Newsletter Issue 14: January 2021

Καλη Χρονια or Happy New year! I am guessing I am not the only one glad to see the back of 2020. I also know most of you will be feeling totally desperate with the announcement of another national lock down. As with my last few newsletters I am staying optimistic for 2021 and we do truly believe that if we can all get through the winter, spring will bring a much sunnier outlook.

Figure 1 Mylopotas Beach Ios view from Ios Palace Hotel July 2020

“O! how shall summer's honey breath hold out, / Against the wrackful siege of battering days?” ― William Shakespeare,

Coming up

The usual mix of our news, old news, a notable Syros islander and the Milos Catacombs!

“And summer isn't a time. It's a place as well. Summer is a moving creature and likes to go south for the winter.” ― Terry Pratchett, Feet of Clay

Figure 2 Ermopolis Syros - 2019

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Our News

As you enter your first week of another lock down Greece has been in the same one since 7th November, so back to the texts to leave the house which you can only do for 5 reasons, no none essential retail or bars/cafes or schools open, however we can still get a take away coffee and sit on the beach (as long as we list it as exercise). There was some easing off of restrictions for Christmas Day but for the next week or so lockdown will be tighter to ensure some children can return to school on the 11th January. The Greek PM has indicated this will finish in February when the vast amount of the venerable have been vaccinated. The first vaccine started being rolled out on the 27th December. Greece is now marked as” green” by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, so fingers crossed this lock down has worked and although the behaviour of some including the Church at Epiphany may prolong it. The lock down did throw up some very strange anomalies including an inadvertent ban on selling heaters, slippers and blankets (you will be pleased to know for my sake this has now been rectified!)

We expect tourism to restart at Easter. Obviously, there are hurdles to get through but with the roll out of vaccines in the UK and in Europe, faster and easier testing and insurance companies now covering tourists for Covid related issues, confidence in the market is returning.

We are giving the option for new holidays in 2021, where we will take a small initial refundable deposit of £50 per adult and £25 per child with the next payment due on the 31st of March so you are making less of a financial commitment and getting the benefit of making sure availability is good. Note for islands with a high rate of tourism from Greece (such as Tinos/Sifnos/Serifos/Kythnos and Syros) accommodation is already being booked up for August, (note this applies to accommodation only holidays with flights bolted on later) Can I also add if you want to plan your holiday but not to commit to anything yet I can do that for you now – we all know the planning can be very time consuming so if it is ready to go it makes all our lives easier!

“. . .Looking forward to things is half the pleasure of them.” ― L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

Gastronomy weeks October 2021 – we are in the process of competing details of these and by the next news letter I hope to have more information, we will also be advertising this in February, the plan for the first course is a Greek bread, pie and pastry course, including some favourites like Baklava, Cheese Pies! These courses are limited to 10 people per course and if you want to register your interest please let me know.

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Old News from the Islands (and Athens!)

In the news – there is no news other than Covid – so I am reverting to old news again! Attempt to Save Ancient Statue from the French fails!

Milos 1820:

The ancient statue of Aphrodite was accidentally discovered by a Greek farmer George Kentrotas in the Tripiti area of Ottoman controlled Milos (more about Tripiti later). Kentrotas sold the statue for an apparently nominal fee to Louis Brest the French Vice- Consul who had heard of the discovery from a French Naval officer Olivier Voutier. Greek historian Dimitris Fotiadis reported that the locals hearing about the sale were furious and tried to stop the statue being loaded on to a French ship, this caused a skirmish and French soldiers on board the ship fired guns at the islanders killing and injuring several of them. The trouble did not end there though, as many islanders on small boats followed the French boat, also getting word to other Greeks in Piraeus about the “theft.”. According to Fotiadis when the vessel arrived at Piraeus there were around 1000 people gathered protesting against the statue’s removal from Greece. The ensuing protest led to both the French crew of the boat and Ottoman soldiers who were there to protect the French again turning their guns on the Greeks with Fotiadis claiming that 200 were killed before the ship finally set sail for France. The Greek historian wrote that the “farmers and fishermen of Milos fought and died to preserve Greece’s cultural heritage and that Figure 3 Venus De Milo – obviously! the events of the Venus de Milo plunder have been shrewdly kept a secret.”

The Venus is one of the most viewed antiquities in the Louvre to this day. There was some consternation in Greece when on his first meeting with Emanual Macron the (then new) Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis asked the French President for the return of a part of the sculptures the Louvre holds, (a Parthenon metope depicting a centaur) but not the Aphrodite. Milos island has an ongoing campaign for the return of the statue.

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Elgin loses “his” marbles!

After departing from the port of Piraeus on the 17th September 1802, en-route to Malta, and then to Great Britain the ship The Mentor, requisitioned by “serial looter” (or conservator of antiquities depending on which side of the fence you sit on), Thomas Bruce 7th Earl of Elgin sank after hitting rocks off the island of Kythira. The ship’s cargo not only contained the Parthenon marbles but also 17 boxes of antiquities all of which ended up on the bottom of the sea. Fortunately for the twelve crew, the ship Anikitos was in the Figure 4 View of the Parthenon from the Zappeion area and all were rescued.

Upon hearing of the disaster Elgin organised a retrieve and salvage mission, which involved the authorities and residents of Kythera along with British diplomatic personnel. The marbles were successfully rescued and eventually found their way to the British museum. Many other ancient artifacts were not rescued and left on the seabed.

Elgin’s right to remove the antiquities he did is still disputed, in 1802 he received a “firman” from the Ottoman government. According to the firman, Lord Elgin’s men would not be obstructed by the authorities in Athens in their “scholarly work”. Additionally, Elgin was allowed to ‘take away any pieces of stone with inscriptions or figures, many would argue that even this did not give him permission to” hack away” pieces of the Parthenon!

In recent years there have been various attempts to rescue antiquities left in the wreck of the Mentor some more successful than others have recovered ancient artifacts. As I have said in the past Mary Beard in her book The Parthenon takes a very balanced approach, around the debate surrounding the return or not of the Marbles. This is also a good book to read before you go to Athens. Visit the New Acropolis Museum in Athens the top floor contains the remaining marbles with plaster copies representing the missing ones

Yet still the gods are just, and crimes are cross’d See here what Elgin won, and what he lost! Another name with his pollutes my shrine: Behold where Diana’s beams disdain to shine! Some retribution still might Pallas claim, When Venus half avenged Minerva’s shame. “The Curse of Minerva”, George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron 1807

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The woman who was told she could not run – but did anyway!

“a female Olympian would be impractical, uninteresting, inaesthetic and incorrect. The Olympic Games should be reserved for men. A woman’s role should above all be to crown the champions”. Baron Pierre de Coubertin

Born in Syros in 1866 Stamata Revithi became the first woman to “unofficially” run an Olympic marathon. Records show that by 1896 when the first Olympic Games of the modern era were being staged in Athens, a 30- year-old Stamata probably widowed was living in poverty in Piraeus with a 17-month- old child. It is reported that whilst on her way to Athens to look for work she got talking to various people who suggested that if she ran the Olympic marathon, she could find fame and fortune. The Marathon was a race that had never been held Figure 5 Sketch of Revithi from the time before, it was the suggestion of Michel Bréal a French man who had been inspired by the legend of the messenger Pheidippides who had run from Marathon to Athens to announce the victory of the Athenians in the Battle of Marathon, (although he did drop dead after he had made the announcement,) She decided that as she had been a good long-distance runner as a child the 40km race held no fears for her.

She arrived in Marathon before the race was due to start and was met by considerable press interest, who were present to witness the start of the race, the media described her

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as tall and skinny with long blonde hair, large eyes and a prematurely wrinkled face (plus ça change!).

Without appearing to be too rude it does appear that she was quite “gobby” although some may use the term audacious! She reputedly told the press;

“I can finish the marathon in 3 hours I have dreamt of wearing a golden robe, my hands filled to the brim with golden almonds. I will not eat the day before the race. Countless are the times I have been forced to survive on an empty stomach, my child in my arms. I am tough”.

She believed she would have no problem beating the men in the event - a key point here is that only men were officially allowed to run under the rules of Baron de Coubertin who had little regard for female athletes.

On the morning of the race Stamata was effectively ruled out when she was refused an official number and the priest refused to bless her. so, around twenty male athletes went on their way without her. The race was won by Spyrídon Loúis who completed it in 2.58.50 minutes entering the Panathenaic Stadium in triumph with Princes George and Constantine joining him for the final lap.

Not to be deterred the following morning Stamata after getting witnesses to certify her starting time of 8.30 set off to run the marathon on her own, she arrived in Athens at 1.30 and was stopped in Parapigmata by Greek military officers who would not let her carry on to the Panathenaic Stadium. She asked the soldiers to sign her handwritten certificate and told reporters that she was going to meet with the General Secretary of the Olympic committee Timoleon Phillimori in order to present her documents in the hope they would recognise her achievement. With regard to how long it took her to run the distance (5 hours) she allegedly said “I could have done it even quicker but I did a bit of shopping on the way”. (no comment!)

It is not known if the meeting ever took place, the press who had been so interested in her story never followed up on what happened to her and she seems to have disappeared in to the sands of time. When I told Brian how oddly her story ended with her fading into obscurity he said “she probably moved to Azoliminios (not so sure am happy with that comment as it is where we live!)

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Films set in Greece Just the two this month but they are classics Can I also add I spent one evening watching possibly the most boring film I have ever seen allegedly set in Greece just for this newsletter – needless to say I will not be adding it (the things Figure 6 "Zorba's Beach" Stavros Beach Chania Area I do for this newsletter!) Ένα; Zorba The Greek (1964) Based on the novel by Nikos Kazantzakis Zorba is a film we have probably all seen at one point – I think for the sheer brilliance of the performances of Anthony Quinn and Alan Bates, and loads of Cretan scenery it is worth a re-watch. The film was shot in black and white in the Chania area.

Δύο; The Guns of Navarone (1961)

I must admit I had never really associated the Guns of Navarone with Greece until it was pointed out to me as I have never been that fond of this type of genre although I watched it with my dad years ago. Anthony Quinn Figure 7 Anthony Quinn Bay - Rhodes again appears in this action film which was mainly shot in Rhodes. Quinn was so enamoured of Rhodes that he brought land there in the area close to Rhodes Town, now named for him.

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Is It Worth Coming off the beach for? The Cyclades have so many ancient sites and some are better than others in terms of being worth visiting, don’t ask me about the time we went to find an ancient “tower” in Paros only to discover after a very bumpy hip killing scooter ride something resembling a pile of bricks! Figure 8 The Ancient Theatre

We all have different priorities on holiday and some of us don’t really want to leave the beach (guess who) but then there is nothing worse than leaving an island and wondering if you missed out on seeing something.

Milos one of those islands where dragging yourself off the beach can be difficult as some of the best require an excursion to get to them; but there are some ancient sites that you have heard of and wonder if they are worth the visit

You will see lots of leaflets in hotels etc. advertising The Christian Catacombs at Tripiti and you may have even heard of them before you arrive as they are very important but it is worth the trek?

Tripiti village lies very close to Plaka and is easy to reach by bus from Adamas . The village itself is very Cycladean with narrow streets, typical cube like houses a few café’s and restaurants and a traditional Orthodox church (Agios Nicholas). There are also windmills standing at the highest point of the village – some restored as holiday accommodation. So, the village itself is worth a visit. The area surrounding Tripiti (meaning full of holes!) is rich in history as it was the main city of Milos during the Hellenistic and Roman periods. The Catacombs are a short walk down hill from the village (note you do then have to walk back uphill – my walking reluctance is showing!) The Catacombs were discovered by the German archaeologist Ludwig Ross in 1843, he dated them to around the first century AD making them among the three oldest Christian necropolises’ along with those of Rome and the Holy Land. A guided tour of the Catacombs takes around 30 minutes and costs 4-euro p (2020 price).

This is just my opinion. the Christian catacombs are more impressive in terms of their meaning than in what you can see. Anyone who is interested in the history of

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early Christianity and imagines how the persecuted Christians had to secretly buried their dead, will understand the meaning of this site, but it is a very brief experience.

To make it really worth it you can you mix a visit to the catacombs with a walk down to the Ancient Theatre of Milos (around 200 meters away) the ancient theatre is very well preserved. It was originally constructed during the Hellenistic era and was reconstructed during the Roman period – what you see today is the Roman phase with seven tiers of seats, stairways and remains of the stage. In “normal” summers the theatre is still used for performances, and the views over Milos bay are stunning.

If you really enjoy walking you can continue down to Klima(around a mile downhill) one of the most photographed and photogenic places in the Cyclades due to the vibrantly painted syrmata (fisherman’s houses which have a boat mooring underneath them) built in to the rocks. Klima was once the ancient port Figure 9 Klima area and apparently the remains of the ancient harbour can be seen in the sea (proviso I could not make them out but maybe you have to be in the sea! There are a couple of tourist shops and restaurants on the sea front in Klima

Practical stuff; The bus in season runs regularly to and from Tripiti and if you are planning to walk you definitely need proper walking shoes (not flip flops like me there apparently is the odd viper!) If you don’t want to do the walk back up from Klinma take a taxi number with you or ask in the restaurant, I can let you know taxi prices if you are interested.

Driving; the streets in Tripiti are very narrow and one way so stay alert and check the map before you go. You can drive down to Klinma which takes around 15 minutes but have patience trying to park in high season.

Also, as you are approaching Milos by ferry Klinma is very visible and if you have a long lens camera you can get some lovely photos.

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Markos Vamvakaris One of my favourite places in Syros is the old Frankish town of Ano-Syros with its winding typical streets (where you can easily get lost) to deter pirates and me obviously; it is so very Cycladean and a contrast to the neo-Classical design of Ermopolis.

Ano Syros is the birth place of the man known in Greece as the father of the rebetiko Markos Vamvakaris (Greek Μάρκος Βαμβακάρης)

Markos was born in Ano- Syros (then the Catholic district) in 1905, wrongly believing he was wanted by Figure 10 The Vamvakakaris memorial the police at the age of 12 he fled Syros for Piraeus. He learned to play the bouzouki and became a virtuoso. There is also an exhibition in a renovated traditional home in the heart of Ano Syros (I used to think that this was his family home but can’t be sure!) where they play his music, there are some personal belongs, manuscripts, clothing etc and a half hour documentary showcasing his life (in Greek!). Very often we just peep in as we walk past! If you are interested in the life of Markus there is a very good autobiography which is available in English (it is on Amazon UK), it is quite expensive so if you would like to borrow our copy while you are here don’t hesitate to ask. Markos Vamvakaris: The Man and the Bouzouki.- Noonie Minogue (Translator)

One of his most well-known songs is called Fragosyriani (Catholic Girl from Syros) you can find it on U-tube is it quite catchy and even I sometimes put it on!

Markus died in Athens in 1972 he was 66 – his nephew owns The Maistrali Hotel in Galissas and for those who have been coming to Syros for many years you could never miss him as he had a very loud distinctive voice!

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And finally!

We really hope during these very tough times these newsletters bring you some sunshine and that things will start looking better in the next couple of months.

I am not quite sure how but I missed the publication of Victoria Hislop’s book One August Night a sequel to The Island which brought into focus the lives of the occupants of Spinalonga, It has had some mixed reviews so I will read both books and let you know what I think but if you have read it already please let me know what you Figure 11 The locked down pets! November think 2020

One New Year tradition here is that the man of the house should smash a pomegranate before he enters the house for the first time in the New Year – Brian neglected to do this last year and look where that got us – so please rest assured he did it this year and I have photographic evidence!

“There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in.” ― Leonard Cohen, Selected Poems, 1956-1968

Thank you for reading or just looking at the pictures and take care of you, even if that is just by eating copious amounts of chocolate (hands up to that one)

Rachel and Brian

January 2021

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Figure 12 Antiparos - view to Paros October 2018

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