above I mentioned earlier, and it is also customary to sit at the front pews before the altar where the koliva trays of various families are laid out on a table. You may choose to put a picture of the deceased by the koliva tray you are offering.

During the mnimosino, if you sit up front before the koliva trays, you will see people you know, and even strangers, approach to leave unburnt candles by the koliva trays. They do this to bless the dead. You use these candles by lighting them and placing them successively on the koliva. Once they burn a little, you put them out and throw them in the provided bin, then carry on with lighting the next ones people have left there, and so on, until they are all used during the service.

EFCHELEO – THE BLESSING AT THE GRAVE

At the cemetary here in my town, every afternoon, priests arrive to bless the dead at their graves upon the request of the relatives.

This blessing is called an ‘efchelaio’ which is a simple and short service for peace for the deceased soul. You do not have to book this in advance; it is requested and done on the spot. If my memory serves me well, the first efchelaio takes place on the 3rd day after the passing, then on the 9th day, and there are more milestones that I do not recall. On some of these milestones, it is necessary to pour koliva on the grave as it is believed that the dead require food to eat.

For the same reason, during Greek funerals, the priest will pour koliva and wine over the casket once it is put in the grave.

TAKE HEED IF THE DECEASED COME IN YOUR DREAMS…

The belief that the soul requires food and drink was solidified in me earlier last year, just before Easter. One night, I saw my father in my dream (he’d died the year before). In the dream, he was in his kitchen, cooking on the stove. All of a sudden, he turned to me and said: “Will you please take some bread and deep it in the sauce you made? I am hungry!” When I woke up, I gulped and felt my blood grow cold. There was something about the way he had said he was hungry. It had so much feeling in it! I had never seen a dream before where the dead would ask for something, and I panicked. I had not offered koliva at all for him since his 40-day post-death mnimosino the previous year and now I was kicking myself.

I had clearly overestimated my father’s blissful condition in Heaven. As churches do not perform mnimosino services during Easter, I had to wait about ten days and did it straight after. Phew! I had no more dreams from my father needing a thing ever since. And I was glad, because if one of your dead relatives needs something, they will surely come to your dreams to tell you about it! Take it from me. I have had more weird and meaningful dreams from dead relatives than I can count with the fingers of my two hands. I take them very seriously.

THE TOUR OF HEAVEN, HELL, AND THE ABYSS

According to Greek Orthodox tradition, the soul of the deceased does not migrate to Heaven at once. First, for a period of 3 days, it is allowed to roam free. During this time, the soul feels utterly blissful as it is suddenly free from the body and thus feeling super-powerful in a world of physical limitations. But then, an angel appears to give the soul a tour of the spiritual realm… I don’t remember the details in terms of timing, but here’s what I know:

First, the angel takes the soul to see Heaven, but the soul cannot interact with those inside it in this instance. It is more like peeking through a thick glass, where you cannot be heard or seen by those inside.

The soul is then shown Hell too, in the same manner, without interaction with those inside it. All they can do is observe. And, on the 9th day, the angel takes the soul to the Abyss, that is the bottomless pit, reserved for the most wicked.

As I write these words, I feel shivers coursing down my spine, because on the 9th day after my mother’s passing something freaky happened in my home.

A DVD fell out of the blue from my DVD shelf when no one was around. No windows were open that would explain a sudden gust of wind. I heard the sound and went to see and I freaked out. The DVD on the floor was the movie “The Abyss”! I believe it was a message from my mother, and it wasn’t the only one…

When my mother died, back in 2020, I slept in a couch in my parents’ house the first ten nights to keep my father company as he was a mess. The first night, I’d wake up every now and then hearing my father sobbing in his bed. In the morning, as I awoke, with my eyes still closed, I felt my mother’s presence. It was as if she were alive, leaning over me, and then I heard a whisper, clear as a bell. ‘Thank you for being here…’ 

I am not jesting. This really happened. So, how can you not believe, right?

I guess all this may sound weird to someone who doesn’t have my understanding. But, I am a Greek devoted Christian, who believes the spiritual world is real, so this ‘weirdness’, if you like, goes with the territory for me. And, believe me, compared to other people I know personally, who have seen visions of angels or saints, my Christian life is more ‘sane’ by comparison 😛 

Anyway, as I mentioned earlier, the soul is totally blissful during the first 3 days, while it is allowed to roam the Earth on its own. Then, an angel appears to give it a tour of Heaven, Hell, and then the Abyss (on the 9th day).

What happens after that is the scariest part.

The angel takes the soul and they begin their ascend to Heaven. But the Heavens in between are treacherous territory as they are guarded by legions of demons ready to snatch the soul away.

If you consider different levels of heavenly realms all the way up to Paradise and imagine them like a ladder with rungs, then at every rung on the way up, the soul and the angel will meet demons that are called “Teloneia” (a word that is identical to the Greek word for ‘customs office’. These are checkpoints of sorts where the soul is judged. Their good and bad deeds are put to the balance, each time, considering a different sin. Some of these sins are: witchcraft, blasphemy, sexual immorality, gluttony, divination, judgement, anger, jealousy, lying etc – basically anything that does not align with the will of God.

Every time the soul is found guilty of a sin the demons will claim the soul, but the angel will then counter the accusations by putting forth the good deeds that this person did in life. Thus, the demons become the accusers and the angel becomes the defense lawyer in this heavenly court situation of sorts. This happens again and again, as the soul ascends with the angel. There are 23 checkpoints in total, all the way to the Paradise Gate.

If, at any time, the soul is found guilty of sin and the angels do not have enough good deeds to counter the accusation, then the demons snatch the soul and take it to Hell.

Those who make it all the way to the top of the ladder get to enter Heaven.

Because of the risk of the soul getting taken to hell by the teloneia from the 9th day onward, the faithful among the Greeks may resort to praying (sometimes, fasting too) during this time. They do it in the hope that their prayers will be heard in Heaven, thus saving their loved one from a sad fate in Hell.

This is the reason why a wake (agrypneia, in Greek) used to take place in the old days, so the collective prayers could help determine the deceased’s fate for a happy outcome.

PRAYERS WITH A KOBOSKINI

The Greek Orthodox use the ‘koboskini’, a bracelet that traditionally has knots on it, to pray for the soul of the deceased. The word literally means ‘rope made of knots’.

The prayer you say is short and simple: ‘Kyrie Iisou Christe, Ie tou Theou, anapafse ton <FIRST NAME>

If it’s a woman, you say ‘tin’ instead of ‘ton’ before you say the first name of the deceased. This is just the Greek article that aligns with the gender of the name.

This simple but very powerful prayer means, ‘Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, rest <FIRST NAME>

Each time you say this prayer, you hold another knot in succession between your thumb and index finger, and you keep going as you repeat the prayer, until you go all around the bracelet. You can do as many rounds as you can endure, the more the better, as it gets you in a higher mental place over time, which makes the prayer, due to your focus, more effective. If you have been fasting, again, you will be more effective spiritually.

It is believed that the souls come as you do this and grab hold of the koboskini, the way someone drowning at sea might grab a lifesaver. And, often times, as you pray, you will get the notion to pray for other souls too – those that find this opportunity while you are in this focused – and thus heightened – state of mind to connect with you spiritually so you might pray for them, too.

 

KEEPING A SHRINE AT HOME

Back in 2023, both my husband and I lost a parent. Andy’s mother passed away and then my father did, one and a half month later.

His father and my mother had already left us too, a few years earlier. So, now, we have a few memorial days to honor at home, if we consider lost grandparents too. I have thus created a permanent shrine in my study where I’ve hung many icons on the wall and put photos of our deceased parents and other family members, too. I light a vigil lamp on Sundays and on special days, and a little vase remains there at all times with fresh flowers from the garden. Occasionally, I also burn incense to clear the house from bad energy. I have shared about this in a different post, by the way. Find out here how to use insense (and sound) to clear the energy in your home.

TRADITIONS FOR THE DAY OF THE PASSING

When my father passed away, a friend was at the house. She had lost her father as a child and is very religious. Immediately, she rattled off a list for things for me to do, since my father had passed away at home. I had no idea, and felt thankful she could guide me! People may think that this sort of thing is just superstition, but I don’t think like that. And, at the end of the day, it doesn’t hurt to follow these ‘superstitions’, just in case. Right?

The things she guided me to do have three uses: They are good for the soul of the deceased, they inform the neighboorhood that someone has passed away, and also protect the other members of the family from any negative energy left in the house.

So, I followed her advice and did all the things she prompted me to do. They all provided comfort at a difficult time, somehow, so I do recommend them:

  • When the body is removed from the house (by the funeral parlor crew), you must take a plate and throw it at the threshold shortly after. The loud crashing noise is said to cause any lingering evil spirits to scatter, which protects the other people living in the home.

  • Only on the first night, all the external lights of the house must be left on.

  • At the gate or on the balcony, tie a black ribbon and leave it there throughout the first 40 days until the first ‘mnimosino’ takes place.

  • Prepare a shrine in the room where your loved one died and put these things on it: a picture of the deceased, an icon (Jesus or the Virgin Mary or a saint you feel close to you), a glass full of water, a vigil lamp (or you can buy a tall votive candle that burns for days), and a morsel of bread. If you like, you can add an angelic figurine or a vase with flowers, whatever you feel conveys a feeling of peace and harmony.

The shrine must be maintained in the room for 40 days.

Refill the water whenever the level goes down in the glass as the soul will be returning to this place from time to time and will be thirsty. Leave the bread there, throughout the 40 days. It will naturally mould, then crumble. Put any remains in the garden. Do not throw in the trash.

Keep the flame burning for as long as possible throughout this time. Every day, you must leave a window open in this room. My friend says the soul will take the form of a white butterfly and come in to drink.

My friend said she actually got to see one of them come in through her window and go drink from the glass she and her mother had left for her dad. She was so comforted by that, and believed this was indeed her dad that had taken this form to come in.

Call me naive, but I believe this too, as I have had white butterflies approach me everywhere, even on the beach, and, more often than not, on the days I was upset and needed comfort the most. And this only started happening after my mother passed away in 2020. As I said, my life can get pretty weird at times 😉

 

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The legend of the Bridge of Arta and a church with a tragic story

The haunting legend of the Bridge of Arta

During my Christmas journey to Epirus, I had the pleasure to visit the Bridge of Arta. Oddly enough, I had seen it dozens of times in my life, but only from afar and for a few seconds at a time, just passing through in the family car, as my father drove us to Corfu. Somehow, we never stopped to see it. I guess we were always too excited and eager to get to Igoumenitsa for the ferry crossing on time, LOL!

So, anyway, the time finally came for me to see the legendary bridge of Arta, and it was absolutely worth the wait.

The site is beautiful with a cafe and a local produce store on the side where our coach left us. Walking along the bridge offers picturesque views as the sound of rushing waters from the river Arachthos reaches the ears.

This magnificent stone bridge was built in the 1600s and typically carries the legend of sacrifice related to various stone bridges all over Epirus.

The folk poem is in old Greek and thus quite lyrical as it rolls out the tongue, but I’ll do my best not to ruin it in the translation to English. Here goes one small excerpt:

 

Forty-five masons and sixty apprentices

Were contstructing a bridge on the river of Arta

All day they built it, and at night it would collapse.

A little bird went and sat on the right of the arch

It didn’t tweet like a bird – it spoke as a human:

“Unless you sacrifice a person, the bridge won’t stay in place.

“Do not sacrifice an orphan, a foreigner or a passer by

“But the lead mason’s beautiful wife.”

 

(If you speak Greek, you can read the original in its entirety here.)

So, according to the legend, the lead mason sacrificed his wife, albeit reluctantly, and with a heavy heart. One of the masons tricked her into going on lower ground at the first arch saying her husband’s ring had fallen down there, and the woman offered to find it.

The workers began to build around her, and her husband layed a stone. Realising what was happening, the woman lamented her misfortune and cursed the bridge to fall, but her husband urged her to take the curse back, since she had a brother that might cross it and die.

Thus, the woman took back her curse and blessed the bridge to be strong like the mountains, so that if her brother crosses it he won’t be harmed.

As I stated earlier, there are legends of this kind all over Epirus, related to its masterful stone bridges, and they serve as a symbolism of the great sacrifice that it may take for a creator to make something magnificent.

And, more often than not, it is something very precious to him that has to be lost.

Even though human sacrifice probably never happened in Greece during construction of any kind, the Greeks, believe it or not, used to sacrifice roosters (or, less commonly, hens or lambs) in earlier times. I believe people still did this largely up until the 60s or so, when traditions were never questioned and were still followed religiously.

The owner of the house would kill a rooster, shedding its blood on the foundations, and leave its body there to ensure the house would stay erect. No kidding!

If you’d like to catch the vibe at the site of the bridge, with the sound of the river Arachthos flowing busily, here is this short video I took from ground level, and this one I took from the bridge. Enjoy!

On the east side of the river Arachthos, by the bridge of Arta, stands, to this day, a large plane tree. It is 350 years old, 10 meters tall, with a circumference of 13.45 meters. The locals call it, “The plane tree of Ali Pasha.”

According to legend, the vicious Otthoman ruler of Ioannina and the whole of Epirus used to sit under the shade of this tree looking with glee at the people he had executed by hanging on its branches.

Sadly, I have no picture of it, as I never ventured on the other side of the river where it would be, and our time there was limited.

But you can see it here.

There’s an old folk song that gives voice to the plane tree, with these words:

“What is it, Plane Tree, and you look so wilted, even though your roots are in the water?”

“Ali Pasha has been here…”

Arta has a tremendous and diverse history that goes back for thousands of years. The ancient town Amvrakia used to stand where Arta is today. Arta has been recorded through the ages by Romans, Venetians, and Otthomans, of course.

The town has many places of interest today, as you would expect, including a large Byzantine fortress that stands on level ground amidst modern houses and traffic.

Arta has many Byzantine churches, too. One of the most beautiful is dedicated to the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary. Its name, Panagia Parigoritissa, means “Virgin Mary, the Comforter.”

Here is a picture of the church, which I regret to say we never got to see on the inside. This wasn’t a programmed stop for our tour, and the place was closed at the time as it was Boxing Day.

We walked around the grounds from the street and saw from afar beautiful greenery and the 16 old monk cells our tour guide had mentioned, saying a monastery used to stand there in the past. You can see the old structure with the cells in line partly in the background.

Our tour guide also informed us of another legendary “sacrifice.” This one pertained to the construction of this church.

The church was built in 1285-1289 AC by Nikiforos I Komnenos Doukas and his wife Anna Palaiologina Katakouzinis.

The high dome is magnificent depicting the Pantrocrator (Christ). The dimensions of His image are huge, but because of the great height an optical illusion makes it seem normal in size.

Legend has it that the lead mason at this church had a very rigid idea about how he wanted to build it. But, as he was very popular, he had to leave the site at some point and go start work on another church. Before leaving, he gave precise instructions to one of the young masons about how he expected him to complete the building in his stead.

But, this mason had other ideas, and he didn’t hesitate to implement them, completing the church the way he wanted it.

When the lead mason returned to inspect the finished work, he was livid. It wasn’t just that the mason had ignored his instructions, but, as it turned out, the church was more beautiful the way this man had made it.

Consumed by both rage and envy, he led the man to the roof on the false pretense that he wanted to point out a weakness in the construction. Urging him to inch closer and inspect a spot near the edge, he pushed him.

The man got hold of the lead mason as he lost his balance, and they both fell to the ground and to their deaths. Legend has it that their bodies were left there and, in time, turned into stone. Today, two reddish boulders lay on the ground on the back of the church…

According to the same legend, after the young mason’s death, the Virgin Mary appeared before his mother to comfort her, and this was why the church was named, “Virgin Mary, the Comforter.”

Here is a short video on Youtube, just 1 minute long, so you can take a look at the grounds of the church and the truly stunning Byzantine architecture on the inside.

During this wonderful excursion, we stayed in a fabulous hotel just out of Arta, called “Byzantino.” It was true to its name with beautiful decorations of Byzantine motifs and luxurious spaces that would truly make an emperor feel right at home! 😀

GO HERE to see my pictures of the hotel, the church and the bridge.

 

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