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If you are thinking of changing your lifestyle and buying a home on Crete, this hospitable island with the healthiest diet in the world, then why not let ESC abroad help you.
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Sirtaki
Komboloi "Worry beads"
Kafenion
Tavli
Olive oil
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Music and Dance
There are many different and varied kinds of songs and dances, some intricate, some simple, some deriving from folk traditions others and so on. An equally strong and perhaps less tourist tradition is the folk dance, every region having its own, usually danced at weddings and other festive days such as saints days.
The habit of breaking plates has nearly disappeared, it has developed into the more genteel habit of throwing flowers over the dancers instead. The Greeks very easily burst into spontaneous song whether in the car driving home from an excursion or in the local little taverna where it is quite usual to jump up and "do a turn", that is a few steps of dance out of pleasure and joy, even though there is no dance floor or even any music provided by the taverna itself.
Sirtaki
When speaking of Greek dancing, it is the Sirtaki that comes to mind. Sirtaki is a mixture of the hasapiko and a folk dance. All dances are now danced by both men and women.
Komboloi "Worry beads"
A recent popular song used to declare: "I shall throw away my watch and buy a set of worry beads", which is exactly the symbolism of the komboloi. Even today you can see, usually, an elderly man dawdling along the pier, his hands behind his back playing around with the beads. Or men (usually) sitting around the kafenion table, arguing, and playing on their beads with a greater degree of agitation as the argument heats up. These beads are not religious, they are not some kind of Orthodox rosary (though you will see many priests swinging them along as well), they are just a way of passing the time, keeping your hands occupied, which is why in recent time they have been promoted as an excellent way to give up smoking. In recent times also, more and more women have taken up the habit of swinging around a set of worry beads which was never done before, but that is why more sophisticated fashion conscious sets of worry beads are being produced more and more.
Kafenion
The English gentleman has his club, the Greek, gentleman and peasant alike, have their kafenion. This is literally the coffee shop but which offers so much more than just coffee. It is of course, the local debating society, where newspapers are read and opinions loudly exchanged. It is also the local "exchange", where business is discussed and deals are made. It is also the gossip exchange center and the source of all rumours, true or false, but perhaps above all, it is a sanctuary, where a man can come and let off steam and unwind. And it is his gaming hall, where he will find people to play cards and, above all tavli with. Whether these are relaxing pursuits or in fact tiring endeavours is a different matter.
Tavli
Just as a Greek will not accept that anyone can run the country better than he could so he does not accept that anyone can play tavli as skillfully as he can. When his opponent does win a game, as invariably he must, then it is only due to filthy luck and nothing more. When he wins, of course, it is purely out of skill and intelligence. But tavli is not just a game, it is a whole ritual. First of all there has to be noise. The dice and counters have to be banged onto the board with a passion, otherwise it almost seems as if the moves do not count. There has to be argument and recriminations. Often there will be an audience. Tempers will rise. It is a matter of life and death. Friends will fall out over a game only to get back together again the next day for the replay. The kafenion rents out a tavli set just as it offers decks of cards for the loved game of prefa which is similar to bridge, another time consuming leisure pursuit of the Greek male who often appears to be at it all day and all night.
Olive oil
Olive oil has long been, and remains to this day, a symbol of excellence, purity and simplicity. The harvesting and processing practice facilitating the journey from tree to table has become modernised, but its elegant simplicity has never been complicated.
Olives are harvested from November until March, six to eight months after their spring blossoms appear. The olive tree prospers in very dry climates, and can tolerate droughts and high winds. Therefore it is not surprising that olive trees grow beautifully in the Mediterranean, with its mild winters and long, hot summers. The Mediterranean region is responsible for 98 of the olive oil harvest.
In many regions, olives are beaten from the tree with poles and caught in large nets. Other Olive farmers now use machine harvesting, including trunk and branch shakers.
Once collected, olives are rushed to the mills for same day or, at most, next day pressing. olives not pressed immediately begin to oxidise and ferment. Thousands of years ago, crushing was done by hand in spherical stone basins. Today, in a similar method, olives are crushed by mechanical stainless steel grindstones. |
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