Volos Port - Window to the world
"To have a port close to you was like having the whole world close to you", the historian Eric Hobsbawm has written and this, at least in the case of Volos, is completely true. Extroversion, exchange, progress, new products, new techniques and ideas passed through the port gates and spread throughout the city. The agricultural production in the plain of Thessaly, the industrial production initially within the city and later the entry of refugees in 1922, who were employed both in the industries and in the professions of the sea, and the direct connection of the port with the rest of Thessaly and Greece through the railway line they composed a turnover in which the port had a leading role. The port of Volos was even connected to Syria in 1977. The transit line operated until 1985, when it was stopped due to political instability in the Middle East. The deindustrialization that began in the 1970s and the transfer of factory facilities to the industrial area also had its effects on port traffic. Also, for at least 20 years, the railway connection between the port and Volos station has stopped, even though the distance between them does not exceed 300 meters."
"From somewhere here, according to legend, Jason and the Argonauts started their journey to the Black Sea, intending to bring back the golden fleece. Ancient Dimitrias later developed into an important transport center and shipyard, where ships from all over the Mediterranean sailed. In Byzantine and Ottoman times, the port would continue to play an important role, mainly for the export of products from Pelion and the plain of Thessaly. The historical researcher Maria Spanou, who has undertaken on behalf of the Volos Port Authority (OLB) the study of the course of the port over time, has recorded testimonies of European travelers as early as the 16th century. There are references in the archives of Venice and Marseilles, while there is also innumerable information given by consuls and diplomats, and which Mrs. Spanou searched for in the Diplomatic and Historical Archive Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. All these sources show the timeless importance of the location of the port and when a city meant a port and vice versa. We know that in the 19th century Volos was connected to many cities abroad, from Constantinople and Smyrna to Marseille and Trieste”
Text by: Lina kapetaniou
For Topoi magazine - Taxidia Kathimerini
TAVERNA for Gastronomos Magazine
In this photo story about Taverna for Gastronomos magazine, I shared my angle of view and my respect to all these people who in daily basis keep alive the living history of the greek culture. In all these little spaces, mostly away from the crowd,
humanity and real contact have the first role. The philoxeny and the devotion of the owners, make these spaces ataxic and creates a space in where different people could connect, share their personalities and create culture.
"We enter the 42 oldest haunts of Athens and the countryside of Attica and talk to the people who for decades have held the reins of famous family shops that have written their own history in Athenian gastronomy.
From “Athinaikon” and “Lelouda” to “Oikonomou” and “Diporto”, the historical Athenian taverns that from being haunts of the popular strata became a favorite culinary destination of all social classes.
We select and collect the famous recipes from the most famous taverns of Athens and the surrounding area and present them in detail, with their secrets and the selected ingredients that established them: the fried meatballs of “Katsogiannos”, the yuvetsi of “Kitsoula”, the kakavia of ” Pezoula”, the rooster with thick macaroni of “Rhamnouda”, the bekri meze of “Vardi”. 40 iconic recipes immortal and timeless over the decades.
We learn the history of the tavern, from ancient Athens to the present day and gather in a glossary the old and new terms associated with the tavern and its culture.
We met people of letters and art in historic taverns and let them explain to us through their own experiences and reflections the meaning and essence of the tavern. Pantelis Voulgaris, “Deipnosophist” Christos Zouraris and Christos Chomenidis discuss and reflect on famous dishes of the Greek tavern and George Pittas gives his valuable advice to young tavern owners, through experience as well as his long-term study of history of the tavern.
How much did the Athenian tavern influence literature and music? Papadiamantis, Polemis, Karyotakis, Tsirkas were inspired by the popular atmosphere of the tavern and transferred it to their works, while theories and existential anxieties unfolded on its tables from the companies of Seferis, Papagiorgis, Papanoutsou. But the tavern also left its indelible mark in the popular song that praised it and captured its atmosphere like no other genre.
The tavern in art: Painters and photographers from Hatzikyriakos-Ghikas and Topazis to Manousakis, Craxton and Zavicianos each captured with their art and their eyes the warmth of the tavern and transferred it entirely to their canvas and film . Along with them is the self-taught popular painter Giorgos Savvakis, who with his blinding colors decorated over 40 taverns in Plaka with his murals, vividly capturing their aesthetics and patrons".
Papagiannakos Domaine
A photo story of the wine production in Vasilis Papagiannakos Domaine. For Gastronomos Magazine
