Although yesterday's walk had been less than 20 kilometres I found the last half particularly tiring. My heels have developed blisters, making me walk oddly to avoid the pain, and I may have some long days coming up. Consequently I treated myself to a rest day in the village of Spilia.
My hosts Flora and Andreas feed me more than I could eat for breakfast and also gave me food for thought. Andreas said the Greek flags I had been seeing expressed their Greek identity but did not mean they wished for union with Greece. The actions of the then military junta in Greece in assisting the 1974 coup against Archbishop Makarios, the elected president of Cyprus, was a significant reason for distancing themselves from Greece. The area has lots of references to the struggle for independence from Britain in the 1950's. Statues of freedom fighters stand in the village centre and down the road a memorial marks where four of the EOKA fighters accidentally killed themselves with a bomb. There was older history as well. The Monastery of the Panagia Chrysokourdaliotissa in nearby Kourdali dates from the 16th century with remnants of the original wall paintings somewhat damaged by the Ottomans when they occupied Cyprus. A Greek Cypriot lady who spoke English with an Australian accent kindly showed me around.
Andreas showed me around his winery where he makes wine the traditional way in large clay vessels (pithari) that are over 100 years old. He also distills the grape residues to make the local spirit Zivana, which tasted pretty good. After an afternoon lazing around reading a book on Cyprus from a Greek Cypriot viewpoint, I tried the Sama Tavern for a dinner of Souvlaki (obtained after some help from a customer as Spiros speaks no English and was hidden away in the back of the building). I only had one glass of red wine but it seemed pretty strong, as Ì meandered back up to Flora's house.
My hosts Flora and Andreas feed me more than I could eat for breakfast and also gave me food for thought. Andreas said the Greek flags I had been seeing expressed their Greek identity but did not mean they wished for union with Greece. The actions of the then military junta in Greece in assisting the 1974 coup against Archbishop Makarios, the elected president of Cyprus, was a significant reason for distancing themselves from Greece. The area has lots of references to the struggle for independence from Britain in the 1950's. Statues of freedom fighters stand in the village centre and down the road a memorial marks where four of the EOKA fighters accidentally killed themselves with a bomb. There was older history as well. The Monastery of the Panagia Chrysokourdaliotissa in nearby Kourdali dates from the 16th century with remnants of the original wall paintings somewhat damaged by the Ottomans when they occupied Cyprus. A Greek Cypriot lady who spoke English with an Australian accent kindly showed me around.
Andreas showed me around his winery where he makes wine the traditional way in large clay vessels (pithari) that are over 100 years old. He also distills the grape residues to make the local spirit Zivana, which tasted pretty good. After an afternoon lazing around reading a book on Cyprus from a Greek Cypriot viewpoint, I tried the Sama Tavern for a dinner of Souvlaki (obtained after some help from a customer as Spiros speaks no English and was hidden away in the back of the building). I only had one glass of red wine but it seemed pretty strong, as Ì meandered back up to Flora's house.
 |
| Memorial to the EOKA fighters who fought against the British in the 1950's |
 |
| A view of Spilia village photographed from Soto's coffee shop where I enjoyed a morning coffee (as well as meal last night). Sosto opened his shop opposite so I could stock up for the next few nights of camping. |
 |
| Spilia village from a distance, like many Troodos villages built on the mountainside. |
No comments:
Post a Comment