DOCSLIB.ORG

Signifying Self in Plural Cultural Contexts: Subjectivity, Power and Individual Agency in North-Western Greek Macedonia

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Signifying Self in Plural Cultural Contexts: Subjectivity, Power and Individual Agency in North-Western Greek Macedonia 125 Signifying Self in Plural Cultural Contexts: Subjectivity, Power and Individual Agency in North-western Greek Macedonia Ioannis manos Department for balkan studies (florina), University of western macedonia This article [1] discusses processes of identification and in the Monastiriotes category between those that declare categorisation during social situations related to dance in Vlachs from the city of Bitola and those that declare Dopioi the district of Florina, a border region in north-western or Slav-speakers from the same area. [7] Greek Macedonia. More specifically, it draws upon the The disputed category is that of the Dopioi. [8] The term narratives, actions and interpretations of several individu- stems back to political and economic conflicts over land als involved in the practice of dance to examine the ways use in the 1920s, between newly settled refugees and the they construct and experience their identity. The Florina existing inhabitants. During the process of nation build- district acquired its geographical status and political ing, state policy-makers, in their effort to homogenize the importance as a border region of the Greek State in 1913 ‘nation,’ perceived the Dopioi, due to the various Slavic dia- when the territorial boundaries of Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, lects they spoke and the choices of some of them to iden- Albania, Romania and Turkey were fixed. Until that time it tify with the Bulgarians during WW I and II, as “potential was part of the Ottoman Empire. identifiers with the neighbouring states” (Cowan and The coexistence in the area until the early 20th century Brown 2000:11). Suppression of their cultural expressions, of different religious and linguistic communities; [2] the as happened during the Metaxas dictatorship (1936–1940), emergence of nationalist movements in the late 19th cen- transformed their difference into a marginalised and stig- tury and their major impact on geopolitics as well as on matised ‘identity’ based on political and cultural criteria. the ways people perceived personal and collective identi- This process both distinguished them from and opposed ties; [3] the devastating consequences for the region of his- them to the other putative categories of local society, and torical events in the course of the 20th century; the various created a sense of community among those who felt they inward and outward migrations that brought together belonged to the same ‘culture.’ The overwhelming majority culturally diverse populations, in certain cases forcibly, all identify themselves as Greeks and more recently as ‘Dopioi have played their part in creating conditions for disputes Ellines Makedones’ (local Greek Macedonians) in contrast among the local populations and between them and the to those Dopioi who identify themselves as ‘national Mace- Greek State. donians.’ This last category consists of Dopioi who claim Floriniotes tend in their oral and written accounts to to be members of the Macedonian national minority; a distinguish themselves by referring to population cat- separate category which they claim has always existed in egories through designations which suggest ever-existing the region. groups. Dopioi, Pontioi, Vlachs, and Arvanites are the All these terms organise certain political and social most known. Parallel to them, locals use the term prosfiges relations within the local society. Individuals, whole vil- [refugees]. [4] This category usually includes the Pontioi lages and groups of villages are ascribed to these catego- (populations from the Black Sea Coastal region), the ries. Dopioi are supposed to constitute the majority of Thrakiotes (from the European part of Turkey) and the the inhabitants. The appropriation and exploitation of Mikrasiates (from Asia Minor) who settled in the Florina these terms are manifested in the fact that they comprise region in the 1920s. Yet, there are further subdivisions persons and populations with different places of origin, within the Mikrasiates and Pontioi groups with regard to historical and cultural backgrounds to whom certain their place of origin. [5] cultural characteristics are attached. In addition, these cat- As they describe themselves and are described by others egorisations exclude or ignore those that are the offspring in the region, there are two other categories of refugees. of mixed marriages between members of the supposed cat- These are the Vorioipirotes (populations from the city and egories, or between other Greeks who reside in the region the outskirts of Korça, today in central-eastern Albania) but do not come from there. who settled in the region in the second decade of the Dance constitutes a central component of many public 20th century and Monastiriotes [6] (populations from the events, annual and private celebrations in the Florina city and the surrounding villages of Bitola, today in the region and is accorded recognition as an element of the southern part of FYROM). Further differentiations exist national culture and a symbol of national identity. Local The Anthropology of East Europe Review Volume 22 • Number 1 • Spring 2004 126 Ioannis Manos dances were appropriated as signs of regional variation Those identified with the Greek project promoted the within the Greek national culture and used by the Greek Greek state’s version of national culture. Others who felt state, mainly after the 1950s, as a means of stressing com- excluded or oppressed by the Greek national project were monality and consolidating the national identity. Although offered new opportunities for negotiating their position this was not always a conscious and deliberately planned and status within the nation-state. Some of them identified policy it led to the manipulation of culture for nationalistic themselves as Macedonians in the national sense and pur- and political purposes. [9] sued recognition of a distinctive Macedonian identity and Cultural associations and their dance troupes empha- culture. Others were forced to choose between exclusive sised and performed what had been established as ‘Hel- identities and contingent qualities. Still others wanted only lenic’ dances or ‘Hellenic’ features of the local dances. to assert their right to practise their culture apart from any [10] However, the meanings of dances were multiple and national connotations. ambiguous. They were associated with national (Greeks Nevertheless, these interpretations were not completely versus separatists) and regional (Floriniotes versus the pre-determined but contextual and shifting. People could inhabitants of other prefectures) differences, political take advantage of the multiple associations of dancing divisions (right- versus left-wingers), population category and use the ambiguity of symbols related to dance in distinctions (Dopioi versus Pontioi), intra-regional (plains order to justify and defend their or other peoples’ choices versus highland villages, or villages versus town) and and actions. Not all dancers could be exposed to the intra-category (one Dopioi versus another Dopioi village) same degree of criticism. In many cases, peoples’ actions contrasts, as well as pleasurable ties and expression of expressed different viewpoints based on their autobio- solidarity with kin, neighbours, and fellow-villagers of any graphical reminiscences, fortunes of their family, the population category. official view on history and the current economic and With the rise of the Macedonian minority discourse, in socio-political context. Participation in specific dances the 1990s, participation in dancing became politicised in a and dance events could be seen as a public claim to and a new, more manifest way. A political movement, later trans- marker of identity. However at the same time individuals formed into a political party named Rainbow, [11] and who did this might not be expressing a fixed, unitary and private institutions, whose members belonged to the dis- mutually exclusive identity but a ‘statement’ that is con- puted population category of Dopioi claimed to represent tingent, contextually-defined and apparently ‘contradicted’ the ‘Macedonian people,’ a national minority which dif- by identity statements expressed in dance and music in fered from other population categories in the region due another context by the same or other individuals. to its distinctive cultural characteristics. [12] In contesting In this article, I will direct my attention to specific claims of national homogeneity, activists and members of individuals who are related to the practice of dance. My the political movements constructed their own versions of purpose is to give a sense of the more complex identi- national identity. They used the same means, that is, local ties and affiliations of individuals, which may shift over dances, music and costumes, as well as others that did not time. [14] I explore the way individuals understand and originate in the region and were deliberately imported, to position themselves in their social context and the ways create difference as symbols of commonality or distinction. they articulate these positions, as expressed in their stories These actions generated counter-movements which about past experiences and statements on current events promoted the state’s views and led to a period of extremely and political issues. I have opted for coherent accounts intense disputes between social groups in the region. The of five persons [15] in order to display a small sample of organisation of rituals that had a standardised and repetitive the range of opinions and
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Mineralogical and Chemical Properties of FGD Gypsum from Florina, Greece
    Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology J Chem Technol Biotechnol 83:20–26 (2008) Mineralogical and chemical properties of FGD gypsum from Florina, Greece Nikolaos Koukouzas1∗ and Charalampos Vasilatos2 1Centre for Research and Technology Hellas/Institute for Solid Fuels Technology and Applications, Attica Technology Park, P.O. Box 60228, 153 10 Ag. Paraskevi, Athens, Greece 2University of Athens, Department of Geology & Geoenvironment, Section of Economic Geology & Geochemistry, 15724, Panepistimiopolis, Athens, Greece Abstract BACKGROUND: The aim of this work is to define the chemical and mineralogical composition of the fuel gas desulphurization (FGD) gypsum produced from the Meliti thermal power plant in the region of Florina in North West Greece, in order to investigate potential uses in the cement industry. Mineralogical and microprobe analyses were carried out on FGD gypsum samples collected from the Meliti 330 MW lignite-fired power plant. RESULTS: Results show that the main component of the FGD gypsum is pure mineral gypsum (CaSO4·2H2O). The particle size of the gypsum ranges from 5 to 50 µm and the crystals are mainly of rhomboid shape. Microprobe analysis shows that the concentration of CaO and SO3, which are the main components, range from 31.9%–32.5% and from 45.90–46.40%, respectively. CONCLUSION: This FGD gypsum can easily substitute the natural gypsum used in the production of cement. 2007 Society of Chemical Industry Keywords: petrography; SEM; FGD gypsum; X-ray diffraction INTRODUCTION fly ash, for mine reclamation, to fill in openings that In 2001 the European Commission introduced the are left following the completion of mining activities.
    [Show full text]
  • Incised and Impressed Pottery During the Neolithic Period in Western Macedonia
    Incised and impressed pottery during the Neolithic period in Western Macedonia Magdalini Tsigka SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES A thesis submitted for the degree of Master of Arts (MA) in the Classical Archaeology and the Ancient History of Macedonia December 2018 Thessaloniki – Greece 2 Student Name: Magdalini Tsigka SID: 2204150030 Supervisor: Prof. S. M. Valamoti I hereby declare that the work submitted is mine and that where I have made use of another’s work, I have attributed the source(s) according to the Regulations set in the Student’s Handbook. December 2018 Thessaloniki - Greece 3 Preface This study is the completion of the postgraduate course of MA in the Classical Archaeology and the Ancient History of Macedonia at the International University of Thessaloniki. In order for this thesis to be completed, the contribution of some people was important. First of all, I would like to thank Prof. S. M. Valamoti who accepted to supervise my thesis and encouraged me in all its stages. I would also like to thank Dr. A. Dimoula who helped me throughout all the steps for its completion, from finding the subject up to the end of my work. She was always present to direct me and to solve any questions or concerns about the subject. Then I want to thank L. Gkelou, archaeologist of the Ephorate of Florina, for entrusting me material from the excavation of Anargyroi VIIc and made this study possible despite all the adversities. Also, I would like to thank the Director of the Ephorate of Florina, Dr C. Ziota, for the discussion and the information she gave me during my study of the material.
    [Show full text]
  • Youth for Social and Solidarity Economy - (YSEE)
    Youth for Social and Solidarity Economy - (YSEE) Training Course KA1 – Erasmus + project Monday 03 September 2018 (Arrival) – Monday 10 September 2018 (Departure) 6 working days, 7 nights Florina, Greece Dear friends, We are looking forward to meeting you all in Florina! Here you will find some important information for your travel arrangements and your stay in our city. Description of the project Youth for Social and Solidarity Economy is an innovative Erasmus+ project, promoting the good practices in the social and solidarity economy amongst European countries. This project aims at enhancing the mobility of youth workers and youth leaders with previous experience on social economy, future youth leaders, already active or potential social entrepreneurs who are willing to share knowledge, experiences, and good practices on the theme. Participants can further inspire the young people they are working with, to become more active on the field of social economy. Furthermore, the project aims at supporting the participants on developing business models that have the potential to solve social problems and support vulnerable groups of people. Association of Active Youths of Florina (OENEF) NGO's and Associations have major part in raising the awareness about social entrepreneurship. We wanted to gather people (youth workers, your leaders, youngsters with entrepreneurial spirit) to start to work on the topic of social entrepreneurship. We want to match people with same interest and work together on something concrete - international platform where in future will be provided information about the social entrepreneurship. The aim of the project is: to ensure an entrepreneurial approach to solving social and environmental problems in the countries part of the project and to encourage and support the development of a new generation of social entrepreneurs.
    [Show full text]
  • Royal Power, Law and Justice in Ancient Macedonia Joseph Roisman
    Royal Power, Law and Justice in Ancient Macedonia Joseph Roisman In his speech On the Crown Demosthenes often lionizes himself by suggesting that his actions and policy required him to overcome insurmountable obstacles. Thus he contrasts Athens’ weakness around 346 B.C.E. with Macedonia’s strength, and Philip’s II unlimited power with the more constrained and cumbersome decision-making process at home, before asserting that in spite of these difficulties he succeeded in forging later a large Greek coalition to confront Philip in the battle of Chaeronea (Dem.18.234–37). [F]irst, he (Philip) ruled in his own person as full sovereign over subservient people, which is the most important factor of all in waging war . he was flush with money, and he did whatever he wished. He did not announce his intentions in official decrees, did not deliberate in public, was not hauled into the courts by sycophants, was not prosecuted for moving illegal proposals, was not accountable to anyone. In short, he was ruler, commander, in control of everything.1 For his depiction of Philip’s authority Demosthenes looks less to Macedonia than to Athens, because what makes the king powerful in his speech is his freedom from democratic checks. Nevertheless, his observations on the Macedonian royal power is more informative and helpful than Aristotle’s references to it in his Politics, though modern historians tend to privilege the philosopher for what he says or even does not say on the subject. Aristotle’s seldom mentions Macedonian kings, and when he does it is for limited, exemplary purposes, lumping them with other kings who came to power through benefaction and public service, or who were assassinated by men they had insulted.2 Moreover, according to Aristotle, the extreme of tyranny is distinguished from ideal kingship (pambasilea) by the fact that tyranny is a government that is not called to account.
    [Show full text]
  • Government Spending on Regional Public Services in Greece: Spatial Distribution of Their Evolution Before and During the Financial Crisis
    Government spending on regional public services in Greece: Spatial distribution of their evolution before and during the financial crisis. Anastasiou Eugenia1,*, Theodossiou George2, Thanou Eleni3 1 PhD Candidate, Department of Planning and Regional Development, University of Thessaly, Greece 2Associate Professor, Department of Business Administration, TEI of Thessaly 3Lecturer, Graduate Program on Banking, Hellenic Open University *Corresponding author: [email protected], Tel +30 24210 74433 Abstract Greece is still caught in a prolonged recession, which started in 2008. As a result, the economy continues to shrink, which has direct repercussions on the level of private and public consumption as well as on the level government's functions. The present paper attempts to record and depict spatially the evolution of the per capita public spending of the central government on regional services. The specific category of public spending represents a measure of relative welfare as well as a measure of regional development. For the purposes of the research we applied analytical methods such as descriptive statistics and we used specialized mapping analysis programs and geographical information systems (GIS). The evolution over time is observed on the basis of the annual percentage changes of per capita spending. The period of analysis is 2008-2013 and it includes years before the manifestation of the economic crisis as well as the years of the crisis' peak. The thematic maps that were constructed on the basis of the data clearly demonstrate that government spending on the regions was dramatically reduced during the crisis while the period during which the tightening of fiscal policy had a direct impact on the regions stands out.
    [Show full text]
  • SYRTAKI Greek PRONUNCIATION
    SYRTAKI Greek PRONUNCIATION: seer-TAH-kee TRANSLATION: Little dragging dance SOURCE: Dick Oakes learned this dance in the Greek community of Los Angeles. Athan Karras, a prominent Greek dance researcher, also has taught Syrtaki to folk dancers in the United States, as have many other teachers of Greek dance. BACKGROUND: The Syrtaki, or Sirtaki, was the name given to the combination of various Hasapika (or Hassapika) dances, both in style and the variation of tempo, after its popularization in the motion picture Alexis Zorbas (titled Zorba the Greek in America). The Syrtaki is danced mainly in the taverns of Greece with dances such as the Zeybekiko (Zeimbekiko), the Tsiftetelli, and the Karsilamas. It is a combination of either a slow hasapiko and fast hasapiko, or a slow hasapiko, hasaposerviko, and fast hasapiko. It is typical for the musicians to "wake things up" after a slow or heavy (vari or argo) hasapiko with a medium and / or fast Hasapiko. The name "Syrtaki" is a misnomer in that it is derived from the most common Greek dance "Syrtos" and this name is a recent invention. These "butcher dances" spread throughout the Balkans and the Near East and all across the Aegean islands, and entertained a great popularity. The origins of the dance are traced to Byzantium, but the Argo Hasapiko is an evolved idiom by Aegean fisherman and their languid lifestyle. The name "Syrtaki" is now embedded as a dance form (meaning "little Syrtos," though it is totally unlike any Syrto dance), but its international fame has made it a hallmark of Greek dancing.
    [Show full text]
  • Rabiesrabies Eradicationeradication Programprogram 20142014
    GreekGreek RabiesRabies EradicationEradication ProgramProgram 20142014 Directorate General of Sustainable Animal Production & Veterinary Services Animal Health Directorate Department of Zoonoses Brussels 9-10 September 2015 Epidemiological situation 9 May 2014: Detection of the last rabies case in a fox in the Regional Unit of Pella No further cases have been identified RabiesRabies CasesCases 20122012--todaytoday Regional Unit Animal Rabies Cases Kilkis**F 18 FAT & PCR Positive : 48 Pella* F 10 Serres* 1 40 2014 Thessaloniki*F 10 5 Kozani F 2 1 Trikala*F 5 Larisa* 1 * Domestic animal 2 ** Livestock Kastoria* 1 F fox(es) RabiesRabies CasesCases GreeceGreece -- 20142014 http://www.who-rabies-bulletin.org/Queries/Maps.aspx PassivePassive SurveillanceSurveillance datadata 20122012--JuneJune 20152015 Year Number of Samples 2012 237 2013 587 Annual target : 1100 2014 410 2015 (first semester) 138 PassivePassive SurveillanceSurveillance (total)(total) -- 20142014 PassivePassive SurveillanceSurveillance (domestic(domestic-- wildwild--bats)bats) -- 20142014 PassivePassive SurveillanceSurveillance samplessamples collectedcollected perper RegionalRegional UnitUnit (2014)(2014) Passive Surveillance – 2014 340 out of 410 animal samples (nervous tissue samples) belonged to indicatorsindicators ¾clinical signs ¾abnormal behaviour suspect of rabies ¾ found dead ¾ road kills ¾animals involved in human exposure In the remaining animals the cause of sampling was not mentioned or it was mentioned that the animal had been found poisoned Oral Red Foxes Vaccination
    [Show full text]
  • Greek Traditional Dances and Health Effects for Middle-Aged and Elderly People- a Review Approach
    World Journal of Research and Review (WJRR) ISSN:2455-3956, Volume-6, Issue-6, June 2018 Pages 16-21 Greek Traditional Dances and Health Effects for Middle-Aged and Elderly People- A Review Approach Eir. Argiriadou Abstract— Greek traditional dances are an integral part in II. WHY MIDDLE-AGED AND ELDERLY PEOPLE Greek people’s lives, treated as a cultural element. Recently, CHOOSE OR/AND PREFER TO PARTICIPATE IN many middle-aged and elderly people participate in programs GREEK TRADITIONAL DANCES PROGRAMS? of Greek traditional dances due to internal and external motivation, but mainly for health improvement. From the Middle-aged and elderly people participate in programs of literature review it became clear that, indeed, Greek traditional dances incorporate effects and benefits for all the health GTD, because through their participation have the chance to dimensions, that is physical/somatic, psychological, mental and enjoy, as they used to when they were young [1]. social health effects. These beneficial effects on middle-aged and Additionally, dancing has been their basic social activity elderly people’s health may be due to the features of Greek from their adolescence to their aging [2], since Greek traditional dances. These are the music accompaniment, the traditional dancing is an integral part of Greek culture and fact that Greek traditional dances constitute an aerobic exercise their lives, too. Moreover, it is one of the most indicative mode, the rhythmical and repetitive movements, the hemicyclic dance shape, the variety of the performed steps, movements and characteristics of temperament, history and cultural identity dance directions, the absence of competition, the of Greeks because it is connected with the same spontaneous, enjoyment/pleasure that helps the participants to escape from instinctive expression of human mind and body.
    [Show full text]
  • The Efforts Towards and Challenges of Greece's Post-Lignite Era: the Case of Megalopolis
    sustainability Article The Efforts towards and Challenges of Greece’s Post-Lignite Era: The Case of Megalopolis Vangelis Marinakis 1,* , Alexandros Flamos 2 , Giorgos Stamtsis 1, Ioannis Georgizas 3, Yannis Maniatis 4 and Haris Doukas 1 1 School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 15773 Athens, Greece; [email protected] (G.S.); [email protected] (H.D.) 2 Technoeconomics of Energy Systems Laboratory (TEESlab), Department of Industrial Management and Technology, University of Piraeus, 18534 Piraeus, Greece; afl[email protected] 3 Cities Network “Sustainable City”, 16562 Athens, Greece; [email protected] 4 Department of Digital Systems, University of Piraeus, 18534 Piraeus, Greece; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected] Received: 8 November 2020; Accepted: 15 December 2020; Published: 17 December 2020 Abstract: Greece has historically been one of the most lignite-dependent countries in Europe, due to the abundant coal resources in the region of Western Macedonia and the municipality of Megalopolis, Arcadia (region of Peloponnese). However, a key part of the National Energy and Climate Plan is to gradually phase out the use of lignite, which includes the decommissioning of all existing lignite units by 2023, except the Ptolemaida V unit, which will be closed by 2028. This plan makes Greece a frontrunner among countries who intensively use lignite in energy production. In this context, this paper investigates the environmental, economic, and social state of Megalopolis and the related perspectives with regard to the energy transition, through the elaboration of a SWOT analysis, highlighting the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the municipality of Megalopolis and the regional unit of Arcadia.
    [Show full text]
  • Music and Traditions of Thrace (Greece): a Trans-Cultural Teaching Tool 1
    MUSIC AND TRADITIONS OF THRACE (GREECE): A TRANS-CULTURAL TEACHING TOOL 1 Kalliopi Stiga 2 Evangelia Kopsalidou 3 Abstract: The geopolitical location as well as the historical itinerary of Greece into time turned the country into a meeting place of the European, the Northern African and the Middle-Eastern cultures. Fables, beliefs and religious ceremonies, linguistic elements, traditional dances and music of different regions of Hellenic space testify this cultural convergence. One of these regions is Thrace. The aim of this paper is firstly, to deal with the music and the dances of Thrace and to highlight through them both the Balkan and the middle-eastern influence. Secondly, through a listing of music lessons that we have realized over the last years, in schools and universities of modern Thrace, we are going to prove if music is or not a useful communication tool – an international language – for pupils and students in Thrace. Finally, we will study the influence of these different “traditions” on pupils and students’ behavior. Key words: Thrace; music; dances; multi-cultural influence; national identity; trans-cultural teaching Resumo: A localização geopolítica, bem como o itinerário histórico da Grécia através do tempo, transformou o país num lugar de encontro das culturas europeias, norte-africanas e do Médio Oriente. Fábulas, crenças e cerimónias religiosas, elementos linguísticos, danças tradicionais e a música das diferentes regiões do espaço helénico são testemunho desta convergência cultural. Uma destas regiões é a Trácia. O objectivo deste artigo é, em primeiro lugar, tratar da música e das danças da Trácia e destacar através delas as influências tanto dos Balcãs como do Médio Oriente.
    [Show full text]
  • Military Entrepreneurship in the Shadow of the Greek Civil War (1946–1949)
    JPR Men of the Gun and Men of the State: Military Entrepreneurship in the Shadow of the Greek Civil War (1946–1949) Spyros Tsoutsoumpis Abstract: The article explores the intersection between paramilitarism, organized crime, and nation-building during the Greek Civil War. Nation-building has been described in terms of a centralized state extending its writ through a process of modernisation of institutions and monopolisation of violence. Accordingly, the presence and contribution of private actors has been a sign of and a contributive factor to state-weakness. This article demonstrates a more nuanced image wherein nation-building was characterised by pervasive accommodations between, and interlacing of, state and non-state violence. This approach problematises divisions between legal (state-sanctioned) and illegal (private) violence in the making of the modern nation state and sheds new light into the complex way in which the ‘men of the gun’ interacted with the ‘men of the state’ in this process, and how these alliances impacted the nation-building process at the local and national levels. Keywords: Greece, Civil War, Paramilitaries, Organized Crime, Nation-Building Introduction n March 1945, Theodoros Sarantis, the head of the army’s intelligence bureau (A2) in north-western Greece had a clandestine meeting with Zois Padazis, a brigand-chief who operated in this area. Sarantis asked Padazis’s help in ‘cleansing’ the border area from I‘unwanted’ elements: leftists, trade-unionists, and local Muslims. In exchange he promised to provide him with political cover for his illegal activities.1 This relationship that extended well into the 1950s was often contentious.
    [Show full text]
  • An Insight Guide of Prespa Lakes Region Short Description of the Region
    An Insight Guide of Prespa Lakes Region Short description of the region Located in the north-western corner of Greece at 850 metres above sea level and surrounded by mountains, the Prespa Lakes region is a natural park of great significance due to its biodiversity and endemic species. Prespa is a trans boundary park shared between Greece, Albania and FYR Macedonia. It only takes a few moments for the receptive visitor to see that they have arrived at a place with its own unique personality. Prespa is for those who love nature and outdoor activities all year round. This is a place to be appreciated with all the senses, as if it had been designed to draw us in, and remind us that we, too, are a part of nature. Prespa is a place where nature, art and history come together in and around the Mikri and Megali Prespa lakes; there are also villages with hospitable inhabitants, always worth a stop on the way to listen to their stories and the histories of the place. The lucky visitor might share in the activities of local people’s daily life, which are all closely connected to the seasons of the year. These activities have, to a large extent, shaped the life in Prespa. The three main traditional occupations in the region are agriculture, animal husbandry and fishing. There are a lot of paths, guiding you into the heart of nature; perhaps up into the high mountains, or to old abandoned villages, which little by little are being returned once more to nature’s embrace.
    [Show full text]