The official twinning ceremony of the Municipalities of Alimos and Kythera took place on Sunday, November 14th, at the hall of the Holy Church of Panagia Myrtidditissi in Alimos. It was preceded by an Archpriestly Liturgy, with the participation of His Eminence Bishops Simeon of Nea Smyrna and Seraphim of Kythera and Antikythera. The two mayors, Andreas Kondylis and Stratos Harhalakis, referred to the history of the foundation of the settlement of Kytheria and the church of Panagia Myrtidotissa, while they stressed that actions have been initiated for the completion of the Spiritual Centre, the imposing building that has remained for years in concrete.
The president of the Cultural - Recreational Association of the Kythiria Area of Alimos «Myrtidiotissa”, Nikolaos Faceas and Ioannis Vardas, former secretary of the Kythiria Building Cooperative, spoke about the history of the settlement that started from scratch, when there were polluting businesses in the area. They made special reference to the efforts of the priests of the church, Polycarp Kentikelenis and Georgios Tsamis.
“Below Cape Malia, above Crete, in Tsirigo the beautiful Aphrodite was born’ with the lyrics of the traditional Tsirigotiko, the mayor of Alimos, Andreas Kondylis welcomed the twinning of the two municipalities and described the signing of the protocol as a day of celebration, while Stratos Harchalakis spoke about his childhood years, when he used to come to Alimos and the area of Kytheria, to the house of his uncles Nikita and Eleni Filosofofof, who were among the pioneers of the settlement. The two municipalities will cooperate in the fields of culture and tourism.
The relations between Kythera and Alimos have been inextricably linked since 1950 and onwards, where Kytherians are active members of the local society and contribute significantly to the culture and the local economy. The activity of the Kythirians in the Municipality of Alimos is of capital importance for the region and their efforts for the development of the wider area are commendable, culminating in the enclosed Church of Panagia Myrtidiotissa, which bears the name of the patroness and patron saint of the island of Kythira, the Alimos Music High School and the building of the Cultural Centre, which is currently under construction.
The wider area of «Kytheria Alimos» or «Kytheroupoli» has become for decades a unique landmark for all the Kytherians of Attica, who are several thousands. The top annual event, among the many with a Kythirian aspect, which takes place in the Church of Panagia Myrtidiotissa of Alimos is the cake cutting of all the Kythirian associations of Attica (8 in total), which brings together a large number of Kythirians from Attica and Kythera and the annual celebration of Myrtidiotissa on September 24th.
Present at the twinning ceremony were the Deputy Minister of Immigration and Asylum Sofia Voultepsi, MP Christoforos Boutsikakis, the Secretary General of the Ministry of Interior Michael Stavrianoudakis, the deputy regional governor of the South Sector of Athens Dimitra Nanoe, the press spokesman of the Southwest, Tasos Gaitanis, the mayor of Kallithea and vice-president of KEDE Dimitris Karnavos, Thanasis Theocharopoulos D / Director K.O. SYRIZA, the former mayors of Alimos, Vassilis Xenos, Argyris Argyriou and Thanos Orfanos, deputy mayors and councillors.
