By Silvia CeausuThe Greek island of Lesvos is situated in the northeastern part of the Aegean Sea, off the coast of Anatolia. It was inhabited since the ancient times and has its own place in the Greek early history and literature, being mentioned even in the Homeric epics. The history of the island is a series of conquests, defeats, layers of colonization, migrations and influences that shaped the way of life and culture of the islanders. What is the most important is that this way of life resisted to numerous and long occupations, from that of the Romans to that of the Ottomans.
In the western part of Lesvos lays the small settlement of Sigri which encompasses in its small territory all the symbols of the troubled history of the island. The petrified forest found here and formed due to a volcanic eruption reminds of the geological history of the island. Defining of the past of the people here both as conquerors and conquered is the bay protected by the island of Nissiopi which makes it a perfect harbor and a valuable place for any country with maritime ambitions. Overlooking the village, you can see the old castle which was build by the Turks to protect this harbor and the Ottoman fleet that was kept here. At the north of the village, at the end of the Faneromeni beach there is the small church of Zoedochos built in a cave, in a way the antithesis of the big old Turkish castle. Hidden and peaceful, the church was probably helping people to keep alive their faith, their culture and their hope during the harsh times of occupation. And probably it did a good job as it is proven by the bigger Agia Triada church from the center of the village which was first built as a mosque and then transformed in an orthodox church after Lesvos joined the Greek state. Agia Triada church is a symbol of revival but a revival that was made possible by small acts of resistance like the small Zoedochos cave church.
But the inhabitants themselves are the most interesting part of the Sigri village. They and their lives are also reminding of a lot of things that are lost for many of us: the strong connections they have with their neighbors, with their family from which they most probably inherited their way of making a living. They still eat mostly local food caught by local fishermen or produced by local gardeners, they don’t drive cars everyday because everything in the village is in a walking range. They are still having that traditional lifestyle that is considered by many benign for nature and in harmony with it. This is what makes places like this so fascinating and what attracts here those enjoying a different kind tourism, a more sustainable one. But what would happen if, as we would wish, more and more people would start enjoying this kind of tourism and places like Sigri? If there will be more and more people coming to see such places how will this change them? Would people like those from Sigri have to find new “small churches” to protect their uniqueness in the face of these new modern “conquerors”? I am thinking that those who decided to live here and continue this lifestyle are not that easy to change though.
Adonis, a local bar owner and the editor of the village newsletter, told us how he was amazed by the fact that an important part of the day, we, the master students of an environmental program, staying in Sigri for a week, were sitting in front of our laptops instead of enjoying the rarity and beauty of such a place. Of course, we were all far away from home, wanting to keep the connection with the world beyond Sigri and we are also part of a generation for which internet is, let’s just say, important. But we have to admit that we just have a different kind of life then that of the people from Sigri. Our life could be considered closer to what we would call unsustainable then to that of the people from this Greek village. But it just might be that Sigri is for us the “small church” in which we preserve this benign lifestyle from which we furthered away and we might have to come back to it someday.
In the western part of Lesvos lays the small settlement of Sigri which encompasses in its small territory all the symbols of the troubled history of the island. The petrified forest found here and formed due to a volcanic eruption reminds of the geological history of the island. Defining of the past of the people here both as conquerors and conquered is the bay protected by the island of Nissiopi which makes it a perfect harbor and a valuable place for any country with maritime ambitions. Overlooking the village, you can see the old castle which was build by the Turks to protect this harbor and the Ottoman fleet that was kept here. At the north of the village, at the end of the Faneromeni beach there is the small church of Zoedochos built in a cave, in a way the antithesis of the big old Turkish castle. Hidden and peaceful, the church was probably helping people to keep alive their faith, their culture and their hope during the harsh times of occupation. And probably it did a good job as it is proven by the bigger Agia Triada church from the center of the village which was first built as a mosque and then transformed in an orthodox church after Lesvos joined the Greek state. Agia Triada church is a symbol of revival but a revival that was made possible by small acts of resistance like the small Zoedochos cave church.
But the inhabitants themselves are the most interesting part of the Sigri village. They and their lives are also reminding of a lot of things that are lost for many of us: the strong connections they have with their neighbors, with their family from which they most probably inherited their way of making a living. They still eat mostly local food caught by local fishermen or produced by local gardeners, they don’t drive cars everyday because everything in the village is in a walking range. They are still having that traditional lifestyle that is considered by many benign for nature and in harmony with it. This is what makes places like this so fascinating and what attracts here those enjoying a different kind tourism, a more sustainable one. But what would happen if, as we would wish, more and more people would start enjoying this kind of tourism and places like Sigri? If there will be more and more people coming to see such places how will this change them? Would people like those from Sigri have to find new “small churches” to protect their uniqueness in the face of these new modern “conquerors”? I am thinking that those who decided to live here and continue this lifestyle are not that easy to change though.
Adonis, a local bar owner and the editor of the village newsletter, told us how he was amazed by the fact that an important part of the day, we, the master students of an environmental program, staying in Sigri for a week, were sitting in front of our laptops instead of enjoying the rarity and beauty of such a place. Of course, we were all far away from home, wanting to keep the connection with the world beyond Sigri and we are also part of a generation for which internet is, let’s just say, important. But we have to admit that we just have a different kind of life then that of the people from Sigri. Our life could be considered closer to what we would call unsustainable then to that of the people from this Greek village. But it just might be that Sigri is for us the “small church” in which we preserve this benign lifestyle from which we furthered away and we might have to come back to it someday.
