2023-11-10 13:27:00
Die Region Thessalien
With around 30 million tourists every year, Greece is one of the 15 most popular travel destinations in the world. It is all the more surprising that there are still untouristy regions in the country like the Agrafa massif, which is considered an insider tip among outdoor activists. At least 15 peaks here are over 2000 meters high, the highest, Tymfrischos, reaches 2312 meters.
Agrafa is located in western Thessaly and is the largest of the nine Greek regions in terms of area. Enclosed by high mountains, two wide, fertile plains extend with Tríkala and Lárissa as urban centers – Thessaly is also considered Greece’s granary. It’s not boring for tourists here: the ancient Greeks were already busy farming and raising animals – which makes Thessaly a treasure trove for educated citizens on the trail of antiquity and its mythology.
Another advantage of visiting the area is that it is a world heritage site, the seat of the gods and the filming location of a cult film, with the Metéora monasteries, Mount Olympus and “Mamma Mia!” And from Volos, the largest Thessalian port, it is only a stone’s throw across to the Pelion Peninsula, a hiking paradise with shady oak forests and picturesque bathing bays – without any crowds of tourists.
Source: Infographic WELT
Monks built monasteries on rocky pinnacles
For almost 400 years they were fortresses of the Christian faith in the Islamic Ottoman Empire – the Metéora monasteries in Thessaly, perched on rocky pinnacles. Around a hundred stone solitaires, remnants of a sandstone mountain, rise up to 600 meters near Kalambaka.
You used to reach the Roussanou monastery via a rope ladder, but today there are steps leading up
Quelle: Getty Images
While in Byzantine times a few hermits from the monastic republic of Athos initially built airy outbuildings here, after the Turks invaded in the 15th century, every third rock was soon occupied by monks – and could only be reached via rope ladders.
Six monasteries are still inhabited today, now have stair access and can be visited. The remaining “rock nests” were gradually abandoned after Thessaly was liberated in 1881; Ruins are still clearly visible on two dozen sandstone towers.
Above the clouds: Around a hundred stone solitaires rise up to 600 meters near Kalambaka
Quelle: Getty Images/PHOTO BY DIMITRIOS TILIS
Beaches and bays as a film set
Thessaly not only includes kilometers of beaches along the Olympic Riviera, but also cinematic bays. The blockbuster “Mamma Mia!” was filmed there in 2007, on the Northern Sporades, which belongs to Thessaly.
According to the script, the Abba musical takes place on a fictional Greek island, and the camera team chose Skopelos as the setting for the beach scenes: With its 80 percent forested hinterland, the Sporades island is considered the greenest island in the Aegean – and with its 66 kilometer long coastline of turquoise blue The sea is also a bathing paradise. If a tree-lined bay comes into the picture in the film, it is probably Kastani Beach.
The blockbuster “Mamma Mia!” was filmed in 2007 on the Northern Sporades, which belong to Thessaly. turned
Quelle: mauritius images / Collection Christophel
Hiking in the Agrafa Mountains
It is considered the most remote mountain range in Greece – Agrafa in western Thessaly. Not even the Ottoman tax collectors penetrated the difficult-to-access area, which saved many residents from paying taxes. The landscape is still archaic today. If you want to experience it: The European long-distance hiking trail E4 passes through 14 ancient mountain villages.
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Music in honor of the gods
Zeus on Mount Olympus, Apollo in the Témbi Valley, the Centaurs in the Pelion Mountains: those who had status and name in the ancient pantheon of gods were in Thessaly. The gods loved music and music was played to honor them at every opportunity.
Water-powered organs were also used, called hydraulis, which are among the oldest keyboard instruments in the world. In 1992 a specimen was found at the foot of Mount Olympus.
Water-powered organs are among the oldest keyboard instruments in the world
Source: Infographic WELT
A mountain railway in the “Switzerland of Greece”
The Greeks praise the Pelion peninsula in the south of Thessaly as the “Switzerland of Greece”. The fact that a narrow-gauge railway from 1895 runs through the rugged mountains, passing two tunnels and nine viaducts, fits in well with the Swiss cliché.
The Pelion Railway takes 90 minutes to cover the 15 kilometers from Ano Lechonia on the Pagasitic Gulf to the mountain village of Milies. Before it returns three hours later, the locomotive is manually turned on a disc; Travelers are allowed to help.
The Pelion narrow-gauge railway passes a viaduct
Those: De Agostini via Getty Images
The marathon leads over the summit massif of Mount Olympus
The Faethon Marathon participants have to overcome 3200 meters of altitude. The 43.4 kilometer long circuit leads from Kokkinopilos in Thessaly over the summit massif of Olympus (2918 meters) back to 1250 meters. Ten hours are scheduled for the route.
Along with the Olympus Mythical Trail, the Olympus Ultra and the Almira-X Triathlon, the Faethon Marathon is considered the most demanding of eleven running events that have been established at Olympus since 2004.
The quote
“I have a horse like you have never seen before”
Philonikos, a 4th century BC A horse breeder living in Thessaly, rightly praised his animal: it would later make world history under the name Bucephalus, because it carried Alexander the Great through all the battles.
Thessaly’s war horses had already proven themselves against the Persians. Alexander even founded a city in honor of his horse, Alexandreia Bucephalus, now Jhelam in Pakistan. There are no longer any purebred Thessalians, but the tough Pindus pony probably originated with them.
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Bizarre, record-breaking, typical: You can find further parts of our regional studies series here.
This text is from WELT AM SONNTAG. We will be happy to deliver them to your home regularly.
Source: WELT AM SONNTAG
This article was originally published in September 2020.
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