My first acquaintance with Parga – about twenty years ago – was a bit episodic. At the end of a tiring day of endless difficult kilometres in Epirus, I had found myself in the picturesque town desperately seeking – and for any price – a place to stay.

August being August, everything was overrun with thousands of visitors. All my attempts to find a – at least humble – corner were, one after another, fruitless. So I had to choose: either I would sleep uncomfortably in the car seat or I would set off at night for … other states.

-Looking for a room? an old lady suddenly asked me.

-Unfortunately yes, but there is nothing.

-If you have no requirements, I can spare a cot in the kitchen of my house.

I had demands, but at that moment the only priority was to get a bed and a roof over my head. I followed the missus down the alley for a while. The sleepover, or rather the attempted sleepover, is recorded in those memories that are initially unpleasant, but with the passage and filtering of time are considered picturesque, much like the memories of the Army.

It was not only the cramped space and the varied smells of Parghite cuisine nor the deafening noise from the adjoining bar. It was mostly the other – young – tenants, who had returned late in a state of merriment and, almost until dawn, were in and out of the kitchen, turning on the tap to quench their thirst with plenty of water.

Overwhelmed the next morning I gasped on the steps to the Castle. Shortly afterwards Parga did its best to soften my negative impressions, with its magnificent natural beauty and its wonderful but world-weary beaches.

I promised myself never to go to Parga in August again. But it seems I pushed it off my list of destinations for much longer than I should have…

MARCH 2004

As we descend the last few turns, I wonder what Parga must be like after all these years if it is still as charming and appealing. The details have – to a large extent – slipped my memory. However, some images of unparalleled beauty remain alive, the grounds with the castle, the labyrinthine narrow streets, the beaches and the islets. No matter how many years pass, these images remain unchanged and give Parga a special identity that makes it unique compared to any other coastal or continental place in Greece. This is how the great Italian writer, traveller and historian Ludovico Salvatore described Parga in his book of the same name in 1906:

“Fantastic rocky cliffs, crowned by ruins of towers and walls of forts, black, graceful reefs jutting like teeth from the sea, well-painted mountains, picturesque settlements and minarets, a wide bay embraced by a double sandy beach where the open western sea floats; this is Parga, a place for dreaming in serene ecstasy. This is where Corfiot nobles ruled under the rule of Venice and with the Lion of St. Mark as their patron saint, in the days of the Republic. Whereas now the Crescent dominates and the domes of the mosques project above the walls of the churches.

The classical beauty of the main outlines, the mountainous landscapes and perspectives, the wildness of the coast, the picturesque arrangement of the cliffs, the enchanting aspect of the nearby islands, are seldom found together in one place and in such numbers, so that one may justly call Parga a poet’s and surveyor’s paradise. There is not the slightest detail that falls short of beauty and seems out of place in the general picture. From the first moment one arrives in Parga, one feels immediately captivated by the beauty of the place. And with every change in the observer’s position, the landscape seems even more attractive than before. One wants to draw everything and record everything.

Every spot, every place seems more beautiful than any other. One has the impression that what one sees with one’s eyes is not true but a product of imagination and dream. A dream in the course of which the soft masses of stones were bound together in incomparable ensembles. Islands, cones of rock, seem to have been created where only a painter’s mind would have wished. Light and shadow make each thing stand out and take on plasticity and join with the other through the sapphire-blue surface of the sea, revived by the midday breeze. Once the ecstasy of the first moment has passed, the spirit concentrates on the most beautiful spots. It gazes, reveries, is in no hurry to render them, for fear that the phantasmagoria of light, form and colour will suddenly disappear. And enjoying this moment, he sucks as from a glass all the sweetness of beauty – a sweetness like honey – of this wonderful landscape, which only Greek images can offer.

We stop for a moment on the gentle hills above Parga. We lose our gaze on the sweet slopes of the endless olive groves, stray for a moment to the mountains that embrace the olive groves protectively from the north wind and then gaze far away to the south, meeting the sharp outcrops of the caves, the rocky islets and the castle. Far away, at its limits, the vision sinks calmly into the vastness of the Ionian Sea.

Every traveller owes himself a stop at a distant point above Parga, before getting lost in its complex alleys and the bustling life and movement of the city. Only in this way will he feel the faint and disembodied image of the landscape, far from the details, which are sometimes painful because of human interference and the need for development. In the years that have passed since my first acquaintance with Parga, much has changed, the interventions of people are easily visible. The settlement, suffocating in its original narrow confines, has expanded into the olive groves, mainly in the form of accommodation, which is not always tasteful. The reason is of course there and is understandable to a certain extent. So explosive has been the tourist boom in Parga in recent decades that locals and foreigners alike have begun to flock together and compete in and around Parga for the greatest possible share of the lucrative tourist product.

Countless rooms to let, hotels and shops of all kinds sprang up in every conceivable and unlikely spot in the area, in the surrounding villages, on the beaches and in the olive groves. During the summer – especially – peak months, a huge number of Greek and foreign tourists choose Parga as their ideal holiday destination, a place that combines in a unique way the unparalleled natural beauty with the cosmopolitan – though so crowded – character of the state. Of course, I have no contemporary view of the image of Parga during the months of July and August, but I can assume it, if I multiply the figures of my twenty years of experience.

I imagine that by now – if I had not taken early precautions – I could not find, even the humble kitchen space.

In the calm of March we descend the gentle hillsides, overwhelmed by the tight embrace of dense vegetation and silver-green olive groves. Every moment we feel more and more like we are circling and identifying with this stunning landscape of Parga. Louis Salvatore was not wrong when he observed that ‘few places in the Mediterranean can rival Parga in beauty. The richness of the vegetation, the like of which can hardly be found again, favoured by the fertile soil and the great number of springs, has a completely irresistible effect. The enclosures with their plantations of olive, fig, carob and orange trees and the numerous citrus trees intertwined with the other smaller trees form a vast paradise orchard, which even the most vivid imagination could hardly have seen more beautiful.

Besides, a book about Parga, published in French in 1820 and translated in 1851 in Corfu by Ioannis Varvitsiotis, states that ‘the fertilizing influence of the waters and the philanthropy of the settlers made the land of Parga fertile, fertile, fertile. Vine and fir trees were everywhere. The limes and oranges adorned the orchards and displayed the vividness of their foliage and fruits. The products of these trees formed one of the most profitable branches of Parga’s trade. They were transported on small ships to Corfu and as far as Trieste. And from these ports a special kind of citron, which was commanded to the Jews by their religious rules, as necessary for the celebration of the feasts, was carried not only to Italy and Germany, but also as far as the ice of Poland and Russia.

But Salvatore who was also impressed by the climate of Parga, mentions:

“When one has seen Parga and has enjoyed the life-giving freshness of its sea air, the magic of its rich vegetation and abundant waters, one will always long for this country, which makes the ideal of earthly health a reality. The mildness of the climate, the healthy air that blows unhindered and impetuous from the sea and the coolness that the neighbouring high mountain gives in summer, carry the life-giving freshness of the sea without being affected by the heat waves of a neighbouring country. And the position of the town itself contributes much to this double advantage. For protected in winter by the high mountains that rise behind it like a wall, it receives on the other side the kiss of the open sea. Even if they had artificially created it, they could not have thought of a better location.”

A TOUR OF PARGA & ITS PAST

On the northern outskirts of Parga, about two kilometres from the centre of the settlement, a lonely and beautiful house stands beside the road. From its splendid balcony – a true showpiece of the whole area – we had the good fortune to look out over the vast curved slopes of the famous olive grove and, in the distance, a part of the city castle and the sea.

On the ground floor again we had the privilege and the luck to be in a place with a strong aura of the past and the history of the beautiful Ionian state. There, among countless books, rare and precious, arranged on their shelves in an admirable order, the philological professor, historian and former high school principal of Parga, Thanasis Sinakos, attempted in the little time he had to introduce us to the history and soul of this place.

Coming from Vasilika in Thessaloniki but living in Parga for more than four decades and constantly consulting writings and sources, he feels – and indeed is – much more knowledgeable about the place than its inhabitants. He has known and still walks with his tireless footsteps around every nook and cranny, every countryside and beach. With such an irreplaceable guide, who agreed to spend his precious time for us, we start to get to know Parga, as much as it is possible to get to know in a few days the inexhaustible in historical events and natural beauty of the Ionian state.

Our tour begins with the stone-built church of Agios Nikolaos and the large, also stone-built Primary School in the centre of the settlement. We descend smoothly down Alex. At the left corner we find two consecutive large houses of the 19th century, with the characteristic small windows on the second floor. These houses with their particular identity, as they are enclosed in the newer buildings, look like a small breath of the past, suffocating between the modern – and not always tasteful – architectural lines.

We turn briefly to the right to the small church of Agios Dimitrios, with its simple wooden iconostasis, carved wood ceiling, fine pews and small women’s balcony. Under the stone floor and before the internal staircase leading to the women’s loft, is buried, according to the engraved inscription, George Zoullas who died on August 4, 1856. The chapel is located at the corner of ABENSBERG Street, a German town that was twinned with Parga a few years ago. Behind the chapel, in a small square, stands the old three-storey mansion of Parga’s benefactor V. E. Vassila, which is intended to house the town hall. Next to it is a narrow street with a few old uninhabited houses. Turning the alley to the right, we find ourselves in front of the Church of the Holy Apostles, with a sculpture outside the sanctuary, representing the well-known and historic Flight of the Pargae, on the day of Good Friday, April 15, 1819. The British had previously sold Parga to Ali Pasha of Ioannina for the sum of 150,000 pounds. Unable to endure the rule of the Pasha, four thousand Parghans boarded ships and emigrated to Corfu and other Ionian islands. But this flight was accompanied by an act unique in Greek and world history. It was described, among other historians and writers, by the French philhellene Francois Lenormant in the following words:

“The Pargians, thus sold in spite of the justice of the nations, did not wish to submit to the fate of the inhabitants of Preveza, Vonitsa and Bouthrotos. They preferred to leave their homeland and to find another place to live in, outside the influence of the Turks. As soon as they had time to board ships, they dug up the bones of their fathers and delivered them to the flames, lest they should be left in a land which the presence of the Muslims was likely to pollute. The memory of this scene remains indelible in the annals of the Greek nation. This story has spread throughout Europe, where it has aroused the liveliest indignation everywhere and for the first time aroused enthusiastic sympathy for the cause of the Greeks.”

The church of the Holy Apostles is old, with a stunning marble floor that is preserved in its original state, and a magnificent carved wooden stepped window at the main gate of the sanctuary, a true work of art. The only frescoes that survive are in the niche of the Sanctuary. The iconostasis is built and decorated with several old icons, of which the icon of St. John Chrysostom at the left entrance of the sanctuary dates back to 1884.

If we continue uphill above the Holy Apostles, in a few minutes we will reach the Castle. But the extension of the ABENSBERG street from the chapel of St. Demetrius also leads quickly to the castle. Everything seems to be so accessible and human in Parga.

The second street to the Castle is dominated by the large neoclassical house of the Paizis family, with heavy stonework on the first floor and small iron-barred windows, while the second floor is plastered and has a row of larger rectangular windows.

Of the houses of Parga, Salvatore states, among other things, that ‘they are a synthesis of Venetian and Turkish styles. Most of them had a surrounding wall with an adjoining garden. Each house was a castle with battlements on all sides, from which they could strike their attackers. The main entrance was over a set of steps leading down to what we might call a cellar. From there the ascent to the first floor was by a trapdoor, and this was an additional security in case of an attack by the enemy.”

Below the Paizis family house there is a vaulted gallery, one of the few remaining in Parga today. This gallery is called “Volto” in the local name. A few dozen meters further up we pass in front of the well-known and much-photographed neoclassical house of the Vallianos family, with an absolute view of the complex of small islands and the beach of Parga. The neoclassical house is painted in intricate striking colours, playing between rotten apple, white and gossamer blue. Its balconies are small with ornate iron railings, while large symmetrical windows dominate the entire façade.

The street climbs up wide, restful steps, winding between several traditional cottages with external stone stairs and balustrades. We detour right for a short distance to an alleyway, which takes us to the church of St. John of Papyrus, belonging to the Papyraion family, with an over-aged olive tree by the entrance.

Around the chapel there are orange and lemon trees, but there are also a few tall buildings, which obstruct the beautiful view the chapel used to have of the sea. The original and old paved floor is preserved in the chapel, while there is a porch and a side aisle after the SE entrance. Just as in the church of St. Demetrios, in this family church, Anastasia, a member of the Papyraios family, is buried in front of the Beautiful Gate of the sanctuary, dated 1823. The walls, as in almost all the churches of Parga, are whitewashed, both internally and externally. The only fresco that survives is that of Platytera with figures of hierarchs in the niche of the sanctuary.

After the chapel of St. John we come out on the plane of the “Turkopazaro” quarter, which is the road that leads directly to the gate of the Castle. The large and beautifully stone-built Turkish fountain is still preserved, while the mosque that used to stand just above the fountain was demolished in the 1950s. From the square we continue for a few dozen metres northwards. Between new three-storey buildings of rented rooms, whose architecture is not in keeping with the historicity of the area, we arrive at a point where it seems as if time has stopped at some point in the past. Here, among lemon and olive trees, the ruins of the historic Old School of Parga are still preserved, despite the hardships of the times and the indifference of the people. This brilliant school was already in operation before the time of Ali Pasha, with famous teachers, including Christopher Perraivos and the famous Andreas Idromenos. Beside these abandoned but glorious ruins, a few slums in a row, a small community of people, who seem so distant and detached from the noisy lifestyle and development of the city, raise their humble stature.

From the solitude of the Schoolhouse we return to the traffic of the Turcopazar and ascend this main street in a westerly direction. Just below us lies the stunning sight of the vast beach of Valtos, one of Parga’s most beautiful and popular shores. All along this stretch of the road, continuous lodgings have been erected, enjoying the unique privilege of an unobstructed view of the Castle, the plain and beach of Valtos, and far away to the waters of the Ionian Sea, while high to the west they overlook the steep hill with the Castle of Anthousa or Ali Pasha.

The alley of Agia Ekaterini leads us to the homonymous nave, a part of the historic Sinai Monastery, with a stunning olive tree of many centuries old near the entrance of the church. From a little further up a small alley we reach the chapel of the “Holy Three Children”, also a part of the Sinai Monastery. At one time this famous monastery held a large estate in the whole surrounding area. Few houses are left from the old ones, most of them are modern houses and rooms to let.

We return to the plane tree and the main street Ioann. Dimoulitsa Patatoucu, which very little retains its traditional character, as its entire length has been housing shops and accommodation in recent years. This road leads in a minute to the entrance of the Castle, but we postpone our visit to this highlight of Parga and go down the street of 23rd February, named in memory of the 23rd of February 1913 when Parga was liberated.

On our descent towards the centre of the town we pass a ruined old oil mill, the chapel of the Annunciation of Theotokos, a large and beautifully restored stone one from the 1800s and, next to it just down an alley, an old house with its original original architecture. In three minutes we come out in front of the School and the hotel “Paradisos”. It is amazing how conveniently and quickly one can get to different parts of Parga.

After the hills and narrow streets we come out into the open and flat lands of the beach. On its eastern extension we find a row of low neoclassical buildings with vivid colours. Some of them are two or three storeys high and generally house various shops. It is in this cosmopolitan part of Parga, cooled in the summer by the breezes of the garbi and the pune, that the thousands of fanatical visitors of the small Ionian state compete – not only indifferently but on the contrary enjoying the crowds.

After about 200 meters the straight line of the beach ends, extending to the left to the small Kanaris square. The naming of the square in honour of the most intriguing burglar of the ’21 is not accidental, since in Parga it is a well-established belief that the legendary Aegean sea fighter was born in Parga! In his relevant book, published in 1993 under the title “PYROPOLITIS KONSTANTIS CANARIS, A Psalmist from Parga”, the author G.E. Kobilas mentions verbatim: “In 1825 Kanaris, at the age of 35, was with his family in Nafplio. At that time a French traveling painter painted him and the copy of his photograph was painted by our ambassador in Paris Alex. Pallis sent it as a gift to Parga, where it remains to this day in the town hall. And it is the strongest document and the most valuable historical heirloom for the birthplace of the heroic Epirus.”

The researcher then cites Valaoritis’s written testimony that in 1863, when he was in Corfu, he and Kanaris made an excursion to Parga, which is mentioned in a relevant passage in Kanaris’ memoirs: “We took advantage of the opportunity and went to visit our homelands of Valaoritis and myself, the ancestors in the continent opposite Corfu, the cult Parga, whose cult Parga we climbed the opposite caldermic road, which reminded me of my childhood and the repeated struggles of my ancestors”.

Among many other sources (old newspapers, encyclopaedias and dictionaries), G. E Kobilas quotes a publication by the patrician historian Dim. The opening of the memoirs of the Kanaris family and the revelation of hitherto unknown elements concerning the origin and family background of the glorious seafarer and Prime Minister of modern Greece, Koninos Kanaris, is indeed a historical and diocesan fortune. Kanarin, who kindly placed at our disposal the main authentic elements of his family archives, including the personal diary of the firebrand. From all of these, the pre-revolutionary history of the family of Konstantinos Kanaris is revealed for the first time, its activity and its participation in the movement of the nation during the preparatory times of the Society of Friends, as well as its oldest surname, at least from the 13th century AD. It should be noted that the contents of the diary with the family notes of the firebrand have remained a secret until now. Because the glorified sea-fighter had reasons to forbid its disclosure, especially to avoid comments and explanations among his younger compatriots of Psarians’.

After this long but interesting – as we believe – intervention we return to our wanderings on the beach of Parga. We find ourselves in the picturesque creek, known by the name of “Megalo Kryoneri”. In front of it, an ancient breakwater of the Ionian waves, rises the sweet islet of Panagia with its lilipute sandy beach, the pine trees and the homonymous chapel. The beach of Megalo Kryoneri is interrupted by the lush hillside of Agios Athanasios and immediately afterwards a second enchanting creek, “Mikro Kryoneri”, opens its small blue embrace. These two wonderful creeks are an indelible image in the memory of every visitor to Parga.

During this period of March, just a few weeks before Easter, works of cosmogenic importance for the city are taking place in the wider area of Parga’s beach. The biological treatment of urban waste water, which should have been in operation for decades, is finally completed.

At the same time, with a synchronised planning that is rare for Greek standards, underground networks of the PPC and OTE are being installed, so that there will be no need to dig up the ground again in the future.

-The disruption is great, both for the professionals and residents, and for the general aesthetics of the city, says the Mayor of Parga, Spyros Nousis, who welcomes us at the Town Hall. We are comforted by the fact that it is an infrastructure project of the utmost importance and the disruption will be temporary. After a few days, life will return to its familiar rhythm.

Our Mayor talks a lot about Parga and has clear and realistic views on the modern reality of his city. It is certainly a great advantage that in a few decades Parga has become one of the most desirable Greek and international tourist destinations, with a significant income inflow for its residents. However, many side effects have resulted from this development, the most important being the uncontrolled building and the alteration of the traditional architectural physiognomy of the place.

-And of course we must not forget that during the peak months of the tourist season – July and August – a serious population burden is caused, with all the known consequences for the rhythms of life in the city, concludes the Mayor.

Before leaving the Town Hall, he gives us all the available literature with important facts and information about Parga.

-Would you be interested in seeing the original book about Parga by Salvatore? asks the Mayor. It is a huge two-volume work, published in 1906 and only 150 copies were published in the world. It is a precious and rare historical heirloom, a true treasure for the city of Parga.

A few minutes later our emotion cannot be described, it can only be compared to the similar emotion we had felt two years before, when we had seen the original of the ‘Charter’ of King Feraeus in Kapesovo, Zagoria. We are therefore faced with a two-volume work of pelionic dimensions, whose weight makes it literally weightless. Countless drawings, old historical photographs and engravings of Parga adorn its pages and ideally complement the wondrous elegiac descriptions and the great philhellene’s impressions of the beauty of the small Ionian state. This unique work, whose production and printing costs must have been enormous for its time, proves in the most indisputable way the great love and the overwhelming impression that the then small Parga made on the Italian traveller and writer. We are sure that in the area of the new Town Hall that will be created in the three-storey mansion, this famous heirloom will occupy a prominent place, so that Greeks and foreigners can admire it.

Completing our tour of the most characteristic parts of Parga, we enter from the end of the beach – at the height of the temple of Ag. Marina – in an alley parallel to the waterfront. Very quickly we pass under what is perhaps the most beautiful “walk” in the city, a wonderful vaulted tunnel in a stone house, with a small window above the arch. The alley winds through small flower and citrus courtyards and old, whitewashed houses. A magnificent three-storey mansion with a small attic and an orchard suddenly looms in an opening in the street. Of course, there are also the ubiquitous “ROOMS”. We pass in front of a long ground floor building that used to house an old mill. This is Souli Street. We turn right onto Armatolou Boucovala Street, a beautiful neighborhood reminiscent of other times, with its whitewashed houses and jasmine trees scenting the yards.

And while we are mentally transported to the Parga of the past, we unexpectedly find ourselves on the main street opposite the OTE building. The romantic journey ends, the lively traffic and noises bring us back to reality.

IN THE CASTLE OF PARGA

Morning coffee at the hotel “Paradisos” is a small ritual every day. It could not be any other than cappuccino, the coffee that is more appreciated in Parga than any other.

Operating for the first time in 1967, Hotel Paradisos is considered one of the original hotels in Parga, which linked its presence with the first tentative steps of the city’s tourism. It is located in a central spot, opposite the school and the church of Agios Nikolaos. In the years that followed until today it has been improved with successive renovations. Very recently, in the tree-lined garden of the hotel a beautiful area with a small swimming pool and tables around it was created, a true retreat. Efthimis Pappas and his wife Eleni, who host us in their hotel, prepare their cappuccino every morning with so much care and art, that from the very first day we renounce any other kind of coffee.

With our dear professor Thanasis Sinakos we start our tour of the Castle of Parga. It is built on the highest slopes and on top of a rocky peninsula to the W-SW of the city. This conical volume rises steeply to a height of about 80 meters above sea level, as a natural dividing line between the two bays of Parga and Valtos. The rocky peninsula is connected to the north with the rest of the coast by a narrow and relatively smooth neck.

This is the only land access to the castle, since the other three sides of the peninsula are steep cliffs, which in some places end vertically in the sea.  A paved pathway leads to the outer iron entrance of the castle.

As this is the weakest point of the natural fortification, the Venetians who built the castle made sure to strengthen the artificial fortification as much as possible. The masonry consists of small, relatively small chipped stones, which are bound together with mortar and are in fact an extension of the natural rock that stands next to the entrance. The total height of the wall from the ground is at least 15-16 metres. Above the iron entrance there is a stone inscription in Italian, dated 17/7 and bearing the name of the Corfu Conde Markos Theotoki. Just to the left through the entrance, next to the guardhouse, we can see an aquidograph in stone with a name and the date 1764.

We now walk along the inner paved road next to the narrow battlements that were opened on the Parga side and immediately afterwards we reach the main gate. A vaulted stone gallery about 8 metres long, similar to the familiar “walks” of the city, leads us into the main area of the castle. High above the archway of the gate, the well-known emblem of the Republic of Venice, the Venetian Lion with an illegible inscription, dominates.

From our first steps on the flat area of the castle we can see that the view of the city of Parga and the sea has almost completely disappeared behind the trunks and branches of towering pine trees, which were planted all over the surface of the steep slope 70-80 years ago. But even when one looks at the castle from the town, the presence of these pines is still a catalyst, their tops rising above the stone ramparts of the fortification. The effects of this human intervention are also noted by C. ‘Wrapped and half-hidden in the shadow of its piney cape, with which the ignorant have dressed it, it still wants, however, to dynamically display the intact fragments of its once solid and robust appearance. The roots of the trees are undermining its foundations but it resists’.

An old cobbled street, elaborately constructed with rounded sea pebbles climbs steeply to the NW.

-This will be our return point, says the professor. For now, let’s start our tour from the smooth path that is carved into the perimeter of the castle.

Immediately on our right are two imposing stone buildings, erected by Ali Pasha and used as barracks. Today they belong to the Ministry of Culture and, renovated with great care, they are used, one part as a refreshment room and the other parts as multi-purpose venues.

The path continues perfectly smooth and level over the pine-clad steep slope. This eastern side of the hill is so inaccessible that the wall is not particularly strong. A solid iron cannon on the ground takes us mentally back to the time of the various masters of the castle, Venetians, French, English, Ottomans.

Suddenly the pine wall thins considerably, the horizon of our vision widens, the bay of Parga is revealed for the first time from the castle, adorned and protected from the Ionian Sea by its ancient guardians, the well-known islets. Top among them and beautiful is the island of Panagia, with the homonymous – chapel and the castle, which is built on the west side from the years of the French occupation. Just below the islet of Panagia, four rocky outcrops emerge from the water. He must have had a great imagination or he must have been very stingy who christened them and since then their name has remained “meatballs”.

A few dozen metres offshore stand the rocky islets “Pavlukes”, while a little further offshore still the “Three Litharakia”, which in reality are four in number, are humbly unfurled. Behind the island of Panagia, two more islets can be seen, whose names are also related to the kitchen, “Skordas” and “Kremidas”. Open to the east, lonely and isolated from the gathering of others, stands out “Monolithos”, with only the chapel of the saint of the sailors, St. Nicholas, as its only companion.

Further back still, above the islets, the gaze stops at a dark land mass, Makrinoros or Mavronoros. In its dense vegetation a white reverent mark stands out. It is the chapel of Agia Eleni, which the patriarch of Greek photographers Meletzis particularly liked for its tranquility and view.

The path passes by a strong, circularly built dapia, which tradition has it communicating with the sea by a secret passage. Then the path turns slightly to the west. Below, the cliffs are terrible and inaccessible to man. A simple wall is the fortification, here it need not be stronger. Even the coast is rocky and dangerous, an iron lighthouse is set up on the slope to signal and keep the boats away from the badlands. The pine trees are dwindling, replaced by lime trees, the original and ancient inhabitants of the place.

The narrow path comes to an end, stopping in front of a sheer cliff. We lower our eyes in awe over the sea. What corsair and what conqueror would dare to approach this place! A round rock looms treacherously out of the water. I don’t know why, but, unlike all the others, it remained nameless.

One’s gaze lifts to the northwest for a moment and is calmed. First to the attractive curve of the beach of Valtos, then further north, to the olive groves and the ridge with the castle of Ali Pasha, which others call “Agia” or “Anthousa”. At the last point of the embrace of Valtos, there at the cape “Cheladio”, a stone figure rises above the dark green olive trees, a lonely, solitary figure, which ends up vaulted in the sky. It is the bell tower from the monastery of Vlacherna, the high and lofty albumen of Orthodoxy, which alone in the ruins resists time. The gaze goes even further and is lost in the waters of the Ionian Sea, where the island of Antipaxos and a small part of Paxos swim like a Nazarene. We sat for a while on the landscaped terrace. And I think that this place, more than any other, is made for poets, thinkers and dreamers.

We turn back along the path and at the height of the circular, familiar dacha, we take the uphill steps, under big pines, cypresses and olive trees. Occasionally the path gives us trouble and confuses us, as it is rough and gets lost in the grass. Stone walls and ruins everywhere, the past has finally been erased, we try to guess what form the houses took and what life inside the castle must have been like. The writings of Perraivos, the memoirist of the Struggle, who fought in Epirus with the Souliotes, come to mind: “Parga is a small town, situated on a high and steep hill, surrounded by the coast of the Ionian Sea, and continuing inland and forming it as a peninsula. The circumference of this steep and rocky monolith does not exceed an Italian mile in extent. On its summit, though it is high and low, the Venetians built a fortress. In it there are almost four hundred houses of small size, but two and three times as many because of the small size of the place, and as many more not outside the fortress. If the fortress and the houses within it are seen from the sea, he will probably liken it to the shape of a pine cone, because he sees the houses overlapping each other in height, that is, one on top of the other.

-You understand then, my dears, with such human crowding in the castle grounds, what the conditions of life and hygiene would have been at that time, our professor aptly observes. It was no accident, then, that there were so many epidemics and diseases.

In two minutes the path leads us to a plateau of cypress trees. In front of us stands a fortress-like building, a castle within a castle. It is the famous Serai of Ali-Pasha, “a solid, massive and tall fortress, with towers and dapias, underground storehouses, barracks, barracks, burrows, cisterns and dungeons”, as Gikas describes it.

The vaulted gate is elaborately made of chipped stone and is preserved in excellent condition. At the highest point of the arch is carved a stone relief representing a little bird. At Mr. Sinakos’s suggestion we can with difficulty locate, hidden behind grasses planted on the wall, two square slabs, left and right above the gateway. A two-headed eagle is carved on each.

-They were made to order by Ali Pasha in glorification of his megalomania, the professor explains. There are also illegible inscriptions dated 1820.

We cross the half-dark labyrinthine interior of the seraglio and emerge above it, onto its flat, grassy roof. Scattered here and there are cannons of various sizes, sentries at strategic points, battlements, stunning views across the horizon. At one point a memorial column commemorating the execution of Parginos Gakis Zeris on 19 March 1943 by the Italians.

We continue for a few meters to the north and we come across the two dark mouths of an underground cistern of great dimensions. Immediately afterwards we climb a few steps and reach the highest point of the seraglio.

Here stand the walls of a square room with domes and arches, which is missing its roof. Its dimensions are 3.5 x 3.5 m and it is believed that it served as Ali Pasha’s hammam at the top of the castle.

A look around, breaths of spring air, a few moments of contemplation… We descend to the NE, down the nice paved cobbled street. Huge stone millstone, cannons scattered here and there, remnants of the half-buried in the ground chapel of St. Isaurus, with traces of frescoes barely visible. The wandering around the ruined castle town of Parga ends, we are back at the point from which we started. Even without the view we would have wished for through the pine trees, our coffee is enjoyable in the open-air refreshment area and the company of the Professor and the Mayor is equally enjoyable.

SURROUNDINGS OF PARGA

A century ago, Louis Salvatore had all the time and space – in his huge book – to describe in detail all the beautiful and wondrous things that fascinated him in Parga. We, unfortunately, in the limited space of an article, wonder what we should have said first and what we should not have left out. Let us therefore attempt a brief travelogue around Parga, after asking the understanding and indulgence of the experts and locals for any unintentional omissions.

Chapel of Agia Eleni (St. Helen)

Starting from the church of Agios Nikolaos in the centre of Parga, we head towards Preveza and at exactly 3 km we turn right. Immediately afterwards we continue straight on the dirt road towards Makrinoros. At 3.6 km we stop for a while at a bend in the road and enjoy the top view of the beautiful “Gulf of Lychnos” down below. At 5.4 km we meander down to the left. The road is passable, the route is lovely amidst lush vegetation of birch trees, holly, wild olive trees, myrtle trees and asparagus trees blooming with yellow flowers.

At 5.8 km the road ends between the now well-known, and so pleasant to our eyes, Pargino olive grove. The chapel of St. Helen looms 50-610 meters away, surrounded by holly, aspalots, wild olive trees and cedar trees. It is small, unpretentious and, as always, whitewashed inside and out. The only fresco that can be discerned is in the niche of the sanctuary, with the Platytera in the upper part and lower down a series of figures with hierarchs.

The view towards Parga and the Ionian Sea with Paxos and Antipaxos is stunning. Meletzis would not come here for nothing. The view of the mountain range of “Pezovolio” is also wonderful. To the southeast, the mouth of Acherontas can be seen and in the background the outline of Lefkada.  A little further north, the Akarnanian Mountains can be seen, while behind Parga and Valtos, the cape of Agios Sostis, a formidable vertical rock known as “Fragopidima”, rises.

Lonely and out of the usual tourist areas, Ag. Eleni is a unique spot, with a stunning view and absolute serenity.

Returning to the main road network, we immediately descend on the left down the paved road to the beach “of Lychnos”. After one kilometre we arrive at three points of approach to the coast, between camping, hotels and rented houses. With a S-SE orientation and a huge curve approaching one kilometre, the bay of Lychnos is magnificent. The coarse sand stretches over a large width, the waters are clear and turquoise. The area is popular during the summer months and the large tourist development is fully justified.

In the extension of the coastline from Lychnos to the E, unseen behind the large promontory called “Harhali” and peaceful in all weather except the garbi, the large bay of Agios Ioannis extends deep into the coast. Known by the local name of “Aigiannakis”, the bay ends in a small, graceful cove, which is no more than 100 metres wide. The coast is pebbly and sandy, the waters are deep and crystal clear in turquoise. The shade of over-aged olive trees spreads alongside the sea, while the bushy vegetation on the surrounding steep slopes is dense and impenetrable. Salvatore wrote a century ago: ‘In this secluded bay one is completely enclosed and a few small boats can spend the whole winter here, properly anchored and tied up from the stern. However, when the fierce south-westerly gales begin, the sea comes in quite impetuously, as the small beach shows.”

In the wonderful bay of Aigiannakis there is a canteen in the summer, a nus facility and a parking area. Access from the main road network is by a downhill asphalt road 1.7 km long, while the total distance from the centre of Parga is 9 km. There are many small beaches and coves along the entire coastline, but due to the steep coastline access is only possible from the sea.

We leave the enchanting beaches of Parga for a moment and turn back the clock a few millennia to discover its supreme past. With archaeologist Babis Kyriakis, we set off from the city centre in the direction of Preveza. At exactly 1.8 km we leave the main network and go left up a steep concrete road, which after a while turns into a dirt road. At 2.5 km we turn right and at 3.3 we end up in front of a fenced olive grove.

In a general westerly direction we take a path in the olive grove, which after about 100 metres, meets the old path, which, no longer visible in the grass, used to lead to the mainland (Paramythia, Margariti) and was used for the movement of goods and people. We turn left into a rough olive grove and, in less than 5 minutes, we reach the remains of a ceramic kiln, almost invisible under the grass, flowers and nets of olive trees. This kiln was used in ancient times for the ‘firing’ of the vessels. Continue for five minutes west. While we wonder what the important find is in this rough place, we suddenly come to a standstill over a vaulted tomb dug two metres below ground.

-We are in the “Kyperi” area, inhabited by the Mycenaeans in the 13th century BC, says Babis. The archaeological excavation of the late Professor Sot. Dakaris brought to light two vaulted tombs, of which this one survives in very good condition. The grave goods found were some vases, a bronze spearhead, a female skeleton and two children’s skeletons. They were very few in relation to the importance of the tomb which, in all likelihood, had been looted.

The tomb is impressive. It takes the form of a small underground room – a chamber – which is reached by means of a narrow horizontal open trench of the “road”, which leads to the door of the chamber. The narrow pillars of the doorway slope slightly inwards, reducing their opening upwards. The walls of the ‘road’ follow this slope, giving it the shape of an inverted wedge.

The vaulted tomb is constructed according to the ‘euphoric’ system, circular in plan and cellular in shape. The masonry is excellent. It consists of stones of small dimensions and of perfect rectangular shape, which are masterfully fitted together. Its diameter is 3.5 m and its height is less than that, giving us the local examples of funerary architecture at the beginning of the last period of Mycenaean power, the 13th century BC. We leave fascinated, wondering what better way – opening a path, signposting – could have made this important monument to Parga’s distant past more easily accessible.

Paleoparga, Ali Pasha’s Castle, Agia

We set off for the mountains. With our guide this time Efthimi Pappas from “Paradise” we take the road outside Parga, heading NW towards Igoumenitsa. We cross the nice settlement of “Anthousa” (old name “Rapiza”) and continue towards Agia. About 100 meters after the junction to “Trikorfo” we go uphill to the right on a fairly passable dirt road, which after 2.4 km brings us in front of the chapel of Zoodochos Pigi.

The chapel is simple and whitewashed, with a built iconostasis and figures of saints painted on the row above the Beautiful Gate. The chapel is surrounded by a well-built stone courtyard, while the view from the altitude of 450 metres is imposing to every point of the horizon.

The road descends to the E-NE and crosses a wide and flat plateau, an excellent pasture with lush green grass, countless flowers and several ponds. In this magnificent and secluded location, among the rugged limestone hills, was the site of the first settlement of the Parginians before they descended to the coast and the castle. It is the famous ‘Paleoparga’, well-known to all, of which unfortunately all that remains are a few indistinguishable ruins and stones.

We descend towards Agia, a large and picturesque settlement, built amphitheatrically on hills and steep slopes, with a top orientation and a view of the Ionian Sea. There are still several traditional houses scattered around, but the majority of them are modern, without any particular architectural identity.

The settlement is famous for its taverns, one of them, the “Oasis”, on the main road, apart from the magnificent view of the Ionian Sea, hosts on its interior walls an incredible puzzle of old advertisements and posters, which bring to mind a charming and forgotten era.

At the top of the eastern hill of Agia and at an altitude of 400 meters, the church of Agios Athanasios is built, with a stunning view. The temple is made of stone. A part of the walls and the hollow of the ceiling are frescoed with murals obviously by a folk painter. The three-storey bell tower is stone-built, of heavy construction.

About 200 metres below is the much larger church of St George, with a large built and quite well decorated chancel. The ceiling is lined with wooden slats forming various geometric designs. On the whitewashed walls no fresco is discernible, but in the niche of the sanctuary, the Platytera and the Hierarchs are compositions of a very good style.

At the north-eastern end of Agia is the third church, Ag. Paraskevi, with a Memorial of the Fallen in the spacious courtyard, which is also the courtyard of the village Primary School.

We return to Anthousa. At the junction to “Trikorfo” we turn right and after 1,2 km. After 1.1 km on an unpaved road with bends, we arrive in front of the castle. The choice of its location by Ali Pasha was not accidental. Passing through a vaulted arch and a half-dark space, we climb steps to the highest bastion. Salvatore says, that from this point, “no finer view with such a fairy-tale background can be imagined. The whole of Lefkada as far as Cape Doukato, and then Kefalonia, from which the half-hidden coast appears.

Above is the church of Paleoparga, to the north is Agia and beyond in the distance is the noble mass of Pantokrator of Corfu. Below are the orchards of Rampas (Anthousa), a magnificent sight, which from peak to peak reaches as far as the Lantern.”

Anthousa & the western coast of Parga

At a distance of about 3 km from Parga we find Anthousa. Built at the eastern foot of the hill with the castle and surrounded by vast olive groves and vegetation, the beautiful village is actually larger than it first appears. Unlike Agia, which has no accommodation, Anthousa has in recent years begun to develop its own tourist infrastructure. From the small but beautiful central square with its cafes and taverns, we exit in a westerly direction from the village. As we cross the lovely olive grove, through small openings the castle looms over our heads, as well as the western part of Parga.

At 0,8 km from the square we meet a sign, which directs us to the right for the beaches “Spartila”, “Plakeros” and “Ag. Sostis”. We continue on a good dirt road, which in some downhill parts is paved with cement.

At 2.0 km we meet a fork with two signs. The one on the left leads us to “Valtos”, while the other one goes straight on towards the previous beaches. Curious to know the route to Valtos, we first head to the left, zeroing the odometer reading. After a few dozen metres the road forks. On the left it heads towards Anthousa, while on the straight it goes downhill to Valtos. At 0.3 km, a new fork. Some olive growers from Anthousa inform us that on the left the road leads to Valtos, while on the right it ends at the Monastery of Vlacherna, but they warn us that the road is very badly damaged by the winter downpours.

Momentary hesitation, but the challenge is stronger. We head first towards Valtos. Downhill, waterlogged, rocks, terrible mud, we finally pass through on a slow four-wheel drive. Two kilometres later we reach sea level, between greenhouses, orchards and plenty of rooms to let. In between, a branch of the road climbs up towards Anthousa, crossing a gully with waterfalls and lush vegetation.

Return to the junction towards Moni and reset the odometer again. I immediately regret it. The road is horrible in every way and I receive Anna’s justified grumbling without complaint. After 2.2 km the torment finally ends.

We are almost at the edge of the cape “Cheladio”, in front of the strong fortified enclosure of the monastery. Here and there horizontal and vertical battlements can be seen, most of them facing the Ionian Sea. Inside the monastery everything is in ruins, except for the new katholikon built on the site of the ruined older one. The only things that remain standing are the stone arched gate to the west and the imposing bell tower. With a total height of about 15 metres, they stand on a strong trapezoidal stone base on which the rest of the building is built. The corners are made up of large carved stones, while the interior is built with crude clay masonry, added at a later date and not in keeping with the overall architecture of the building. At the highest point of the bell tower, arches and stone columns can be seen.

To the south and west the plateau of the monastery ends with a vertical cliff of about 30 metres on a wild rocky coast, which is equally steep to the east. The only easy access is from the N-NW, from the side of the marsh beach.

We admire for a while the view to Paxos and Antipaxos and Parga with its castle. Then we leave the ghost of this once flourishing monument of Orthodoxy, pass a little below the chapel of Ag. Fotini and in five minutes we descend to the beach of Valtos. This is the easiest and shortest route to the Monastery of Vlacherna.

Agios Sostis

We return to the original junction to the western beaches. At 1.8 km a rough track leads with a few minutes’ hike to the Spartila coast. We continue by car and at exactly 1.8 km we reach the end of the road, above the chapel and the coast of St. Sostis. The creek is small, with few pieces of sandy beach between the rocks. But the water is crystal clear and the location is secluded, a real hermitage. The chapel of Ag. Sostis is equally hidden. It is built in the cleft of two huge solid rocks, which converge in a shocking way many meters above. The chapel is very small and its entire E-E wall consists of the rock. Inside there are lit candles.

A stunning detail that draws our attention is the fine stalactite decoration – mostly parapet-shaped stalactites – that has been created after centuries of dripping on the surface of the rocks. The phenomenon is very rare since stalactite decoration – and to such an extent – is generally found on the inner walls of caves and not on surfaces exposed to the atmosphere.

A bare concrete staircase leads to the rocky shore below the chapel. The last picture we take with us is the formidable rock to the west, which ends vertically in the sea.

A few dozen meters before the chapel of Agios Sostis, a dirt road heads inland in a NW direction.

-Do you think it leads to Sarakiniko Bay?, Anna asks.

-Let’s find out, I reply.

In two minutes the rough roadway almost brings to mind the routes to Monastir and Valtos. But a kilometre later we are compensated with a very close view of Paxos and Antipaxos, as well as the extremity of Corfu. Through a bushy jungle we suddenly face, after 1.8 km, the asphalt road. After 300 meters we reach the small settlement of Sarakinikos, with a few houses, taverns, bars and accommodation. The area is overgrown and very beautiful, crossed by a lively little stream with clear waters, which flows into the beach.

The bay of Sarakinikos is all-round with deep blue and clear waters. Its mouth faces the Pune and the opening of its immaculate curve does not exceed 200 meters. The edges of the mouth, wild and steep, look like huge claws. The sand is coarse and the white pebbles are rounded by the eternal action of the punde’s waves.

We leave this dreamy coast, just 5.5 unpaved kilometres from Agia and 12 from Parga, with the feeling that Sarakiniko is the ideal place for an unforgettable holiday.

IN THE CHURCH MUSEUM OF AGIOS NIKOLAOS

Before saying goodbye to Parga, we owe one last visit to a sacred place. It is the Ecclesiastical Museum of St. Nicholas. Well-informed Father George takes over our tour. Rare relics arouse our admiration:

A Gospel manuscript of 1517 and a printed one of 1615; a 17th century Antimeneion (gold-embroidered cloth that could have been used (anti-memorial) instead of a Holy Table. An image of Our Lady of Blachernae silver-covered and gold-encased on Christ and the Virgin Mary, which is presumed to be a gift from a Byzantine Emperor to the Blachernae Monastery in the 14th century. A large number of portable icons from the chapels of Parga, some of which date from the 17th century. The miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary, known in the region as “Panagiopula”. Two 19th century Russian school Epitaphs of exceptional art. Two imposing wood-carved candelabras of 1895 made of massive tree trunks, with exquisite religious representations of true lepers. A large number of silver candelabra, censers, chalices, buckles and other sacred utensils.

A 1930’s bronze font, “in which all the present-day Parga’s elders have been baptized,” as Pastor George tells us. An exquisitely carved wooden chest from 1863. And finally the “Flambouro of Parga”, the historic war flag of the city, 3.5 meters long, fully retired and gold-embroidered.

EPILOGUE

On the eve of Easter 1968, Pavlos Palaiologos discovered Parga. The unforgettable virtuoso of the pen encapsulates in a few lines, full of eloquence, his impressions of that first visit to the ‘unknown state’. Let us close our article with the unsurpassed charm of his words:

“Discovery of Paradise. On the eve of Easter. A small town, nature’s handiwork. Generous who have been its gods. Maximum beauty in minimum space. Cantunia and Venetian buildings. All diminutive, doll-like, miniature, saintly play.

The lemon and lilac trees are fragrant.

Flowered windows, trees, cracks in the walls…. All magic….

I don’t recall having known Greek beauty more striking than this in its simplicity.”

Thank you very much to:

The Mayor of Parga, Spyros Nousis, for his multiple help and the bibliography he provided. Efthymis and Eleni Pappa from the hotel “Paradisos” for their help and hospitality. The philologist professor and former Gymnasiarch of Parga, Thanasis Sinakos, who with his rich bibliography, his vast knowledge and the valuable time he gave to our tours, had a catalytic effect on our global acquaintance with Parga. The archaeologist Babis Kyriakis for his wonderful tour and his important information about the vaulted Mycenaean tomb. The photographers of Parga, brothers Alexandros and Spyros Doulis for providing photographic copies of the book of Salvator. Nikos Karambelas, President of the ‘Aktias Nikopolis’ Foundation, for the important information on the book of Salvator. Finally, the graphic designer, photographer and dear friend Spyros Vangelakis, who with his excellent photographic work, contributed decisively to the completion of the article.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

– L. Salvatore, “PARGA”, ed. K. and P. SIPILIAS SA, “The Economic”, Athens 1997.

– C.P. de Bosset, ‘PARGA AND THE IONIAN ISLANDS’, Association of Pargines of Athens, ed.

Dodoni, Athens – Giannina 2000

– G.P. Gika, “CASTRA TRAVEL”, Volume V, (The Castle of Parga), published by “Astir” Athens 1995

– K.A. Michaelides, “PARGA, ITS HISTORY FROM THE OLD YEARS TO THE TODAY”, 2nd EDITION, published by A.K.A. Municipality of Parga 1963

– Γ. E. Kobila, “THE MAYOR KOSTANTIS CANARIS – A Psarian in Parga”, Ioannina 1993

– N. Tsaka, “PARGINES CHURCHES, HOLY CHURCHES – ANCIENT MONUMENTS”, Parga 1993

– Historical, topographical and architectural data by A. Sinakos and archaeological data by M. Kyriakis.

– P. Palaeologou, “PARGA, THE UNKNOWN CITY”, TO VIMA newspaper, 27/04/1968