April in Skiathos, Greece by Vassilia Parissi.
Check below the cut for an unexpected meltdown:
I call this the Mountain Confusion post. Which is this mountain? Skiathos and the Sporades islands have no big mountains.
The closest mountain to Skiathos is Pelion in Magnesia but it doesn’t have that shape.
Another contender is Olympus but it also doesn’t have that shape and it’s pretty far.
I was so desperate I asked my mom too lol, who suggested it could be Kissavos which has that shape but Kissavos... it can’t be Kissavos right? It’s too far...
I originally thought it’s Mount Athos in Chalcidice which kinda has that shape but if that’s the case we’re talking about insane visibility that day.
Another one I thought was Mount Othrys but it also doesn’t fit much.
The last one I thought about is probably the correct one. Mount Dirfi in Euboea island. Seems to have that shape and potentially be visible from Skiathos’ south in a very clear day.
I think it’s Dirfi but I have no idea really...it also looks like Kissavos but Pelion should be blocking the view to it.
Okay I am pretty sure it’s Dirfi now but you have no idea what a meltdown I went through in order to figure out which this mountain is.
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Step into the enchanting world of Mamma Mia (2008) as I reveal the nine scenes with their respective filming locations across Greece.
Get ready to be captivated by the charm and allure of these unforgettable spots, and let them inspire your next adventure:
1. Scene: Sophie and her friends walking through the village, singing "Honey, Honey." Location: Damouchari, Pelion, a small village with picturesque alleys.
2. Scene: Sophie mails the wedding invitations. Location: The Old Port in Skiathos Town, Skiathos.
3. Scene: Sky and Sophie sing "Lay All Your Love on Me" at the pier. Location: Amarantos rocks, Agnontas, Skopelos, featuring the rocky coastline and clear waters.
4. Scene: The musical number "Dancing Queen" and Sophie's bachelorette party. Location: Kastani Beach, Skopelos.
5. Scene: Donna and Sam sing "The Winner Takes It All." Location: The Church of Agios Ioannis Kastri, Skopelos.
6. Scene: Tanya performs "Does Your Mother Know." Location: Glisteri Beach, Skopelos, featuring a beautiful pebble beach and tranquil atmosphere.
7. Scene: Harry sings "Our Last Summer" with Donna and Tanya. Location: Glossa Village, Skopelos, highlighting the traditional architecture and narrow streets.
8. Scene: Bill and Rosie sing "Take a Chance on Me." Location: Agnontas Harbor, Skopelos, showcasing the scenic bay and waterfront.
9. Scene: The wedding ceremony and reception. Location: Church of Agios Ioannis in Kastri, Skopelos. This picturesque church is perched atop a rocky hill and offers stunning views of the surrounding area and the Aegean Sea.
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I know we often talk about all the regions of Greece plus the Islands, but what about Thessaly region? It's so underrated even though it has Olympus, meteora, beautiful places, forests to go. Not only that but wasn't part of king Aiolou in the Odyssey?
This region in my opinion is not talked enough about it's culture and history i am sure even from ancient times it has given a lot to Greek history.
Yay let's give some love to Thessaly! I share your feelings. I like this region a lot. So let's make a post with cool facts about Thessaly.
But before that I would like to comment on why Thessaly appears to be overlooked. I think the reason is that Thessaly is in between two regions that have attracted so much the interest of historians. It is sandwiched between Argos, meaning all of south Greece with Athens and Sparta and all the load of city states, and Macedonia. It gets more or less the same treatment with Epirus. Furthermore, Thessaly's biggest power is also its weakness. Thessaly is what is considered the "breadbasket" of the nation. An essentially provincial agricultural area, vast as nowhere else in Greece, it did not intrigue as much as the other regions with their drama, polities, conquests or artistic and scientific achievements.
Cool facts about Thessaly:
Despite its later obscurity with historians, exactly because of its vast fertile land, Thessaly had some of the earliest advanced settlements in Europe during the Neolithic period, such as Sesklo (6800 BC) and Dimini (4800 BC).
In the Mycenaean Age, Thessaly was known as Aeolia. The dialect spoken was Aeolic Greek. The Homeric epics are written in a mix of Ionic and Aeolic Greek. Aeolic Greek was considered the ideal dialect for poetry and lyricism. Poets and Rhapsodoi would travel to Thessaly to find inspiration.
Thessaly has paramount significance for the Greek mythology. Mount Olympus is located where Thessaly and Macedonia meet, so this is where the Gods lived. Achilles was born and reigned in Thessaly (his kingdom encompassed Phthia and extended beyond the Thessalian borders into Hellas, the westernmost meeting point of Thessaly, Epirus and Central Greece). Centaur Chiron raised many heroes in Mount Pelion, which is the origin place of centaurs. Jason and the Argonauts embarked for their journey from the city of Iolcos (now Volos). And loads more myths are associated with Thessaly.
Thessaly was somewhere between the world of the southern city states and the Kingdom of Macedon. It was usually a kingdom too or dismantled in a few smaller kingdoms ruled by the tagoi, aristocratic warlords. During the early classical period, Thessaly started being influenced by democracy however after observing the rise of Macedon, the Thessalians essentially invited King Philip to incorporate the region into his sphere of influence and Thessaly returned into having one single powerful king.
It is kinda evident that the Thessalians just wanted to live their lives and were absorbed with their own matters, trying to stay away from most drama. That lack of drama earns them their obscurity. Of course there were microdramas between nobility and kingdoms and all that but honestly nothing in comparison to the southern mayhems or the excessive northern ambition. Despite their low profile, Thessalians were wanted in other Greek armies for their cavalry.
During Roman and Byzantine times, the region was constantly targeted by invaders including Slavs, Avars, Huns etc due to its fertile land. This made the Byzantine emperors often remove or transfer away foreign populations from the area and have Greeks from other regions to settle in, to reinforce the Greek element of the region.
Much like in all other eras of its history, Thessaly was somewhere in the middle during the stages of the Greek Independence from the Ottoman Empire. It was incorporated to Greece after Peloponnese and Roumeli (Sterea Hellas) but before Epirus, Macedonia and Thrace.
Thessaly is a diverse land. It has a core of extended farmland dotted with hills and mountains as well as rivers and lakes, surrounded by a ring of big mountain ranges. At its west it expands to the Pindus mountains and their woodlands, at its north lies Mount Olympus and its east finds the Aegean sea and boosts a remarkable coastline. It also has three major islands, generally considered some of the most densely forested in the country and with beaches often featured in Top lists across the world. Sightings of seals and dolphins are common near its coasts.
Due to its geomorphology, the Thessalian plain gets some of the hottest temperatures in the summer and some of the coldest in the winter.
Thessaly is home to the most significant natural wonder of Greece. The rocks of Meteora. Meteora is a group of massive rock formations dating to the Paleogene era when this area was still part of the seabed, before the sea was pushed upwards and away. Meteora have been inhabited by monks ever since the middle Byzantine period. It has 20 Byzantine and post-Byzantine monasteries, out of which six are still in service. Aside from a natural wonder, the region is also a UNESCO world heritage monument.
After the independence, the region prospered due to being the largest farmland in Greece as well as having the third largest port in the country. It is the third most populous region after Sterea Hellas (which has Athens) and the large Macedonia (which has Thessaloniki). As a result, Thessaly is the only region in Greece with two major cities of about the same population, Larissa and Volos, the 5th and 6th largest cities of the country respectively, in close proximity. Larissa boasts an ancient past associated to Achilles and is the metropolis of agricultural and industrial Greece, all while buzzing with nightlife and a lot of student life. The also mythologically rich Volos is the Thessalian port, ensured with prosperity even during the hardship of Ottoman times, and is very notable among Greeks and those few foreigners who know for being surrounded from all sides by beautiful scenery, including very forested mountains, hills, extended shorelines, peninsulas, islands and numerous beautiful villages which combine tradition with a cosmopolitan flair.
The rest of the region is decorated by the rare outstanding mountainous beauty of Trikala, which also encompasses Meteora, and is one of the towns in Greece more focused on improving the quality of life for its citizens, often becoming a point of reference for other places. Karditsa with its traditional feel completes the quartet, offering access to the beautiful Lake Plastira and Agrafa mountains, some of the most unexplored and undisturbed, both naturally and culturally, regions of Greece.
And now some photos from Thessaly under the cut. Enjoy!
Various regions of Larissa
Various regions of Magnesia (Volos)
Various regions in Trikala
Various regions in Karditsa
Various regions from Sporades islands
All photos chosen randomly in Google search just to give you an idea. I do not own any of these.
Hopefully you enjoyed this tribute Anon!
Also, to anyone wondering "wasn't this supposed to be a farmland?", well yeah, it is by Greek standards. The farmland is indeed very big, it's just that if I showed many photos from the plain I would be running short of mountains and coasts. And also, Greeks typically don't take photos of their plains as often so I'd had to make a more strenuous search.
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