It’s Saturday and so here are the rest of my photos from last Saturday. I should be back on Monday but more likely it will be Tuesday. Have a good weekend and I hope you’ve enjoyed the week of images from Kokimides, a small monastery high up on Symi which is well worth a visit, if you have transport or strong legs. Have a good weekend.
There is a lot happening (for us) today as Neil and I are signing a civil partnership agreement with the notary this evening and then having a party, including a party for Neil’s 50th birthday today. I am sure there will be more about all that later, next week. I am still posting photos from a name day festival and today we’re looking inside the chapel at Ag Michaelis Kokkimedes.
Here we are at Thursday and we’re still looking at pictures from the name day festival at Kokkimides last weekend, as we will be doing all week. It’s all a bit random in terms of image order, but there is nothing random about the order of events at these festivals. Church starts early and finishes around 10.30 with the bread blessing, reading prayers for those who have asked and sent votive offerings, this is followed by coffee and cakes, and then chat and then lunch. We were given our lift back down the mountain at around 12.30.
Some more photos, in random order, from last weekend’s festival at Kokimedes. Everyone and anyone is welcome to attend these festivals, and we were made very welcome. Manolis came from the kitchen to make sure we had arrived and had a seat, and later made sure we had eaten and that we had been given beer. Very fit old ladies were up and down steps with plates of lamb and kritheraki (rice shaped pasta) and salad for lunch, others gave you biscuits and coffee, speaking a little English when they realised we were not Greek, and there were even goody bags to take home and give to anyone we knew who couldn’t be there. Neil has a doughnut and a cheese pie in the fridge that we brought back for him.
More photos from the name day festival at Kokimidis (Kokkimedes, Kokimedes). The location of the monastery was once a Byzantine fortress, and you can still see the stonework from those times as you approach up the steep hill. Along the edge of the road, if you know where to look, you can find a large stone slab. Take that away (if you can) and you enter tunnels that run beneath the fortress, so I was told by the Archelogy inspector. I’d love to have a look one day.
