Six years ago, in the spring of 1999, we had the good fortune to penetrate for the first time into the sanctuary of the Cave of Alistrati. Others followed. Always some new element was discovered, wondrous details of Nature’s stunning work of art that had escaped our attention on previous occasions. From that unique experience an important article had resulted, with rich photographic material and abundant information about the cave (ELL. PANORAMA, ISSUE 12, SPRING 1999).

Absorbed almost exclusively with the dazzling beauty of the cave, we had left the place of Alistrati as tourists passing through, without spending any time in the natural built environment. However, we have known the town of Alistrati for decades, since it has always been a key point on the road axis of Drama and Serres. This acquaintance, of course, was limited to a simple crossing, a fleeting glance and nothing more. Not once (!) had we wandered inside the town, in the small squares and narrow streets, uphill and downhill, in neighborhoods with stone-built, elegant houses, monuments of architectural tradition of the place.

We, like so many others, had almost exclusively identified Alistrati with the Cave. We had never had the experience of waking up in the morning, of the disc of the sun rising from Pangeo and immediately afterwards caressing the peaks of Falakro and Menikio opposite each other. But, if one does not taste the flavours of a place, clink his glass and exchange words with the locals and, much more, if he does not then, somewhere nearby, gently tilt his head, without interfering with unpleasant travel, then he can only have a partial experience of the place.

-The conditions for all this are now present, our good friend, Director of the Cave Company, Nikos Kartalis, tells me on the phone. So, we are waiting for you.

THE “VOZIKI” MANSION

As we head from Serres towards Alistrati, we come across a sign at the entrance of the town, pointing us right in the direction of the cave. If, from this point, we follow the successive signs towards the interior of the town, we will arrive after a few hundred meters, in front of the Mansion Voziki.

The mansion was built in 1924 by George Vozikis (1890-1965), a tobacco merchant. The first two floors were used until 1940 as a tobacco shop, where tobacco was processed before being exported. He lived on the third floor with his wife Vassiliki until their death. In 1956, their eldest son John made his family here, and they had Aphrodite and George. In 1999, George Vozikis and Aphrodite’s husband, Nikos Kartalis, decided to convert the building into a traditional guesthouse. The investment was included in the Leader II of the European Union. The renovation and conversion of the building into a guesthouse started in November 1999 and was completed in September 2000, when the building started operating. The renovation was carried out by the owners with respect to the architecture of the building and the tradition of the area.

All rooms are high-ceilinged, traditionally furnished and have central heating, TV and telephone. All of them are bright and exude the aura of the past.

The ground floor is a very tasteful reception room with a large fireplace and fine furnishings. During the rest of the day it is used by the guests or guests of the guesthouse as a quiet place for coffee or drinks. The living room on the second floor has remained traditional with original period furnishings. From the large balcony with iron railings the view of Falakro, Menikio and the plain is magnificent.

A great advantage of the guesthouse, which makes it particularly popular during the summer season, is the existence of the large swimming pool and the perfectly landscaped courtyard.

In the centre of Alistrati but surrounded by trees and flowers and away from the noise and traffic of the streets, it is a real privilege to taste the traditional flavours of the guesthouse restaurant, wine and local tsipouro, to enjoy the coolness of the wet element or the peace of the night until late.

In the month of February, of course, none of these pleasures are possible. George welcomes us with hot coffee and a lit fireplace. Outside everything is frozen, the snow remains unaffected by the sun, as the temperature barely exceeds zero.

ALISTRATI CAVE, 6 YEARS LATER

Before we begin our introduction to Alistrati, we feel a souvenir visit to the cave is necessary. The landscape of the route has not changed: low hillsides with gentle curves, sparse bushy vegetation and a variety of crops. The area of Alistrati has always been predominantly agricultural, with cotton, cereals, maize and beet crops, as well as cattle and sheep and goat farming. The town’s greatest prosperity, however, was in the years between the wars, when its tobacco, famous for its quality, became sought after in foreign markets. Large areas were also cultivated with vines. Almost every household had its own wine press. In autumn and winter the place smelled of wine barrels and wine distilleries distilling tsipouro. It was a time of prosperity, interrupted by the Greek-Italian war, the German invasion and the Bulgarian occupation that followed.

As we gently descend the narrow asphalt road from the town to the cave, memories and impressions of our first approach come flooding back. “First the texture of the ground changes, unexpectedly, dramatically. The thick, reddish-brown soil of the fields disappears, becoming a vast limestone surface, with countless stones, grey and rough, one next to the other, as if planted by the hand of man. Only a few thorny bushes can survive among them.”

We are in the famous “Petroto”, “Tasliki”, which means stony place in the local name. Here, in the depths of this inhospitable land of 14,000 acres, nature has carved over the centuries the unsurpassed beauty of the cave of Alistrati. All around, the landscape is of Doric simplicity, soft, clean lines, without complex relief. At one point it is interrupted by the deep and unexpected chasm of the Aggitis Gorge, then it calms down again to the flat lands of the plains of Drama and Serres. A little farther on, however, at the edges of the horizon, they meet the violent masses of the Falakro and Paggaio, which, together with the milder Menikio, resemble towers, which have divided between them the dominion of the plain.

Nikos Kartalis welcomes us after so many years in the familiar space of his office. Changes and progress are evident. The “Company of the Cave” was not limited to its original use. As a vibrant and flexible organization, which is the main driver of the tourist and economic development of the place, it invests in new projects continuously, which will transform the place and serve the visitors of the cave even better.

The first objective to be completed next May is the creation of the Information Centre, which will inform the thousands of visitors about all the important attractions in the area.

Another important project will be the creation of the Exhibit Hall, which will aim to connect the present day with the prehistory of the cave. Thus, visitors will have the opportunity to admire the entire collection of prehistoric findings of the Alistrati Caves.

For nature lovers and walkers, work is already underway on a project that is expected to become extremely popular. It is a network of hiking trails, which will also pass through the upper part of the steep slopes of the Angitis Gorge. In this way, hiking enthusiasts and the whole family will be able to admire in complete safety, on the way and from special vantage points, the magnificent spectacle of the gorge and the meanders of Angitis at the bottom of its bed. It is an extremely important project of great environmental value, funded with 1.5 million euros with the Prefecture of Serres as the implementing body. The length of the routes will vary from 2.5 to 4 km, depending on whether the starting point is the Cave of Alistrati or the opposite side of Proti of Serres.

In order to promote the local products of the area and to facilitate the purchase of these products by visitors, it has been decided to set up seven shops in the area surrounding the cave, through the INTERREG programme.

A Conference Centre will also be used to invite companies for conferences and meetings.

Finally, a footpath of about 2 km to the north of Alistrati will be laid out, leading suitably dressed visitors to the famous ancient mines of Alexander the Great. Iron, copper, copper, some gold and various rocks were mined there, which were used for the painting of various vases.

It is very promising and optimistic that the Alistrati Cave Society is an institution with diverse sensibilities and great efficiency in making great use of all the possibilities that the area offers to the visitor. After the briefing we have our coffee with Nikos in the wonderfully renovated Refreshment Room, with its very comfortable and nice room, the large stone fireplace, the many and varied items for sale and the willing service of the people who run it.

THE ‘UNKNOWN’ PICTURESQUE ALISTRATI

According to tradition, Alistrati was founded by the inhabitants of the old town of Alektripoli, which in the 8th and 9th centuries was the seat of a bishopric. The town is mentioned historically in 1460 in a book published on the occasion of the foundation of the Monastery of Ikosifinissa. The location of the town is at an average altitude of 300 metres and dominates the middle of three spectacular mountain ranges.

The town is built on the SE ends of the Menikio, with a roughly circular shape in successive hills, so that no point is smooth and flat in itself. According to the description of K.I. Kontos: “The whole inhabited area is nothing more than rickets, small dents, narrow passages, tedious uphill and so many more downhill, which force you to run when you go down them”.

The Serres-Drama provincial road cuts Alistrati in two. Below the road, the oldest part of the town has developed, which is still quite traditional and is inhabited mainly by “locals”. Above the road, on the side of Menikio, the new part of the town has been built with new buildings by Asia Minor and Pontian refugees and immigrants from Epirus and Thessaly, who fled here, hunted by Ali Pasha.

Morning, bright sunshine and frost, the temperature hovers between 8 and 9 degrees below zero. However, this does not prevent us from dressing up and going out for a wander through the streets of Alistrati. We are accompanied by Nikos Kartalis and Athanasios Petridis, Secretary of the Community for 35 years and current Vice President of the Cave Society, with a deep knowledge of his place.

We first ascend from the guesthouse along a narrow concrete road, an old cobbled street, of which nothing remains. In three minutes we reach the street of Chrysostomos of Smyrna , in front of the mansion of Christos Baera, which dates back to the 18th century and is considered the oldest house of the settlement. It is a two-storey, corner house, with timberwork and carving and many iron-barred windows on the second floor. Mrs. Anastasia Bafera, who is still in residence, willingly opens the door and shows us around the mansion.

On the ground floor there is an old loom dating back to the Turkish occupation. The old ceiling retains its thick woodwork, while the interior wooden staircase remains intact. The house is huge, with many large rooms, where the wooden “mesadres” are still preserved. The glamour of the past is present in every part of the mansion, with old iron beds, wardrobes, period family photographs, old household utensils and carved ceilings, which have lost much of their original beauty through the ravages of time.

We say goodbye to the benevolent lady and pass in front of the old ruined café “O LAZOS”. Then we go down the street C. Stoimenidis passing in front of an old tobacco shop. It is a building of impressive dimensions, with minimalist architecture without plumes and with only two balconies.

We pass by Mitropoleos Street. Here dominates the beautiful old house of Konstantinos Mademlis, ochre-coloured, built in 1905. The walls still have the “tsatmas” on them.

Immediately below, on Karaiskaki Street, we find the well-preserved neoclassical house of Konstantinos Chiolos, a lawyer from Alistrati. We are already at the Republic Square, which is full of people and goods, since today is the traditional Wednesday Bazaar. After the peaceful streets, this sudden flurry of noise is a pleasant note in our tour. Next door stands the stone house and the street of the same name of the distinguished doctor, humanist and former Serres MP Nicolaos Tsimba, who during his lifetime rendered great and varied services to his locality.

We descend down the paved street K. Karamanlis. This is where the small Library of Alistrati is located. Little cafes, old houses and immediately after the small Eleftherias Square with the Town Hall. It is housed in a beautiful and large building of 1963, which has been brilliantly restored. It is a bright building on all sides and has a beautiful meeting room. After the morning chill we gladly accept the coffee offered by the Deputy Mayor and teacher Vassilis Malles, since the Mayor George Mademelis is absent for official reasons in Athens. One of the priorities of the Municipality is the redevelopment of the square with paving and other landscaping projects, which will improve the image of the center of Alistrati. In the square, which has several traditional buildings, there is still a small old pavilion from 1948, when pavilions were almost exclusively given to the “Disabled” and “Victims of War”.

We ascend the opposite side in the direction of Falakro, on the hills of the eastern and northern part of the town. Narrow uphill streets, many old houses among them, some very well preserved and others in ruins and uninhabited. Some are three-storeyed and massive with elaborate architecture, which could well be used as accommodation. The lower floors are made of heavy masonry, while the top floor has light masonry constructed with chata. It is a very interesting and traditional area, with wonderful old buildings that one hardly suspects their presence when simply crossing the Alistrati. Moreover, the view from this point is excellent towards the three mountains and a large part of the settlement.

We descend towards the road that crosses Alistrati, passing close to the church of the Old Saint Athanasios with its cypress trees and the imposing stone bell tower. Then we follow the main road towards Serres, again meeting some nice and well-preserved neoclassical houses. At the height of the big Primary School we turn right towards “Skopia”.

IN THE COUNTRYSIDE AND IN THE REGION OF ALISTRATI

The most suitable times for the route to Skopia are early in the morning, when the sun’s rays are gilding the ridges of Falakro and Menikio, or just before sunset, when the sun is lowering and gently shading the peaks of Falakro and Menikio, or just before sunset, when the sun is lowering and gently shading the peaks of Falakro.

We cross the new settlement of Alistrati with its indifferent architecture and at a distance of 0.8 km from the School we climb steeply to the right, in a natural environment overgrown with pine trees. At 1.5 km the narrow asphalt road forks. After a few hundred metres, the straight road leads to the hill of Prophet Ilias with the homonymous chapel, the highest point in the area of Alistrati. The view, of course, is top notch in every direction. With a clear atmosphere, the peaks of Orvilos can be seen to the N, while to the SE, behind Paggaio, the peaks of Thassos can be seen.

We return to the junction, turn left and after 1000 meters we end up on the second hill of the area with the chapel of Agios Konstantinos.

Here is the Municipal Park of Alistrati, where a refreshment bar operates daily, while on Clean Monday many people gather to enjoy the kite flying and the free distribution of bean soup, herring and laganas. The view from this hill is of course also beautiful.

The main attraction of the area, however, is the Zoo in a fenced area of 20 hectares, which started operating in 2001. It is a wonderful hillside with a cluster of pine trees in the centre, sunny and in the middle of the three mountains.

We are initially greeted by a calm “Llama” family, with a male of brown color and a female of rare white. Bouncing among them is a cute 2-month-old cub, who has taken on his father’s colouring. To the left of the entrance, and along the entire length of the fence, is home to the orthnithofauna, with beautiful pheasants, partridges, guillemots, peacocks (with a rare white), and a special breed of roosters.

In the open space are gathered many dwarf goats with newborns so small they resemble puppies. Near them move slowly a few ducks of a rare variety, as well as 11 geese, which reached this number from a single original pair.

The number of deer is also large, reaching 21 from the original four. These, however, do not refuse to become familiar with our presence and, at the slightest movement, they all move away together with great speed. A rare acquisition of the Alistrati Zoological Garden is an “Ainu”, a descendant of a prehistoric species belonging to the ostrich family.

We continue towards Watchtower. It is a beautiful route through pine and oak forests, which in some places provides top views of the Falakro and Paggaio. At a distance of 6.5 km from the School we reach the village, which with an altitude of about 600 meters is the most mountainous of the Municipality of Alistrati. Perched on the slopes of Menikio, Skopia is a small settlement on a picturesque slope, with a stone-built church but few houses of traditional architecture. On the hill “Megas Alexandros”, near the village, there are remains of an ancient friary. Everything in Skopia is frozen, the snow is kept at a high altitude, while Menikio looms all-white above.

We take the road out of the village in the direction of N. Zichni and immediately afterwards we go uphill to the right on a dirt road, in an attempt to approach Menikio. The road is so much covered with snow that it is impassable.

We return to more temperate climates for a short rest at the tavern of “Petros Terastios”. With his exuberant presence, Petros fully justifies the name of his establishment. Here we enjoy fine local meats and a wonderful view of Falakro from the windows. Immediately afterwards, we continue our journey first to Agiochori, 2km north of Alistrati, at the foot of Menikio. A small and picturesque village overlooked by the imposing rock of “Kagia”.

We return in the direction of Serres. Two and a half km from the centre of Alistrati we turn right towards the nunnery of Ag. Kyriaki. 900m later we arrive in front of the entrance of the monastery, which is built under the old settlement of Kryopigi in a beautiful natural environment with plane trees and many other trees. Above the town is the date 1860, while it is speculated that the ancient Alektriopolis was located nearby.

We return to the main road network and, always heading towards Serres, we reach in a few minutes the lowland and modern settlement of Lefkothea, on the banks of the Angitis river.

Immediately afterwards we turn right on the last uphill route towards the mountains of Alistrati. At first we come across Old Lefkothea, a small and definitely abandoned settlement, with most of the houses in ruins but with excellent views of Paggaio.

At a distance of 4.2 km from Lefkothea we reach the last mountainous settlement, Mandili. It is a small picturesque village with a nice little square and plane tree, a small café and a traditional tavern. From the three taps of a large stone fountain, plenty of mountain water flows unceasingly.

The village has a wonderful view of Paggaio and maintains several old houses.

From the mountains we descend again towards the plain, to the settlement of Lefkothea. Heading SE we cross the Angitis river over the new bridge and immediately afterwards we are at the “Station of Angista”. It is an interesting settlement with several old buildings, among which some brick buildings are preserved. The most impressive buildings are the old building of the S.S. of Aggista, as well as an imposing stone-built three-storey building, which once housed the Postal Savings Bank.

The Angista Station is built between the bed of Angitis and the north-western foot of a pine-clad, lonely and very steep hill, which hid the Macedonian Tomb just below the top. Ascending the path, we arrive in a 10-minute walk in front of the barred and locked entrance to the monument. The bars, however, do not block our view of the interior, where the impressive structure with the large carved spines dominates, ending at the top in a triangular pediment. The hill rises imposingly above the vast plain and is literally at the centre of the three mountains. The view from the top is breathtaking. We treat ourselves for some time to this bliss in absolute serenity.

Then, as the temperature plummets at sunset, we rush to catch the old bridge of Angitis in the last light.

Having discharged its momentum in the multi-talented meanderings of its gorge, Angitis flows in its wide bed, under the old bridge, calm and tranquil. No whirlpool, no strong ripples disturb the surface of the water. The great river seems to be asleep, its movement is imperceptible. Beside the bank the ground is smooth and flat. There is a refreshment room that is open all year round and additional wooden tables, benches and other recreational facilities.

It is an area of incredible tranquillity and beauty, well-known and popular with all the schools in the county and thousands of visitors who, particularly in the summer season, come to enjoy the exquisite natural environment under the protective shade of the plane trees.

In the sweet light of dusk the bridge appears imposing and beautiful with its two main and two small relief arches, its large carved boulders and its excellent construction which has stood the test of time admirably.

-If you are patient until darkness falls, you can admire the river and the bridge by floodlight, we are told.

It’s a fascinating prospect. So we leave the river environment and head out into the open plains for Proti, the hometown of Konstantinos Karamanlis. On the snow-covered flat lands the light is still preserved. High up on the white peaks of Paggaio it is more intense.

The road is deserted, there is no wind, the landscape seems still. We drive quietly, slowly, lest we disturb the tranquility of nature…

The light in Paggaio is gone. Proti is already plunged into darkness. We are returning. A new scene awaits us on the bank of Angitis. In the light of the headlights the surrounding natural environment remains dark, only the beauty of the bridge and a part of the river flow is highlighted.

Dryness and frost. The waters of Angitis are warmer, steaming constantly. We seek warm shelter in Achilleas’s fine tavern, where our friends are waiting for us with good wine and delicious dishes.

A FORETASTE OF THE GORGE OF ANGITIS

The area of the cave fascinates us. Before we depart, we make one last visit. Halfway through the distance, about three kilometers before the cave, a rural road descends to the left. A sign points us in the direction of the fish farms and the fish tavern “GALAZIA NERA”. Within a few minutes we feel an integral part of the landscape. Humble, unpretentious, simply cultivated fields, some still retaining some snow. Anyone looking for grand geophysical outbursts will be bored. But anyone who appreciates the Doric shapes and colour changes, the interplay of light among them, will be charmed. A painter, a photographer, a poet, will be left to ruminate for hours…

A few kilometres further on we reach “Symvoli”, the village where the Angitis Gorge begins. A signpost shows us 300 metres into the gorge. We ascend. At the end of the road we stop and are stunned. Cut vertically, countless centuries ago by the “geological knife” of Nature, the slopes of the canyon gape below us. Inaccessible, vertiginous, a vast narrow funnel of solid rock. In the distance flows the Angite, foaming, rushing, the only ancestral master in this wilderness. We try to gauge the depth from where we are. Fifty metres? Sixty? Eighty? Who knows!

But the course of the river doesn’t stay in a straight line for long. After the privilege of showing us a section from above, it disappears from sight into the dark meanderings of nature’s geological fractures. Those who have descended the Angitis Gorge by some floating means are not wrong to speak of an experience beyond compare.

-You can, of course, admire another part of the gorge, equally spectacular, says Nikos Kartalis a little later. There, are found the other caves in the Alistrati area.

Fifty meters outside the cave site the railway line passes by. We start walking on the familiar rough gravel roads, heading towards Serres. It’s an uneventful march of about 700 metres, lasting a 12-minute walk. At some point we leave the tracks and start walking on a flat but rough terrain, covered with snow and strewn with rocks. In 3 minutes we are in front of the iron-barred entrance to the “Orpheus” Cave. For this unknown cave, the archaeologist Chrysanthi Kontaxi was kind enough to provide us with the following text:

“The cave ‘Orpheus’ is located in the area ‘Petroto’ of the Municipality of Alistrati Serres, about 800 meters southwest of the tourist cave of Alistrati, near the beautiful gorge of the river Angitis.

From a geological point of view, the cave is opened in the metamorphic mass of Rodopi, which appears in the region in the form of crystalline Mesozoic limestones (marbles). As a result of tectonism, a large karstic system developed within this formation, part of which are the tourist cave of Alistrati and the ‘Orpheus’ cave.

The cave was discovered a few years ago following a suggestion by a local resident. Many stones had to be removed in order to make it possible to enter it, due to the subsidence it had suffered, resulting in the formation of a small precipitation vortex, at the bottom of which is the current entrance to the cave, sloping and narrow, partially blocked by subsidence. Today, on the initiative of the Municipal Company of the Alistrati Cave, an iron railing has been installed to protect the cave from any interventions in it.

After a very narrow passage, where one has to crawl over stone falls, we find ourselves in a very large room, imposing in size but also in beauty. It is an elongated, horizontal cave with a total length of about 300 metres. Its width ranges from 20 to 30 metres and the height of the ceiling from 3 to 5 metres. The lithic decoration is very rich: stalactites and stalagmites in various shapes and sizes, imposing discs, parapet formations and crystalline forms make up a unique setting.

Apart from its beauty, the cave also has another surprise in store for us: in its rich backfill and in many places, especially near the flanks, where the decoration and sediments have formed smaller individual chambers, parts of vessels have been found, some quite large, belonging mainly to jars, which attest to the presence of people in the cave in much earlier times.

This fact, combined with the existence of many traces of contraband within the cave, necessitated the carrying out of a trial excavation, which took place in the summer of 2003 and provided important evidence for the past use of the cave by humans. The finds included many vessels of everyday use, but also several examples of fine pottery with polished or incised decoration, bones of mainly domestic animals, bone and stone tools. Two sections of human skulls were also unearthed, one of a small child aged 3-4 years and the other of an adult person, with no evidence at present of any burial practice. An equally important find from the excavation in a small, somewhat isolated, room drilled into the southern flank of the cave is the floor of use with heavy fire remains, on which a total of twelve stake holes were uncovered. The use of these holes has not been completely clarified. In the open-air settlements they are thought to be roof supports for temporary structures. In caves they are mainly interpreted as supports for fixing animal skins, which protect people from the dampness of the cave or from possible dripping of the cave roof.

Regardless of any interpretations, however, the excavation data show a clear use of the cave by humans, which is dated to the end of the Neolithic and the beginning of the Bronze Age (3rd millennium BC). ) It seems that some groups of people occasionally used the cave for a period of time, either as a shelter or temporary settlement, since it provided protection from the weather and was close to water resources (the River Angitis), or as a storage area, as can be seen from the number of vessels, many of which are storage vessels. In any case, the occupation of the people living in the cave with domestic activities is attested by the remains of fires, the remains of their diet and the stone and bone tools used for leatherworking.

The excavation is still in its initial stage and its continuation is expected to provide more data and information about the period and to reveal other secrets that for so many centuries have been kept well hidden in the ‘cave of Orpheus’.” (Chrysanthi Kontaxi)

We continue our march in the snow. In 5 minutes we are at the edge of the canyon. Vertigo and awe! Angitis flows murmurously in the depths of the impassable crags, at least 100 meters lower. At this time of year, with the sun a short distance above the horizon, the bed is half dark. But in the coming months, there will certainly be plenty of light.

From where we are the Cave of St. George is unseen on the steep slopes and it is not wise in the snow to attempt to approach it. But the mouth of the Cave “Chania” is opposite us.

Walking in a NE direction on the edge of the… chaos, we arrive in a few minutes in front of the huge entrance of the cave. The low temperatures in the shade have formed impressive ice crystals, which are still preserved. On a large stone of the entrance some rock paintings are clearly visible.

On this first visit we have not provided any lighting. So the cave keeps its secrets well hidden. Perhaps to motivate us to come back when we deal with the Angite.

We start walking again on the line to Alistrati Cave. I’m thinking, some next time, I’ll take this route on a nice trail.

The moment we get outside the cave, there is a heavy noise. It’s the train approaching from Drama. As soon as it gets close to us Anna raises her camera. The engineer waves to us with his siren.