Despite the baking heat we decided to head north to Z’s home area in Thrace to honour the Prophet Ilias’ name day. He lived in the kingdom of Samaria in the 9th century B.C , according to the Book of Kings. Ilias is known to have resisted the rise in the worship of Baal, a popular god among the Israelites, rather than the ‘true’ Canaanite deity.
Of course ,meeting up with family is our main objective which we did round a feast of a table – bread, cheese and wine being the only items of non-home produce. Our cousins, Voula and Giorgos, are incredible hosts, but their daughters contribute now too. Dina tried her hand at a much-loved Turkish dish of hers with aubergines and beef - truly memorable.
And if your favourite fried courgettes are set out right in front of you, then you really are obliged to sample them, right?
Falling on the weekend as it did, the ‘panigyri’
festival attracted many people: locals and those forming part of the diaspora.
Here the queue for entrance extends far beyond the stalls selling doughnuts and
candy floss- the dream of many of the young children attending.
Settled at a pre-booked table, we enjoy a
variety of meats and salads catered for by a local hotel.
Several traditional dance groups joined our celebration – even one from Thessaloniki – resplendent in their costumes. But imagine dancing in them in temperatures just shy of 40oC. Well done, them! It was a joy to see young people almost literally throw themselves into the dance routines - tradition being readily passed on.
When the
bagpipes skirl, the clarinet trills and the number of retsina bottles
increases, then you know it’s time to take to the floor or, in this case, the
school yard.
I managed only half of my favourite baidoushka. The spirits were high but the heat was intolerable.
We left after 2 am, with things still going strong
at 4.30, As the music abated a little after that, a cockerel took over his day-break
shift. Once he’d greeted in the new dawn to his satisfaction, peace reigned for
just a little. Being Sunday, it was time for the priest to summon his flock to
his early service by loudspeaker! Not much
sleep that night, but it was worth it.
Kai tou xronou - may we all meet up again next year!
I’m still a novice at video-taking, but hopefully this will show you part of the traditional dance and music. Fingers crossed.
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