Cleaning the kilims in a fulling mill

Kilim drying after being through a fulling mill for cleaning in the Zagori region, Pindus, Greece

Every year when the weather gets warmer and the rain stops, sort of that is, we take the kilims to the “fulling mill” to get them cleaned and revived. There are a couple in Kalpaki town, only a few kilometres from Central Zagori in…

Old and rusty hinges, knockers, hoops

Old door knob from a door in an old stone house in the Zagori region

A careful walk on the traditional cobble paths of the Zagori villages in Northern Greece will reveal a variety of rusty metal details decorating the weather beaten wooden doors and windows of the old traditional stone houses. These details are interesting to notice as they…

Museums in the region of Zagori

Museums in the region of Zagori

Agapios Tolis Folklore Museum Telephone: +30 26530 71826 On display are entire traditional kitchen sets as well as traditional furniture, tools, clothing and jewellery and traditional costumes of the Zagori region from previous centuries. In total over 40.000 exhibits were collected by the founder…

Oak in Greek Mythology

The oak was the dominant tree of the ancient Greek landscape. In fact the ancient Greek word for oak, 'drys', was also the word for tree. The two main commonly found in the region are the evergreen holm oak and the deciduous Valonian. Both range in size from thick low shrub (forming the basis of the modern-day Meditteranean scrub forests) to large trees. They were valued for their wood and for the autumn-ripening acorns. Tanin was also extracted from the acorn cups of the Valonian oak. This substance was a vital component employed in the tanning of leather hides. In Greek lore, the primitive, pre-agrarian tribes of Arkadia were said to have lived on a stable diet of acorns

Oak, Holm, Valonia… Also: Evergreen oak, prickly-cupped oak and ilex (alternative names for the holm) Greek : Drys { ἡ δρῦς } Species: Quercus Ilex, Quercus Ithaburensis Macrolepis and Quercus Aegilops Description: The oak was the dominant tree of the ancient Greek landscape. In fact the…

The shrine of Dodona in Epirus

The shrine of Dodona was regarded as the oldest Hellenic oracle and is located in Epirus, Greece

Worth mentioning, even though not within the region but close to the two National Parks of Vikos-Aoos and Pindus, in Epirus, Northwestern Greece, lays Dodona (Doric Greek: Δωδώνᾱ, Dōdṓnā, Ionic and Attic Greek: Δωδώνη), which was an oracle devoted to a Mother Goddess identified…

Xmas in Zagori

Christmas and New Year in Zagori, Greece

Some pictures from last year’s Christmas and New Year’s holidays in an old traditional house somewhere in the Zagori region in Epirus, Greece.

Snow covered roofs

Snow covered church in Kato Pedina traditional stone village in the Zagori region in Greece

Snow in these parts of Greece during winter months is quite often but occasionally it may snow a bit more than normal as some pictures below may suggest. Temperatures in the Zagori region of Epirus, at the National Park of Vikos-Aoos, may drop, not…

Traditionally with stones

Beautiful villages with stone houses, paths, bridges

Villages Villages are built around a central square, also called mesochori (village centre) with a large church, a plane tree and a public fountain. Cobbled streets and footpaths interconnect the rest of the village. Each individual neighbourhood has a smaller church. Houses Houses until…

Traditional Easter

Traditional Orthodox Easter in Northern Greece

No matter what your religious background, observing the Orthodox Easter in the Zagori villages is a colourful experience that touches all your senses. An experience that will stay with you for ever. For the Greeks Easter is the most important of all religious holidays…

Frédéric Boissonnas, Epirus

Old door handle on a wooden door in the Zagori district of Epirus, Greece

Images of Greece Frédéric (Fred) Boissonnas (1858-1946) was a Swiss photographer who stemmed from a well-known family of photographers in Geneva and is remembered primarily for his early photos of Greece. He learned the art of photography from his father, Henri-Antoine Boissonnas (1833-1889), and…