Greek Guide

 What's right and what's wrong

Open palm. Don't flash your open hand at anyone, it's a serious insult.                                            If you're annoyed with someone then flash your palm behind their back.   They can't take offence if they don't see it but it'll make you feel better. A sort of 'same to you with knobs on'. 

You'll see lots of blue and white especially in the shape of an eye or a fish. Or someone's front door.  They're protective symbols.  Blue is the colour to repel the evil eye, illness and bad luck. The blue eye sends negative energy back to its source.

Dress respectfully in churches. Women will get away with trousers these days but no shorts for men or women. Stricter in Monasteries, no 'womans in mans dress'. Cover shoulders and knees. 

Cars don't stop at pedestrian crossings

Toilet paper in the bin. The used paper I mean. Don't flush it down the loo

Beware the summer sun

Never touch or remove anything from Archeological sites. You could end up in jail. Take photos unless there's a sign saying otherwise

Don't book a ferry on the same day as your flight home. Ferries are easily delayed.  Get into Athens a day early and stay overnight.  Holiday Inn has a shuttle service, and probably a few other hotels too

Go to a pharmacy for basic first aid and advice. Easier than finding a doctor

Keep to the right when driving. Pass on the left 

Seatbelts in the front seat mandatory. Don't know about the back seat

Don't use your phone while driving, though you're sure to see other drivers doing just that, and without seat belts.

Road rage is a thing here now. Beware. 

Helmets are essential for motorbikes, quad bikes and E-scooters .  You can hire a quad bike with a driver's licence. EU if you're from an EU country, otherwise international

Road signs are in Greek and English

If you pay cash, not by card, you'll probably get a discount. Cards can be used everywhere. At the kiosk for a bottle of water or a loaf of bread at the bakers

ATMs are everywhere. Preferably used one attached to an actual bank

Greeks don't eat dessert after dinner. Now and again you may be offered fruit

Water from the tap is drinkable however many people, like K, drink bottled water. Bottle caps are attached to the bottle, can't be removed and carelessly thrown away

Don't tip unless you really liked the meal or friendly staff. A few euros will do

Beware of slippery marble steps and paths. If there's water on them and you're wearing flip-flops you'll go head over heels

No public loos. Go to a cafe, buy a soft drink and use their loos

89% of Greeks believe their culture is superior to others 

I speak Greek. What's your Superpower 

A Bit Shaky

 Time to start the procedure to get our new ID, one of those newfangled digital cards.    Lucky dear daughter Elli is an accountant. She arranged online payment and filled in online details. Accountants now have a lot of extra work dealing with government red tape.  

I was quite nervous about the whole procedure. You know, Police, Authority.  Ridiculous really.  The young man took my old ID card, we had already paid the 10,50 euros next door at the accountants. He took my fingerprints, digitally, no ink involved, took my photo. There was a slight problem with the English translation of my name. On my old ID I was Linta Chrisi instead of Linda Creasy. He asked me if I wanted to correct it on the new card. We chewed over it for a minute or 2, he told me it would need more paperwork. I decided I hadn't had any problems in the last 45 years so I might as well remain Linta. 

He was very friendly and efficient but I was still a little rattled. He asked me a 'security question'. What was the name of my 2nd child. Got that!  Birth date? I froze. Sorry Danae. 

K was sitting outside and yelled out the answer. Phew. A bit embarrassing but I blamed it on my jitters. 

New IDs will be ready in  a week. I don't like Police Stations. They're like Doctors' offices, stress me out and make my blood pressure rise. I'll have to go and sign for it and then I'll be done with them, buckle my seat belt, give way at pedestrian crossings and be a law abiding citizen. Spit spit spit and turn me all around. 

I felt myself relax as we walked out and negotiated the steep steps, very carefully. I'm OK going up steps, it's the coming down that needs care so I don't come down suddenly in a rush and a heap. 

Elli's office is next door so we went in to see her and laugh at my collywobbles. 

On the wall of her office

This monstrosity 

WHERE IS NEW ZEALAND??? 

The world ends at Australia 

And this curiosity 

They have a huge clay pot in their office, a container for olive oil. It looks as though it would hold 500 litres, maybe more 

The office was once a residence. The olive oil jar is empty

The narrow back street on the way up to the Police Station

Butchers shop on the left

The Police Station

I needed a glass of wine after all that! 

Our favourite café 

Mattie, Me and Jan

Essentially Greek.....

 Greek cooking essentials.....

Essentials

The wooden pestle and mortar belonged to my mother in law 

I think the brass one came from her too

The brass one we still use to pound nuts or spices, nutmeg, cloves, mastiha, mahlepi

The large one is for pounding garlic and potatoes for skorthalia, or was, before the day of the food mixer. 

And

A large bottle of red wine. Agioritiko is  the most popular red grape variety in our area. It has notes of spicy plum, so they say. A good cheap red, I say. 

3 bottles of local olive oil which stay on our bench

One bottle is from last year's harvest, used in cooking

The glass bottle has the fresh oil for salads 

And a spray bottle 

Fresh fish from our Saronic Gulf

A typical size for fish around here

The fishmonger scales and guts them

K fries them

The cat gets the leftovers

The fish are called lithrinia in greek. Red or Grey sea bream says Google translate. 

As usual here they're fried whole. Good eating but so many bones and greasy fingers.  I'd love fillets but they don't often fillet fish here. They'd lose all their taste, they say, without the head and backbone

Lemons from our 2 trees

This photo was taken on a misty Winter's morning

A fresh baked loaf.  It rose slowly all night in the fridge. Bread making this way is convenient and always makes a excellent loaf. 

I mix the flour, water and yeast the night before. I don't Knead it much at all. The bowl is covered and left in the fridge. Early the next morning it has doubled in size. I take out the bowl, leave it an hour to warm up a bit. Punch it down and out it into the baking tin. Leave for half an hour to rise a little and bake. 

This one was for grandson Jamie who was going back to Athens after the Easter break to finish off the year's studies

Thyme and basil

And there's oregano, rosemary, parsley and sage in the garden too

May Day

 1st May

Another holiday. Another celebration. 

A traditional day for the flying of kites and picnics out in the fields amongst the wild flowers and olive trees 

A worker's holiday. Shops and offices closed.  Waiters, cooks and coffee makers though are working overtime.

The island is full. Anyone that can escape Athens by car has fled for 3 days in the countryside.  Boats, trains, trams and the metro will be on strike.  No Hydrofoils will be ferrying holiday makers from the port of Piraeus

The Communist party and Workers Unions hold protests in Athens centre, usually ending in rioting and Molotov cocktails.  

Here we make wreaths and bouquets with wild flowers or what we have in the garden. Or can nick from gardens nearby

I used to make a wreath. They're beyond me now so it's a bouquet to hang on the front gate.  Roses from our anniversary dinner and a burst of colour from the pots in the garden

The island is full once again.  Though the weather is due to change with a drastic drop in temperature, rain and wind.  

More a day for tavernas than picnics

We woke up to a light but steady rain.  Excellent for the new plants in the garden. Dismal for kite flyers

Have a happy May

Samhain blessings for those in the South

Happy Beltane for those in the North.  

May your paths be blessed with abundance, laughter and magic

Saint George

 23rd April

In Greece he is Agios Giorgios

Our main church is dedicated to St George so there will be a church  service on the eve with a parade of his icon through the neighbourhood and on the morning of the fiesta there will be a celebratory service.  George and Georgia are very popular names so the service will be well attended and afterwards there will be coffee and offerings of sweets and cakes

We have 3 family members celebrating 

Grandson George 

Great niece Georgia

Great nephew Djordje

Wishing you all Many more Happy Name Days and joyful celebrations

St George he was for England

And before he killed the dragon

He drank a pint of English ale out

Of an English flagon

 - GK Chesterton

That rather tickled my fancy. 

 I hope in England you celebrate as I image you should, flying the red and white St George's cross, with Morris dancing, a few pints of that English ale, roast beef, fish and chips and many cups of tea with cucumber sandwiches

Never Set Eyes on a........

Can you imagine a male living to the age of 82 and never setting eyes on a female, not even his mother?

Greek Orthodox monk, Mihail Tolotos lived in a monastery on the Mount Athos peninsular.  The peninsular in Northern Greece has 20 monasteries and around 2,000 monks.  In 1060 AD  the monasteries passed a law banning women and female animals.  This rule helps enforce their celibacy (as far as women are concerned).

Mihail was handed over to the monks after his mother died during childbirth.  Born in 1856 he grew up in the monastery, never left, and died in 1938 at the age of 82.  He knew about women only from books and the icons of the Virgin Mary on the walls of the churches. 

He lived his entire life in the seclusion of the monastery and was given a special funeral by the monks who believed him to be the only man who lived without seeing someone of the opposite sex.  

A few women have managed to smuggle themselves in.  In 1953 a greek woman dressed as a man entered and stayed 3 days.  After that the Greek Parliament also passed a law prohibiting women from entering The Holy Mountain, as it is known in Greece.  They are not allowed within 500 metres of the coast. 

The ban also applies to female animals, except cats which keep the rat population down.  So the story goes.

In present times, the monastery is inhabited by around 1,400 to 2,000 monks who live in seclusion from the world and its women. They grow and cook their own food, work on renovating and cleaning the monasteries, and do every other task that needs to be done to keep the place running.

Just like their lives, their clocks are unsynchronized from the world. It's the only community on earth that measures time according to the standards of the Byzantine Empire. Their new day starts at sunset, resulting in a six-hour time difference.

Though Mount Athos is mostly known for probably being the largest place on earth where women are not allowed, it is also on UNESCO's list of world heritage sites.

March on

 

Poppi's March bracelet 

Notice her cute and discreet tattoo

And her very fancy nails 

Another non meat and very traditional dish.  I make it in the winter when cabbage is fresh and cheap

I'd add thinly sliced carrot too. Gives it a bit of colour and lots of dill for flavour

March

 

Red and white Martis (March) bracelets to welcome Spring

A greek tradition. No feasting or fasting involved.

These red and white bracelets protect the wearer from the fierce (?) Spring sunshine.

This tradition began thousands of years ago and is still strong today.

The colours, red and white, celebrated Persephone's return from the Underworld, rebirth and new growth.

It's celebrated in a similar way all over the Balkans.  In the northern hemisphere summer is not far away

My girls and then my grandchildren made these bracelets at school every March 1st twisting red and white thread. They are supposed to wear them till 31st March

  At the end of the month or at the sight of the first swallow the thread is to be tossed in a tree for the swallows of spring to find and weave into their nests. K says the tradition here is to throw it up onto the roof tiles. 

Last year I hung mine on the lemon tree where it remained till the winds of winter. We have lots of swallows but they don't build their nests anywhere close by

A pinch and a punch for the 4th of the month. And no returns 

A traditional recipe for Lent

Happy Meat Eating Day

 Today is another big celebration all over Greece. Everywhere you go there are simple BBQs set up, clouds of heavenly smoke and the aroma of grilling lamb chops, chicken pieces, pork and sausages.  

You'll find small groups gathered round grills outside the petrol station, on the harbourside, in small alley ways, on balconies and in our back courtyard. 

Even the schools set up a bbq and hand out skewers of pork and chicken to the children. It's the middle of carnival now so all the kids will be in masquerade, throwing confetti and streamers and dashing or dancing to the carnival songs

All  that's necessary is good company, a glass of wine, a piece of meat on the end of a skewer and if you're a traditional Greek some music to sing along and do a few dance steps.   K loves to abandon the bbq and kick up his heels with an 'ooopa' and a wave of his oily rag

The boy has it all under control

Last night he made a bowl of tzatziki with enough garlic and vinegar to wrinkle your little cotton socks and put hairs on your chest

It's one of the last meat eating days before Lent.  

Cheers Bigears

We enjoyed a bottle of excellent prosecco, flavoured with lychee.  Something a little different and very pleasant

Now I'm stinking of garlic and sitting in my armchair beside the fire trying to digest the feast of meat with a glass of plain local plonk.  

Traditions 2026

2026

Honestly, as I write that date it seems to me as though it's something out of science fiction. I'm actually living in the year 2026. 

New Year Traditions  

New Years loaf with a coin

The first slice is cut for the Madonna

The second for the house and fields, olive trees, grape vines

Then a slice is cut for everyone in the family from the oldest to the youngest

The slice cut for Grandson George had the lucky coin

Grandson Jamie got the coin in the sweet cake I baked

Dear daughters enjoying yet another New Year's cake

George got the coin in this one too

K got the coin in the cake Elli cut on New Year's Eve

So much cake to eat

As usual we give away as much as possible 

Our lucky bulb, boska, hanging on the front gate

K smashed the pomegranate the next morning 

This is his first throw which only split the fruit 

It took a 2nd throw for the seeds to spread out over the flagstones

I left them there till the next morning and swept them into the garden