In a simple yet emotionally charged ceremony, a street was named in memory of the Cypriots at the Holy Monastery of Mesolonghi Tassos Isaac and Solomos Solomos, who in August 1996 fell victim to the indiscriminate violence and intolerance of the occupying Turkish forces.
A short while earlier, at the Garden of Heroes, His Eminence Metropolitan Kosmas of Aetolia and Acarnania led a memorial service, in the presence of the Mayor of Mesolonghi, I.P. Kostas Lyros, the Deputy Mayors, the presidents of the municipality’s legal entities, representatives of various organizations, and members of the Mesolonghi Holy City Motorcycle Club and the Isaac – Solomos from Cyprus, who traveled to Messolonghi to honor the Cypriot fighters of the Sieges and the Exodus. The event, which took place as part of the pilgrimage, was organized by the Motorcycle Club of the Holy City of Messolonghi with the support of the Municipality of the Holy City of Messolonghi.
In welcoming the members of the Isaac–Solomos Memorial Initiative, Kostas Lyros stated in his speech that «…We welcome you with feelings of appreciation and hospitality to the Holy City of Messolonghi.
The city that is both an idea and a universal symbol, which has been following its own path through time for nearly 200 years now, teaching virtue and conveying its messages to every corner of the earth. Today, we are honored to have you as its ambassadors.
Please convey his messages along this great, historic journey.
A great deal of blood was shed so that your path might be free and safe from all forms of coercion.
This initiative of yours, beyond any praise for its nature and purpose, carries within it yet another emotional resonance.
It brings our Cypriot brothers to Messolonghi. The Monument to the Cypriot Fighters, which adorns and honors the Garden of Heroes, now enshrines within it not only the memory of the Exodus, but also the modern heroes of our martyred Cyprus, Tassos Isaac and Solomos Solomos.
»And they, too, fell with the same longing for freedom in their eyes. And through their self-sacrifice, they, too, became children of Messolonghi.".
The Mayor of Mesolonghi, I.P., following the unveiling ceremony for the naming, symbolically presented Tassos Isaac’s mother with the flag bearing the municipality’s emblem, expressing his hope that the day would soon come when Cyprus would be united and free.
The visit by the Isaac – Solomos to the Mesolonghi Motorcycle Club took place as part of the “Revolutionary Routes 2021” initiative, organized by and featuring the participation of the Motorcycle Clubs of Mesolonghi, Alexandroupoli, Volos, and Leonidio.
As explained by the Motoleschi Association of the Holy City of Messolonghi, this is a pilgrimage tour through the Black Sea region, the Balkans, Greece, and Cyprus—the places where the Revolution of 1821 was planned, proclaimed, and launched. Within Greece, the motorcycle tour Revolutionary Routes 2021 will end on the 31stη July at the Mesolonghi Diocese.
