Myrina: Back Streets and Main Mall

 Myrina: Back Streets and Main Mall

 

 

 

 

Villages are a collection of houses built for a simple reason. They are often perched on a hill top for the view or settled in a river valley for ease of transport. Most have weathered storms of change, such as plague and flood,wars and famines. Their population will have grown in some eras and shrunk in others.

Myrina: The Agora

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Like a small plant growing in a crack in a pavement each small village most will have rooted deep and even if you think you’ve rooted it out many have enough resilience to grow back again.

 

 

The Greeks particularly enjoy village life and even though they may have moved to live in cities each has their ‘own’ village that they return to for Easter and for summer holidays. I’ve always been entertained watching their affection for the ‘village way’, so perfected that they make sure they enjoy it even when travelling on ferry’s or planes, where they seek out other Greeks and chat and eat and play cards together. 

Myrina: The Back Streets

Romance as well as adventure was involved when my husband and I decided to move to Greece and live in Myrina. As we also live part of every year in another village, in Australia, we noticed that the two villages had some similarities, but also many differences, especially in geography and history and in some of the folks there identifying activities

In the Australian village there is a tourist steam train passing through the hills and forests of the Ranges. It is your obligation to stand at the train crossing when it passes and wave to the tourists. Great fun for all!

In Myrina there are special fetes for Saints Days, and when it is time for the fete for your area gypsies and others set up stalls and that night you will be expected to join a march around the parish led by the priests, and then attend the party that will include a BBQ and dancing in the local square. The service for the saint will occur the next day and will be quite sombre in comparison.