Kythira or Tsirigo: The island of love (Part C)

Nice Helen and Sempreviwa
«Do you see this flower?;
Your hair is that golden color,
your body looks like his stem
and your skin is as soft as its petals.
Your beauty will be preserved like this forever»

Which is what happened ...

Legend has it that when the Paris stole the nice Helen, on their way to Troy they stopped at Kythera to hide from the angry Spartans and make libations in honour of the goddess Aphrodite who protected them. There they spent a few days and consummated their love affair.

But Beautiful Helen - who was also a bit vain - was jealous of Goddess Aphrodite and asked Paris who was the most beautiful. Paris, wanting to reassure his beloved, but also not to displease the patron Goddess, diplomatically said the above words to her, showing her a yellow flower.

This flower was the amaranth elixir, also known as the sempreviwa. And so Helen of Sparta became known as the Beauty of Ages. Her beauty and fame entered the realm of immortality.

The island is famous for its sembreviwa

The sempreviva grows on steep cliffs and steep slopes of Kythera and on the rocky islet of «Chytra», which makes it extremely difficult to collect.The Venetians gave this name to the small yellow flower that retains its colour and symbolises eternal love. Because in Italian siempre viva means «lives forever».

It is a flower that can maintain its color without water and without wilting!

Just like the longing for the island. The one that made almost all my friends - and my children's friends - bonded. Part of my memories of yesterday and tomorrow.

The friends-lovers of Kythera

There are many different people who are «stuck» with the island (I'm not the only one who has it). I would like to introduce you to some of my very own...

Η Mary started coming with me when we were students 40+ years ago ( oh my god!!!! How the years go by) . And of course she got stuck...

And then she got stuck with her husband. Thanos and their daughter Nefeli, bridesmaid at my wedding on the island 10 years ago and a student now.

With the Barbara- friend and «soulmate» from our first job; we had been coming to the island since our children were babies and playing with buckets in Agia Pelagia. And we pay homage every year to seas. lakes and ruins, with a perpetual girlish spirit.

My best men, the Marina with Peter they were bringing my godchildren's Philip bobber on the island, back when he proudly called his godfather «redneck» instead of «rock». In a while the Our teenager will come alone to see the godmother and godfather on the island of their hearts.

• Η Demi the Thessaloniki friend from work during the years of Boutaris comes 25 years on the island and last year she bought a house in Agia Anastasia.
• ΗVoula with the John have restored their lovely house in Kastro, which her parents bought 50 years ago when they fell in love with the island.
• Η Debbie who used to come and before she met me she remembered the other day that her son, who now lives in England, learned to ride a bicycle in the square of the Country where she used to come before she met me.
• The well-travelled Betty with Elijah come and go in recent years between their excursions around the world, and recently the well-travelled Giovanna
• Like my neighbors, the Nikos and Sofia who from last year also help in the olive picking (together with Mary and Thanos). .
• The friends and best men Georgia and Nick are often unfaithful to their Crete
• The people of Thessaloniki Theo and Joy who came this year for the first time and we had incredible chemistry are already preparing for next year.
• Last-but-not-least, oDimitris and Sapphire, more well-travelled than all of us, but also more Kytherian than me - after 25 years of holidays on the island - they know every corner of the island and they teach us new things. And they bring their friends, like Nassos and Nancy, Eleana, Niki, Harry and a lot of other people who got stuck too. And we all become one big group with engagement-like dinners. Just one of the permanent company of the lovers of Kythera ...

But it's not just Greeks who get stuck with the island. People I know from my work, or from the house swaps I've been doing over the last few years come and come again.

• Elsie from America comes for retreats and research on the connection between Venus and «Black Madonna». From her I learned that the idea of a great female aniconic deity seems to exist in the worship of Aphrodite. And it is carried over to the Virgin Mary of Myrtidiotissa, who is considered the patron saint of the island and who has no visible face. And she is “Myrtidiotissa”, from Aphrodite's sacred plant, Myrtle!
• Η Laura with Juan artists from Spain find the island like an earthly paradise and learn Greek intensively to communicate more comfortably, since they will come every year
• Η Marie Christine from France after the fourth time on the island is now looking for a home. .
• Η Anna Mary and Aurelio from Italy who came for the first time this year fell in love with the hospitality, the sea, the music and the food!!!

What memories to recall from all of them and with our inner children in action;

Girl rehearsals in dresses, hats and sandals at Mari in Sochora or Karin in Mylopotamos? Towers in the sand and games with pink flamingos: Stolen figs, pears and grapes from the fields by the roadside?;

Tibbousia in taverns and terraces, dancing in the squares and climbing on church roofs waiting for the sunset?;

Or the walk to the Virgin Mary of Myrtidotissa that I have been doing for the last 20 years with friends of the heart.

Love affairs, divorces, deaths, births, birthdays, we spent it all on the island. And I even had a wedding at 50 with my childhood friend and love of my life, which we celebrated with a party in magical Lagada. A party that will be repeated next year( bless you) for our 10 year anniversary.

Kythera and culture

The island has managed to preserve its humanity.

The birthplace of the most beautiful Goddess is a place where you can truly meet your inner child... and relax...

Crucible of Mediterranean cultures and a refuge for travellers and ascetics, corsairs and exiles, Kythera was adored by visitors and conquerors alike.

The Kytherian culture with roots in the Neolithic era is a unique complex of influences, which has magically created an authentic character. A character that can be seen in the way of life of the inhabitants, in their gastronomy, their worship habits and their simple buildings. With the long stone arches, a style that was probably borrowed from the Saracens who used to prey on the island in the past, and the characteristic ashovated porolith ("pori" as the Tsirigotes call it) that surrounds and accentuates almost all the doors and windows.

The goddess Aphrodite blessed the island in many ways.But life was not always easy for its inhabitants.

Its relatively isolated position from the rest of the Ionian Islands as well as the aristocratic and poplar regime that prevailed for many years did not help the balanced development. The aristocrats lived in isolation from their counterparts on the other islands and were not so interested in art and culture, while the poplar peasants were so poor that their anxiety to secure a living in our poor country left them no room for broader intellectual pursuits. Besides, most of them were forced to emigrate in order to survive. And many villages withered away or became deserted.

Like Mavrogiorgianika, my mother-in-law's wonderful village that was ruined and became a pile of melancholy ruins that we see with sadness opposite my husband's house in Karavas.

And we all have lots of cousins - mostly in Australia - that we see in the summers.

And an original musical event told in July with great sensitivity the stories - testimonies of migrants from Kythera to Australia. Stories inspired by the book by Professor Koula Kasimatis. It was an initiative of KIPA (Kythira Foundation for Culture and Development) and the OPER(O) group of Erifyllis Giannakopoulos who was the artistic curator.

A farewell ceremony and a great dirge for the homeland that 10,000 Kytherians left behind over 4 generations.

One of them was my uncle Panagiotis, my mother's brother, who left the island at the age of 17 to return 50 years later. How much I was moved by feeling through similar testimonies what he may have experienced...

But with the outburst of B. The outbreak of World War II, the civil war and the dictatorship brought an influx of intellectuals and artists to the island of the persecuted.

They helped, among other things, the musical tradition of the island, small in extent but rich in quality. Kythera did not accept the cultural influences of western culture as it was in Corfu or Zakynthos. Instead, due to the location of the island, the northern part of the island received musical influences from the Peloponnese and the southern part from Crete. Influences that are evident in the melody but also in the steps of the Cypriot songs and dances that you can enjoy at festivals and fairs.

The musical tradition is expressed today in the best way by the famous Philharmonic of Potamos, a bright beacon of musical culture and a jewel for the island.

Often the members of the Philharmonic join musicians from other countries who come to the island for holidays and we live magical musical evenings on terraces under the stars or in cafes. With Irish violinists and flutists and American saxophonists, as recently at the conductor's house in Agia Pelagia.

The people of Kythera are the best ambassadors of

If you end up on the island, I suggest you use your holidays to get to know its people. Known for their cheerfulness and generosity, the locals will draw you into song and dance. And they will open their hands, homes and hearts to you to feel their warm hospitality. They are the true soul of Kythera, and will make you return to the island, again and again.

I had an unprecedented experience this year on a trip with my Italian friends.

After we were halfway around the island that night I realized that I had lost a small wallet with quite a bit of money - but no ID or cards - and I didn't think I would find it. Let alone the Italians who thought it was unlikely. But that same evening I saw a message in a Kytherian fb group from a young man I didn't know, the Parry Kimioni, who had found it a little further out than the Mill of Mary in the Summerhouse, where he worked. The best expression of the pure soul of the locals and especially of the young generation that brings us face to face with foreigners.

Most Kytherians work hard all winter raising goats, rabbits, chickens and roosters, picking olives, collecting salt and herbs, jarring jams, spoon sweets and pickles.

And if you visit them in their homes, they will kiss you with delicious dry cakes, honeyed cetaceans and rosettes, as well as the local mandarin or fig spoon dessert known as «the breast of Aphrodite». They will feed you pumpkin stuffed pumpkin, give you nuts, almonds, janeras and figs, and refresh you with their aromatic faturade.

Products of Kythera that you should not miss

«It cannot be planted in a garden, not in an orchard,
and the king tastes it and the whole world has it.‘

What is it?;

ALATI

This is an enigma that used to be called in Tsirigotiki and the answer is salt, which used to be called «white gold» and is one of the «cryptocurrencies» of Kythera. It is collected by the alatzas (or Alaskans) in the salt flats, the natural troughs carved into the steep cliffs of the island.

This salt, rich in potassium and iodine, is sought after by gourmets and chefs all over the world, where it was made famous by Kostas Spiliadis, the owner of “Milos Restaurants” who is one of the «lovers» of the island.

Collecting it is not easy at all. There is a saying in Kythera: “if you want to curse someone, send him to work as a stoker or chimney sweeper (in the lime kilns)”.

The alatzades of Kythera do hard work. For centuries now, they have been half-closing their eyes against the sun, listening to the winds and gazing at the sea, trying to guess their intentions. They need the dry north winds to have any luck, because the humid south winds and western winds don't take the salt. Finally, in May, they thoroughly clean the troughs of seaweed and stones, «water» them with sea water and let the salt dry for about 15 days in the sun. And they patiently harvest it by hand from June to September in a completely natural way, as they did centuries ago.

It's hard work because rock is a difficult thing. It cuts and burns as the temperature can go from 35 to 50 degrees in a day!!!!

If you find the white foam, which is called «fluffy» or saltwater blossom, to take him. You will find it at the River Bazaar and in selected places. Put it on the local irregular tomatoes along with capers or pickled caper leaves, small crunchy green olives, olive oil and local red onion that you will find in the bazaar and you will remember me.Because you will understand what a peasant salad means.

MELI

The island at first sight, as seen from the sea, seems rough and arid with steep and inaccessible coasts. But as you walk through and explore it you will see gorges and ravines running through it like hidden veins. This labyrinthine network of small and larger streams, combined with underground springs, feeds and promotes the rich biodiversity of Kythera, with over 800 species of plants (5 of which are locally endemic).

Botanists consider Kythera as one of the places with the richest flora in the Mediterranean basin, which is largely attributed to the fact that the island is a stopover for hundreds of thousands of migratory birds in spring and autumn. Birds carrying seeds from other places with plants that slowly became native.

This wide biodiversity (including dozens of thyme varieties that bloom in May and June in all shades of purple and pink) combined with the summer sun is what helps to produce a unique thyme honey. For those with a sweet tooth...

To say that it is the best honey would not be correct as there are so many types and each has its own characteristics. But it is one of the top honeys in the world. It is richer in aromatic substances and has less moisture, which means it is denser and tastier compared to those produced in other places. My husband and I buy over 100 kilos every year for us and our friends and there's nothing left over...

SWEETS AND DESSERTS

Every time I come to the island I take 2-3 kilos of the wonderful local sweets, most of them honey and almond based and many herbs. .

My favourites are.

• Dryer sheets, lacey diples, thin like Cretan ones with thin crispy dough, thyme honey, sesame and cinnamon.
• Mill paste, the most traditional dessert with almond wormwood and vanilla «underwater» icing»
• Rosettes, made from honey, almonds, almond, semolina, sugar, cinnamon and cloves that can be kept for many months without losing a trace of their taste.
• Pastiche, a dessert with «noble» origins, which requires the best ingredients: plenty of vanilla, fresh butter and quince jam.
• Faturada, the tasty island's tasty drink made of tsipouro and cinnamon cloves and with the aroma of fruits such as tangerine, orange, apricot

Walks and Sightseeing on the island

Kythera is an island that one must explore in order to «discover» and love it. Only this island will open his soul and «initiate» him into its essence...

The island is not only beautiful beaches and special villages with natural beauties. It has many other interesting things for anyone with time and inclination.

The cultural heritage of Kythera is rich. The Historical Archive of Kythera, located in the Castle of Chora, is the second most important after Corfu, since it keeps records from the 16th century.

I have chosen some places as keys to discover the various, slightly more unique aspects of the island.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM

It is worth visiting the Archaeological Museum at the entrance of the Chora with exhibits from 9.000 BC to 3^Ο century AD. From Neolithic stone tools to bronze figurines and jewellery. The museum is accessible to the visually impaired and mobility impaired and has an emphasis on multimedia. There you will also see a wonderful 10 minute story about the famous Lion of Kythera who went «through fire and iron» until he returned to his beloved island will fascinate you. See more here

CAVE OF SAINT SOPHIA

The cave of Agia Sophia, near Milopotamos, has a very rich history. A pottery was found that testifies that the island was inhabited since 6000 BC. You will definitely be impressed by the stalagmites, stalactites and more. The entrance to the cave has been converted into a church, which you will see is literally built into the rock. If you're wondering about the name, know that there are images of Agia Sophia, whose body (according to legend) was found here. Η cave church is of the 13th century AD. The frescoes are very well preserved, due to the exceptional conditions (constant temperature and humidity).

But if you go a little deeper you can see some unexpectedly beautiful «halls». In one of them there is a small lake, still called today «bath of Aphrodite». And this name does not change, no matter how many names the Christians have tried to give to the cave, building on the ancient sanctuaries, and renaming them, thinking that the ancient cell will be fooled, erased, forgotten... Inside this cave pool you will see hundreds of coins thrown by some, who obviously expected the blessing of the Goddess for a better luck in love...

CHURCHES

The the countless churches of Kythera, scattered in every corner of the island, adorn the island's landscape like, as the Tsirigotes say, “sunny stones spread out for all seasons”. Monasteries, cave churches and chapels, many on the ruins of ancient temples perched on the rocks, bear witness to the long religious tradition of Kythera. Most of the chapels you will encounter on your explorations somewhere along the way.

But you should not miss a visit to the largest monastery in Kythera. With a history dating back to the 13th century AD. The Monastery of Panagia Myrtidiotissa, is considered the patroness of the island and the spiritual heart of Kythera. The legend says that the image of the Virgin Mary appeared in the myrtle trees (sacred plant and of Aphrodite, as I mentioned before) to a shepherd who was leading his flock to the water. He took the powder-smoked miraculous icon with him, but the next day the icon suddenly reappeared under the myrtle where he found it, where the church was eventually built.

From there it is worth walking for 20 minutes until you meet the chapel of St. Nicholas of Krasa, with the unique sea view and wonderfully «intoxicating» sunset. According to tradition, in 1619 a boat captained by Nikolaos Kasimatis, loaded with wines, fell into a sea turbulence and begged his patron saint to save him. He found a sheltered place to moor his boat and to fulfill his vow he built the chapel at that spot with wine from his cargo and mud instead of water and for this reason it was named “St. Nicholas Krasas”.

Another favorite place above the Capsule, the Saint John on the cliff is a chapel built on the rock, which seems to hover 100 meters above the sea. The Evangelist John is said to have begun writing the Apocalypse here before going to Patmos. Don't miss it because the view from up there will reward you.

SANDING ON THE THIGHS

In Mitata since 1880 there is the traditional the olive oil mill of «Fava» run by his great-granddaughter and now a folklore museum, where you can learn all about the traditional cold extraction of olive oil. But also about the daily life of the rural family of the past centuries. There you will see how important olive oil was (and still is) for the life and development of our island (and not only).

TRADITIONAL OVENS

Ο Oven of the Koronaeus Family in Karavas made in the family's old lyotrivi is one of the island's musts. The olive oil sausages in many versions (plain, with carob, olive, paprika, herbs) are the ultimate local speciality. Along with dozens of fragrant dumplings. The ones with orange and honey and almond along with the lemon roses are among my favourites.

You can even have a coffee in the oven before exploring the north of the island. And if you're lucky and there's the Paul, the son of the owner and the main ambassador of the island, may tell you secrets and stories that you have not even imagined...

Ο Furnace on the River but also makes excellent olive oil sausage and Saloniki pretzel, while the Furnace in Karvounades also makes dry-cured pasta and many amazing varieties of bread.

CERAMICS LABORATORY

A local tradition is pottery, which you can learn all about at Roussou Ceramics Laboratory (a family business that has been operating for a century and manufactures wonderful decorative and household items in Kato Livadi.) You can also find them in the workshop's shop in Chora.

MONOPATHY

Perhaps the best way to discover Kythera is by walking.

Next to the sea, among gorges, lakes and waterfalls or in the middle of traditional settlements, enjoy the experience of the paths of Kythera. Paths from the Minoan period that run through the whole island and have recently been cleared, marked and exploited by a strategic cooperation of many institutions. .

11 thematic routes with a total length of 100 km, including a ferrata type climbing trail. Those who are not on the island beyond the summer months can take part in the “Winter Sunday Walks” organised free of charge by the legendary Frank of Pyrgos House, which are eagerly awaited all over the island.

See more... https://destinationkythira.gr/el/pezoporia2

It seems that Kythera has emerged many times from the sea, like its Goddess, and it is not rare, even in the hinterland of the island, to walk on countless fossilized shells from the Bronze Age, protohellenic and protominoan that are found under their soil.

Somewhere here the trilogy ends with the tribute to Kythera. Kythera that you don't choose, they choose you.

And when one day you discover them, I am sure you will love them as much as I do, because you will become Tsirigotes by induction ...

And you will sing with us at the festivals...

«... At the tip of Cape Malia above Crete

In Chirigo the beautiful Aphrodite was born. .

Chirigo beautiful island I don't want your harm,

for I tread on your soil and drink your water...»

P.S. I would again like to thank everyone from whom I borrowed photos for the tribute that capture the soul of the Island. Kostas, Demi, Anna, Niko, Roula, Mary, Marina, Dimitri, Adamantia and Isabelle Thank you. And if I've forgotten anyone, forgive me.