Syrako, jewel of the Tzoumerka

Nestled in the rugged landscape of the Tzoumerka mountains in northwestern Greece lies the picturesque village of Syrako. With its stone-built houses and cobblestone streets, it offers a unique glimpse into the past, making it a must-visit destination for travelers seeking an authentic Greek mountain experience. This small mountain village is not easy to reach. Although it’s only 50 kilometres from the city of Ioannina, where we are staying this week, the car ride took us one and a half … Read More

The ultimate Greek paradise – the house of Joan and Patrick Leigh Fermor

  The sand-colored stones that were used to build the house, come from the nearby Taygetos Mountains. The Cycladic island of Paros was the supplier of the white marble elements. The rough gray stones on the floor were transported from the Pelion peninsula in the north of Greece. Wooden shutters that protect the windows from heavy storms and burning sun, are painted light blue; the same soft matte color that you often see in the French Provence. The huge, multi-level … Read More

Kastoria. City of bears and Byzantine churches

The road signs along the side of the highway are obvious. The warning signs show a large mother bear with a small one behind her. There are also signs with the text ‘Prosogi perasma arkoudhas’ (‘watch out, bears are walking here’). Now I also finally understand the metal fences that we have seen for miles on both sides of the highway. Bears on the road. In the afternoon, we left the airport of Thessaloniki with a rental car, on our … Read More

Anafiotika, an island without sea

The capital of Greece was still a large village two hundred years ago. When Athens was chosen as the capital by King Otto in the 1930s, it was home to about ten thousand people. After that it went fast. In 1879 more than sixty thousand people lived there, in 1896 more than one hundred thousand and now there are almost four million. Many Athenians come from other parts of Greece. As early as the 19th century, people from all over … Read More

Robert McCabe’s Greece

From 10 June to 16 June 2023, the exhibition ‘Greece: Images of an Enchanting Country’ can be seen in The Atrium in The Hague. The event is organized by the Greek Embassy in The Hague. The exhibition contains the beautiful photographs that the American photographer Robert McCabe (1934) took in Greece from the 1950s.Chicago-born McCabe began taking photographs in 1939, at the age of five. Since then he has traveled the world with his camera. In 1954 he visited Greece … Read More