When I lived in Kalymnos I once had the pleasure of meeting Paul Hellander, author of the Lonely Planet guides to the Greek islands - and the opportunity to contribute information about sponge diving to the Dodecanese edition. I respected his conscientious and thorough approach to his work and, after years of use of the guides, have almost always found his take on places and recommendations to be spot on.
So when I read Paul's suggestion that the real, timeless Cretan way of life devoid of tourism is to be found in a hill village called Episkopi, I felt drawn to explore. As I walked up the narrow main street, I had the definite feeling of being regarded as 'strangers in these 'ere parts', but more with cautious curiosity than hostility.
There was an electrical shop whose extensive pavement was crammed with white goods, new and old, that cannot possibly be taken inside at night; a tiny butchers where the customers stood around a central chopping block watching the female butcher prepare their meat and a greengrocer where I bought some delicious cherries and strawberries for far less than I would pay in the more touristy areas. Much of the produce was clearly local - and much of it organic.
I would love to have photographed these places and people but it didn't feel right as that would have made me a spectator rather than the participator that I was trying to be, speaking Greek of course and being polite but friendly. But I did grab a shot of the main street and one of the church.
In the bakers shop -again tiny - I actually managed to get involved in a joke with the owner, her father and an elderly lady sitting on a chair inside the shop as, to the embarrassment of the owner, the father insisted on showing me a brown loaf that I had asked about but rejected. I complimented him on his selling skills, everyone laughed and I bought the loaf. It was worth it.
My next stop was Argyropouli, also nestling in the hills, where thousands of years of habitation, from Dorians to Romans to medeival people, have left their mark.
Here I wandered along an ancient stone pavement and came across a beautiful little garden opposite a church dedicated to the Panageia - Virgin Mary, the most holy saint and the modern Greek incarnation of the ancient goddess. Inside her little chapel, all was peace and I felt very blessed.
So when I read Paul's suggestion that the real, timeless Cretan way of life devoid of tourism is to be found in a hill village called Episkopi, I felt drawn to explore. As I walked up the narrow main street, I had the definite feeling of being regarded as 'strangers in these 'ere parts', but more with cautious curiosity than hostility.
There was an electrical shop whose extensive pavement was crammed with white goods, new and old, that cannot possibly be taken inside at night; a tiny butchers where the customers stood around a central chopping block watching the female butcher prepare their meat and a greengrocer where I bought some delicious cherries and strawberries for far less than I would pay in the more touristy areas. Much of the produce was clearly local - and much of it organic.
I would love to have photographed these places and people but it didn't feel right as that would have made me a spectator rather than the participator that I was trying to be, speaking Greek of course and being polite but friendly. But I did grab a shot of the main street and one of the church.
In the bakers shop -again tiny - I actually managed to get involved in a joke with the owner, her father and an elderly lady sitting on a chair inside the shop as, to the embarrassment of the owner, the father insisted on showing me a brown loaf that I had asked about but rejected. I complimented him on his selling skills, everyone laughed and I bought the loaf. It was worth it.
My next stop was Argyropouli, also nestling in the hills, where thousands of years of habitation, from Dorians to Romans to medeival people, have left their mark.
Here I wandered along an ancient stone pavement and came across a beautiful little garden opposite a church dedicated to the Panageia - Virgin Mary, the most holy saint and the modern Greek incarnation of the ancient goddess. Inside her little chapel, all was peace and I felt very blessed.
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