Panorama Photo

I just read today that Greek tourism is recovering after difficult years. Pictures like this will support the trend. Cheers, Martin

It 's a place that leads to silence and meditation.

What was precious here in Odigitria was how the people, after the (very long) mass, did not rush to home like they do here, perhaps to listen the usual TV refrains about bonds and Bunds and spread... They took the benches that you see scattered all around, they gathered them together in one corner, where they remained in conversation until, or perhaps even beyond, the fall of darkness. It was me who at a certain point went down to the village in search for dinner!
Something different from the scene that you see so often nowadays in our countries, namely, people sitting together, but each one playing around with his damned and shit smartphone!
The album picasaweb.google.com/albertopedrotti/Creta2014 is under construction, but some images already witness what I am describing.
Crazy at it may see, I shot this 360° thinking of N.8261! If not the place, the mood was very similar, and led similarly to think that, if only people wanted, "life" would be possible even in the XXI-th century...

Non credo che ci riusciremmo. Io, che pure sono molto sensibile verso questi aspetti, non ci riuscirei. Voglio raccontarti una storia.

Una decina di anni fa, ero in vacanza in Puglia ed avevo affittato una casa in campagna. Vicino quella casa abitava una coppia di anziani contadini con cui avevo fatto conoscenza.
Un giorno il contadino mi chiese dove ero andato e gli risposi che ero andato al mare. Al che, mi rispose che anche lui era stato al mare nello stesso posto.
Non riuscivo a capire cosa mi voleva dire. Era un anziano contadino senza auto, senza patente e che faceva fatica a camminare. Poi capii e mi spiegò che era stato al mare 60 anni prima in viaggio di nozze.
Il suo viaggio di nozze era consistito nell' andare con la moglie a vedere il mare per mezza giornata. E, sia lui che la moglie, avevano visto il mare solo quella volta nella loro intera vita.
E da dove abitava il mare distava solo 20 Km!!!
Era meglio così? Forse no.

The Greek Orthodox church has a very different approach to celebrating the Holy Mess. I also observed - very much to my pleasure - how everyone gathers in and around churches, liturgy and songs being transmitted via loud-speakers and the gathered folks being chatting happily during the rites. Very intriguing approach to religion!

The comparison to 8261 is of course very interesting and provoking. However, such remote places like in 8261 are quite frequent outside toe monatry walls - aren't they?

Giuseppe: non intendevo dire di ritornare a questi anni antichi, solo di ritornare a vedere la gente che si prende un po' di tempo, ad esempio per sedersi a chiacchierare su una panchina. Questo da noi è del tutto scomparso - non ultimo, perché stanno tutti chiusi in casa a leggere e scrivere boiate su Facebook...
P.S.: il tuo contadino pugliese mi ricorda quello incontrato in Cilento da Paolo Rumiz, quando andò a fare il giro d'Italia in Topolino (libro: «La leggenda dei monti naviganti»). Gli mostra, sulle colline dall'altra parte della valle, il paesino di Abatemarco, informandolo di essere stato perfino lí: Abatemarco, per lui, è la fine del mondo.

Christoph: if you enjoy this, the right picture for you is www.panoramio.com/photo/111458315 take into account that I chose the only 15 seconds when there were no people going and coming, but only people standing...
But Koudouma is mainly a touristic place, with crowds coming for a weekend from Heraklion or from the Cretan "outback". I have seen even monks going to the kiosk, during the mass, in order to buy drinks... In little, isolated places, like Odigitria of Agios Ioannis of Kapetaniana, the mass records much less "traffic", like in our countries.
Yes, in this corner of Crete the monasteries are all built in 8261-like environments!
Good that you mention again 8261. I need to light it up somewhat! I printed it for an exhibition (the goal was to raise funds for the Tsaatan), but it came out too dark. One had the feeling to be there, but for future reprints... A job which is waiting since two years.