Biblical catastrophe

Attica is on fire: masses of flames are speeding through a beautiful natural forest of tall pine trees, that is called ‘the lungs of Athens’. Fires moved from the north destroying houses and threatening the suburbs of Athens. This disaster is only two years after the big fires in the Peloponnesus, which caused the deaths of 70 people.

On Sunday I watched the fight against the inferno on television. It was remarkable because it was mostly ordinary citizens engaged in the battle using anything they thought might help them put out the flames. You saw people handling garden hoses, you saw men and women running with buckets full of water, you saw people shovelling sand on the fire with spades, you saw small bulldozers trying to shift the fire as it burned, but most of all you saw people beating the flames with tree branches.

The fire started on Friday night, it spread on Saturday and only on Sunday was it recognised to be such a catastrophe. Also on Sunday morning the government woke up and sent Prime Minister Karamanlis (of Neo Democratia) in a helicopter to fly over the burning region, while his political opponent Papandreou (from Pasok) visited a village besieged by flames. Then at last the government sent in the police and the army to help the fire-brigades who were helpless against so many fire centres spread over tens of kilometers. I am not sure who send out the milk cars to transport water, nor the train that was seen carrying water towards the fire-fighters.

In the morning and afternoon civilians were seen everywhere battling the fire, and in the few places where the firemen could get to, they gave a hand. All residents were ordered to evacuate, but many men, some women and even a few grandmothers refused and stayed behind to try to save their houses, or those of family or neighbours. They were right. How much more would the fires have spread if they hadn’t tried to help? Because at many places there were no fire-fighters, no helicopter or water bombers to be seen. They were all on their own. Their civil disobedience made them heroes.

In daytime it was mainly correspondents who talked about the fires on their tv-shows. But as the sun set, the real media carnival started because people could call in to the studios. The anchormen clearly had difficulties remaining calm dealing with the endless streams of angry words from callers. Some were even cut off. Well, how would you react if you are told to evacuate your family to Athens, but there was no place to go when you got there?

People were right to be angry. According to the BBC Greece does not have enough fire-fighters, nor enough equipment to fight big fires on this scale. It is clear that the government has learned no lessons from the wildfires of 2007. Except, perhaps, the municipalities who got the order in spring to keep the grass short at the side of public roads.

It is easy for the government to give orders like that. But whenever a municipality needs serious help of the capital, support is rarely forthcoming. Last week the mayor of Molyvos wrote an angry letter to the government to try and get more fire-trucks, and also to get help to nail down the arsonist who has been setting fires around Molyvos. Yes, it is sad but true, the fires in Molyvos have not stopped and keep starting up on a regular basis. Until now no houses have burned nor anyone hurt, but it is scary to think that one time it could get out off hand like as did in Attica.

Some weeks ago I was confronted with a fire in Eftalou, between the pizzeria and Hotel Panselinos. And I must admit, it was a terrifying experience although it was reassuring to see that many tourists and other passers-by joined in to help fight the flames with tree branches.

On the internet there are lots of tips that say what to do when your house is threatened by a wild fire. You have to remove inflammable furniture and other stuff completely away from the house, specially the wood stack if that is close to the house, saw dead branches out of the trees, or even better, saw down the whole tree like I saw doing some people doing in Attica. Turn off the gas, turn on all lights, so that the house stays visible in dense smoke; close all doors, windows and shutters, but not with the key - so that firefighters can get in and out if they have to; make sure your garden hose is connected and put buckets and other receptacles full of water outside; and of course make sure that your car is filled with your most precious belongings and ready to go.

According to a recent study by Nikolaos Zirogiannis for Amherst University in Massachusetts (after the fires in the Peloponnesus in 2007) “as far as human factors are concerned population density was negatively associated with wildfire spread. In addition, the more olive groves were found within the boundaries of a village the less damage the settlement was found to have sustained. Finally, participation of local people in fire abatement efforts was significant in reducing wildfire risk”.

So my conclusion is: all inhabitants of Greece should get an instant course in fighting wildfires; courses should be published online and more simple instructions for wildfire prevention should also be widely published. This way we will not have to depend upon a failing government nor upon a shortage of firefighters.

(With thanks to Tony Barrell)

@ Smitaki 2009

S'agapo

It is the top of the summer, Athens is deserted, and the islands are full of people. After Easter, the 15th of August is the biggest celebration day in Greece. This day most Greeks go to their parental villages, the islands and to churches dedicated to Maria to celebrate her Assumption to heaven. When you realise that on the same date half of the Greek population has a name day — including amongst many others Despina, Pepi, Krista, Maria, Maro, Mario, Maritsa, Marigoula, Marsia, Mirella, Panayotis, Panos, Panikos and Toula — you can understand why this is a very big day of celebration.

Today Poland also celebrates the Assumption of Maria with a national day off. Lots of Catholics however are not too happy that on their big day this year a concert in Warsaw was scheduled for pop star Madonna, known to the Catholic church for more than one scandal (TB: and for boldly using for herself one of the well known names of the mother of Christ!). Madonna started her current European tour Sticky and Sweet on the 4th of July in London.

In Poland the 15th of August is the day of the Black Madonna of Czestochowa — not of the visiting ‘white’ Madonna ‘possessed by the devil’. In 1656 the Black Madonna of Czestochowa was called out to be the Queen and Protector of Poland, after her icon saved in a miraculous way the Jasna Góra monastery in Czestochowa when a Swedish army tried to invade Poland. Now around the 15th of August thousands of pilgrims flock to this monastery from all over the country.

The Greeks, however, might not mind if the notorious Madonna were to buy a great Greek ‘icon’: the granddaughter of Aristoteles Onassis has put the island of Skorpios on to the market for about $100 million dollars. It was on this private ‘Onassis island’ that the fairy tale wedding of the famous ship magnate and Jacqueline Kennedy took place nearly forty years ago in October 1968. Together with other family members, Onassis himself is buried on the island. As well as Madonna, Bill Gates is named as a possible buyer.

Lesvos has two Madonnas who attract lots of fans on the 15th of August: Madonna Glikofiloussa (Maria with the sweet hug) in Petra and Madonna Vrefokratousa (Maria carrying the Holy Child) in Agiasos. To entertain the pilgrims and other visitors who crowd to these churches on the great day, traditional musicians gather to make music — although most of them play the old songs that don’t have that thrill (and sex appeal) for which Madonna is famous.

Greeks love their traditional music. Most Greeks know hundreds of songs by heart. If for a year you watched the popular tv-programs like Stin ygeia mas (‘Cheers’ on NET) or To parti tis zoies sou (‘The party of your life’ on Alter) you would get to know them all. Most of the songs are pretty old, but they still make up the repertoire of singers like Haris Alexiou, George Dalares, Yannis Parios or Alkisti Protopsalti.

One of my favourite songs is ‘S’agapo giati eisai oraia’ (I love you because you are beautiful). The song came with the refugees from Asia Minor (in the 1920s), although it is said that Aristides Moschos composed it. Anyhow, it was sung in the 1960s by Marianna Gatsoupoulo, but it became even more popular when Geroge Dalares sang it. Haris Alexiou performed the song in 2006 during her first concert in Istanbul.

It is a song which lets you wallow in all your feelings. You will recognize the word s’a – ga – po (I love you) in many Greek songs, a word you can stretch and tease your vocal cords.

Last week I visited a taverna where two musicians played during dinner and I just had to ask the owner Perikles to sing us all a song. He used to sing with Alexiou. Nowadays he can still dance the stars from the sky, but his singing voice is seldom heard.

When he got ready next to the musicians and the first chords were played, I immediately knew that Perikles was going to sing one of my favourite songs. It is the song that our neighbour always sings when she is swimming in the sea and the sweet tunes are brought to me on the wind, as if a mermaid were performing in the waves. It is a timeless song as good as anything by Madonna.

You can find many different interpretations on YouTube, but I think one of the best is the one by Alkisti Protopsalti, accompanied by Goran Bregovic, from their Album Paradexthika.

sagapo,
sagapo giati eisai oraia,
sagapo giati eisai oraia,
sagapo giati eisai esy...

ki agapo,
agapo kai olo to kosmo,
agapo kai olo to kosmo,
giati zeis kai esy mazi...

to para,
to parathiro kleismeno,
to parathiro kleismeno,
to parathiro kleisto...

anoikse,
anoikse to ena filo,
anoikse to ena filo,
tin eikona sou na do...

sagapo,
sagapo giati eisai oraia,
sagapo giati eisai oraia,
sagapo giati eisai esy...

I love you
I love you because you are beautiful
I love you because you are beautiful
I love you because it´s you

And I love
I love the whole world
I love the whole world
Because you are part of it

The win
The window is closed
The window is closed
The window has been closed

Open
Open it for a friend
Open it for a friend
So that we can see you

I love you
I love you because you are beautiful
I love you because you are beautiful
I love you because it´s you

(With thanks to Tony Barrell)

@ Smitaki 2009

Empire of water

Last week there was a big fire on the island. It started at Megalo Limni. It took me some time to place this ‘Big Lake’: it is the vast lowland you pass if you are driving from the flats of Kaloni to the mountain town of Agiosos, just before the road that goes over the hills through Ambelika and Akrasi to Plomari. This used to be a large sweet water lake, fed by several streams coming off mount Olympos, and it provided Mytilini, the capital of Lesvos, with water.

The Romans preferred to live in cities and they took care they were fitted with all sorts of conveniences, especially baths, gardens, swimming pools, and sewerage systems, all of which needed water. According to archaeological findings, several aqueducts delivered water to the ancient city of Rome. In about two centuries BC the Romans were still enlarging their Empire and conquered the Greek states, and began impressive public building schemes with water towers, sewers, drainage-canals and aqueducts.

They built about 200 aqueducts in their new domains, and in Greece the best known were in Athens, Corinth, Nikopolis (Northwest Greece) and on Lesvos. The Aqueduct of Moria — called the aqueduct of Lesvos now — was built around 200 AC. It is said that it used to be 22 kilometers long: from Megalo Limni all the way to Mytilini. The biggest part that still stands (and was recently restored) is a little outside Moria, a few kilometers from the capital. It is 170 meters long and has 17 arches. Close to Lambou Mili you will find another part of the aqueduct, with its old arches spanning a river, but out of the way, lonely and forgotten.

After the Romans left (only a century later) some time during the passing years, these structures fell into decay and Mtyilini had to get its water in other ways. In1935 the Megalo Limni lake was drained to make way for farm land.

In other parts of the island the inhabitants usually found their water from springs on the slopes of the biggest mountains of the island — Olympos and Lepetimnos. These mountains secrete so much water that even in the heat of high summer natural springs just keep on flowing.

In most parts of the island tap water is drinkable, but it still contains additives put in it by municipal authorities for public health. That is why a lot of people buy mineral water in the shops. But why would you buy bottles of water when you live on an island that has so many natural sources?

On a really hot Sunday we made a water tour of the natural springs of Lesvos to compare the taste of different sources. We started from Molyvos and progressed through Favios, Sykaminia, Mandamados, Agia Paraskevi, Lambou Mili, Agios Dimitrios and Vasilka towards Lisvori. In order not to collapse in the heat before we reached Karini, the area of the island richest with springs, we by-passed the popular spring between Petra and Kaloni, the beautiful spring of Ypsilometopo, and the famous water source at Lambou Mili along the main road to Mytilini.

Tasting water is a job. Nothing is as difficult as describing it accurately. So we came up with our own descriptions: funny taste, bitter, even, no aroma, rich, fresh, sweet, chemical, soft, no after-taste, round, fruity, bad taste, acid. At most springs we met people filling large water containers and they all said theirs was the best water on the island. Everyone to his taste. (TB: It’s often said that once you drink the water of Lesbos you are bound to return.)

So we thought the water from the spring between Argenos and Chalikas a little acid and even; the water from Mandamados, Agia Paraskevi and Vasilika without taste —or bitter. And the water from the Hot Springs of Lisvori (which we didn’t like at all) was too heavy with minerals.

The two most famous springs on the island are in our top three: Lambou Mili — where you take the road towards Karini, after the bridge — and Agios Dimitrios, a small hamlet with two tavernas, famous for its Gliko Koutaliou (sweet from the spoon — vegetables and fruit preserved with sugar). The funny thing was that the water from the most popular spring, just down from the hamlet, had an acid first taste and was not sweet at all, in contrast to the water from the spring up from the hamlet, towards to Vasilika, which was really soft and sweet and, for us, the best.

The biggest surprise however was the water from Sykaminia, at the church just before the mountain village (if you are coming from Argenos). This water is rich, fresh and sweet and we thought the best of all we tasted. The only disadvantage is that the flow from the tap is so slow it takes ages to fill a big bottle.

In the North, South and Centre of the island you will never be in danger of death from thirst. Somewhere there’s always some refreshing water. Our tour was excellent, especially as it was a very warm day. Although I rarely felt so happy taking my first swig of ouzo, after we had a second taste of all the water we collected from the different springs.

And by the way, the fire at Megalo Limni was fought with big water bombers which came amongst others from other islands. It crossed the road towards the pine forests and a strong wind made the situation very dangerous. With knowledge and resources, however the fire-fighters knew how to prevent a real catastrophe and only a few hectares of wood went up in flames. Thanks to its ample water supplies, Lesvos got off again.

Lopi (Wolfgang Lopau 1938 - 2009)

The troubadour of Molyvos,
And King of Dragonflies
Has left us.

Your faithful blue four wheels
Paved the way for you
The stocks of the old Malamatina
Finally dried up

Your cheering gitar play
And your inspiring company
Are hushed

In hidden waters
Dragonflies keep on having metamorphoses
Their lives already written down
In the many books you made

Yamas Lopi
As long as sardines
Will swim in the Bay of Kaloni
We will not forget you





“Ach, wie beschäftigt wir sind,
weil die Libellen einander nicht
genügend anstaunen,
weil ihre Pracht
ihnen einander kein Rätsel ist
und kaum Versuchung,
sondern ein Gegenwert.
Genau dem, was sie opfern,
ihrer Lebenskürze genau
entspricht es, so prächtig zu sein,
und von der Pracht, die sie leicht zueinander spielt,
geht ihre Liebe nicht über.
Wir, vor Überflüssen stehen wir, Verschwendungen,
oder, plötzlich, vor zuwenig Dasein.”

(Rainer Maria Rilke, from: Letter exchange in poems between Rainer Maria Rilke and Erika Mitterer, 1924)

Winery

What else should you do during a heat wave but write about drinking? Tourists used to think that the two national beverages of Greece were retsina and ouzo. Nowadays, however, many tourists have never even heard of retsina. Retsina is a white wine flavoured with pine resin (originally this resin helped preserve the wine). It is a light wine with a slight bitter taste, which makes it a wonderful drink during the heat.

Fashions change, including for drinks. Retsina has lost its popularity and has become more or less a folkloric beverage, despised by most tourists. It is beer they favour, and gaining popularity amongst Greeks too. Dutch brands like Heineken and Amstel appear more often on the table than the Greek made Mythos and Alpha. But there is also ordinary wine. Some tavernas serve home made local vintages, but the taste can be a little too acidic. Seldom will you be given a separate wine list and the wine that is offered is of medium range quality. But that is going to change. After many centuries Greek quality wines are on the rise again and are being voted best at international competitions.

Greek wine was very popular in Antiquity and there was a lively wine commerce, which reached far across European borders. Writers like Theophrastus (ca. 371 – 287 BC) and Homer (ca. 800 – 750 BC) wrote priceless details about wine production and trade in their times. Homer wrote so often about wine that a friend called him Vinesos Homerus (wine nose Homer).

The Greeks cannot claim to have invented wine, but it is said that Greek conquerors did bring viticulture first to Italy and then to France. Later on the Romans spread it further throughout their world.

But wine is much older than the way to Rome (a Dutch expression). Ever since the merry god Dionysus offered it to the people, Greek mythology has been full of anecdotes about how sweet the wine can be, but also how treacherous.

The old story goes that Dionysos taught an Athenian, Ikarios, how to make wine. When Ikarios offered some peasants a couple of cups of they got drunk and thought Ikarios was poisoning them. So they stoned him to death. The next morning they hid his body, but the dead man’s dog Maira showed his daughter Erigone where the body was. Erigone was so upset about her father’s death that she hanged herself. The dog Maira jumped into a well. Dionysus was very angry about all this and immortalised the three — Maira, Erigone and Ikarios — amongst the stars, then, as punishment, created a drought over the whole country and for Athens a plague of suicides: many young girls hanged themselves, just like Erigone.

It is said that Dionysos drank just three cups of wine a day: the first for health, the second for love and the third for sleep. The myth proceeds: the fourth cup is for violence, the fifth is revolt, the sixth for drunkenness, the seventh for black eyes, the eighth for the police, the ninth for billiousness and the tenth for madness.

In Roman times on the island Lesvorian wine was still famous and treasured, but after the Romans left, the great days of Lesvorian viticulture came to an end. And in the rest of the country, the golden centuries of Greek wine culture were numbered when the Greek states became part of the Byzantine Empire. The farmers had to pay more and more taxes and abandoned many vineyards. The monasteries took advantage, and monks bought up vineyards and specialized in making wine. After occupation by Franks and Venetians, the Ottomans ruled over Greece for several centuries and they were not wine lovers. The Greeks eventually freed themselves from Ottomans control, but the twentieth century proved unstable as national and international wars raged across the country: not a good time to build up viticulture. And then there was the devastatiing disease philloxera which destroyed many vineyards all across Europe, including Greece.

Not until the 1960s did Greek viticulture emerge from the ruins as retsina became very popular and wine houses put plenty of cheap wine on the market. In the seventies more wineries started and made better quality wines. A trend that continues now. Greece can be proud of its improving wine culture and some farmers are even trying to reintroduce the old grape varieties from Antiquity.

In the fourth century BC the most expensive wine traded in Athens was from Chios. But high quality wines also came from Lesvos, Kos, Naxos, Skopelos, Tasos and Chalkidiki. The most famous Lesvorian wine from Antiquity was Pramnian. These days it wouldn’t be thought of as a table wine at all, because it was sweet and thick as nectar. The grapes were harvested as late as possible to maximise their sugar content. They were then put in a container and, under their own weight, without the need for a wine press, they yielded a thick and sweet juice which ran free.

It wasn’t until 1985 that the family of Dimitris Lambrou reopened a winery on the island to make the wine Methimneos. They revived the old Lesvorian grape (Lesvos Grape Variety) and made it in the small village of Chidira — where they now bottle both red and white wines. The red is fresh and fruity, but expensive. The white isn’t cheap either, but it’s a fresh, dry and spicy wine.

Lots of Lesvorians make wine for their own use. The island has a perfect environment for viticulture: lots of volcanic earth and plenty of sunshine. These young local wines are often a little acidic, but sometimes you taste one and want to ask for a whole barrel — except that these days, home wine makers preserve the wine in plastic containers, not in wooden barrels, which I think means they miss the opportunity to make really good wine. My favorite (white) wine comes from the neighbouring island of Lemnos.

I do know that alcoholic beverages do not cool you down during heat waves. But when you drink enough water in between and you remember the 10 wine rules of Dionysos, nothing bad will happen. And by the way, the most common drink on this island is water. Not just because the island is rich in water springs (which all taste different) but because there is a lot of water in daily Greek life: tables laid out with food are always decorated with the bottles of water (also plastic these days) and when you are served with a coffee, an ouzo or a whisky, you always get a glass of water. Now that wine is becoming more and more popular it might be a good custom to serve water with your glass of wine.

(With thanks to Tony Barrell)

@ Smitaki 2009

Dog Days

The Dog Days last about a month, starting around the 20th of July. They are named after the constellation Canis Major (or Big Dog). Sirius is the biggest star of the Big Dog (and is also known as the Dog Star). When Sirius rises next to the sun (heliacal rising), for weeks it is invisible: these are the Dog Days.

In Greek mythology Sirius was the dog of Orion, the celestial hunter. The goddess of the hunt, Artemis fell in love with Orion, but her brother Apollo disapproved of the relationship and so sent a huge scorpion to attack Orion, who fled to the sea and swam for his life. Apollo called to his sister: “You see that man swimming? He just raped one of your nymphs.” Artemis immediately took her bow and sent a deadly arrow across the sea. When she saw who she had killed she was in despair. She immortalised Orion and his dog Sirius between the stars, and that is where they still are. Artemis herself vowed that she would never love a man again.

On the Cycladic island of Kea, they used to make sacred offerings to the Dog Star Sirius (and Zeus), in order to beg for a cooling wind. That is because the Dog Days are known to be the hottest of the summer. When Sirius reappeared in the sky (after the Dog Days), the old Greeks thought that if the star was obscured by mist, plagues would invade the world. In ancient Egypt the yearly flood of the Nile happened during the Dog Days.

In earlier times it was thought that during the Dog Days the sea would boil, wine would turn acidic, people would become hysterical and dogs go crazy. Some people even muzzled their dogs during the Dog Days because they were afraid of rabies.

In my experience that’s the opposite of what really happens. The black Labrador Black Jack lies like he’s stone dead all day, refusing to move one leg in front of the other. It’s too doggy hot to move...

But not only dogs suffer from the heat, which here on the island now rises over 35 °C and elsewhere in Greece as far as 40 °C. Today I am using my Spanish fan to cool me down a little. According to the weather forecast this heat wave will continue and according to the Dog Days legend it could last until the middle of August.

I am sorely tempted to burn a candle in one of the many churches here — for Sirius the Dog Star: please send us a cooling wind. Only at night do we feel comfortable, the energy revives us and even the dog is ready for a walk.

Just like some people say they get moonstruck, I ask myself if I am perhaps touched by the Dog Days. Last night I had some really dark,thoughts, thanks to a book I read last winter that a left big impression: The Road by Cormac McCarthy.

In this book a father and his small son try to survive in a world that is in ashes after an apocalyptic disaster. They try to reach the coast, where they hope to be saved. On the way the earth looks bad: high up in the mountains fires are still burning; on deserted highways there are burned out cars, often with the charcoaled remains of their human occupants; the air is full of ash and blocks the sun and the sky; it rains black flecks of soot; nothing is growing anymore; the trees, if not already burned, fall like firewood.

In this horrible but beautiful story nothing is said about what exactly happened to the earth. But feeling these hot temperatures I can imagine what it might be. With the warming of the earth and the ever hotter annual Dog Days, the opportunities for natural disasters are on the increase. Imagine a rash of huge wild fires everywhere and the sad scenario of The Road becomes more and more realistic.

I wonder if Cormac McCarthy wrote his story during the Dog Days. This tiresome heat inhabits thinking and makes you slow and sleepy, with little energy to do anything whatsoever. The idea of the fall of the earth is definitely a Dog Days Thought. During this heat, it’s impossible to think about happy things...

But I never really was moonstruck, and I will not let the Dog Days get me down. While I watch the tempting blue sea and drink my umpteenth glass of water, I realize that living at the seaside during the Dog Days is not at all bad. Although the seawater is quite warm, taking a dip in it is still a refreshing experience.

The best way to survive a heat wave is just live like the Greeks do: stay inside as much as possible, and do not go into the sun. Have your meal in the early afternoon and afterwards, give in to tiredness and take a long nap. Wake up in the cooling night. These days most Greeks go to the beach at 7 or 8 at night and many don’t come out of their houses until well after the sun has dived into the sea. Then they have a coffee and prepare for the coming night. Only around 10 do they go for another meal and until the late hours, they parade through the streets, enjoying a warm summer night.

(Thanks to Tony Barell)

@ Smitaki 2009

Kangaroo court

It’s been very hot here in Greece and that is why it was a little like the torment of Tantalus to see merry clouds hovering above Turkey. In daytime they expanded into huge and impressive cauliflowers and at sunset they turned to gold. At night, with our temperature still not below 30 oC, the clouds were illuminated by a fascinating light show started by orange flashes of lightning that played a game with the clouds. The bolts flashed out of the clouds, and made the cauliflower transparent or coloured its edges bright orange.

We had the lightshow, but not the rain or any cooling off, because showers that were forecast did not fall on the island. I only could imagine how far into the land mass of Turkey people were embracing the rain and totally refreshed by it — enough to sleep in their beds — while here even a swim in the sea wouldn’t cool you down. The sea was as hot as the water in your bath tub!

The flashes of lightning raised our hopes, but, sadly, we cannot complain about an absence of fire on the island. Some weeks ago the wild fires at Molyvos started again and just as they were at the end of last summer they were deliberately kindled. The inhabitants of Mollywood, the region where most fires started, had more sleepless nights and angry residents called for action and formed civil fire-watcher teams.

When there is danger rumours fly around in the village. Last year they were about a group of boys who were supposedly caught taken red handed kindling a fire, although nobody could or wanted to confirm what was really only gossip. The boys were arrested and the grapevine was very busy about who they were, but they were released and afterwards nobody could or wanted to confirm that this group of teenagers was indeed responsible for all the fires that raged last summer. The only fact is that since that time the fires last year stopped.

Last week a huge blaze started outside Kaloni, the biggest fire on the island since 2006 and it threatened several places: one fire front moved to Agia Paraskevi and another towards Klapados. The local firemen, together with helicopters from Chios, Samos and Thessaloniki all fought for 24 hours against this terrible fire, but 600 hectares of wood and agricultural areas went up in flames. When you drive now from Kaloni to Petra you not only see the charcoaled area, but smell it as well.

The rumours about the cause followed pretty quickly. Some said it was started by Turks — a favourite accusation from Greeks. Others said it was last year’s arsonist from Molyvos. In the papers there was talk about sparks from the armoured cars of the army driving around near where the fire started. The only fact is that the investigations into it are still underway.

Around Athens the causes of fires has more than once been connected to the bad behaviour of the real estate industry, but here on Lesvos nobody can profit from a burned out area. Unless, like in Molyvos, you have an arsonist, fires here on Lesvos are mostly accidents, caused by matches or cigarette buts thrown out of car windows, fires that start on illegal dumps or sparks made by machines.

According to a study by the University of the Aegean the wild fires in 2004 on Lesvos were all caused by humans. At the Department of Natural Disasters in Mytilini (the university has departments spread through the islands Lesvos, Samos, Chios, Rhodos, Syros and Lemnos) several studies of fire behaviour and prevention have been made together with research into the development of equipment to prevent, forecast or detect wild fires. However even the best systems, connected to the latest communications technology could not prevent the huge Kalloni catastrophe. Even though there is plenty of publicity and public messages about how to avoid throwing cigarettes out of car windows, burning garbage illegally and the rest, people still carelessly do these things and so the wild fires start.

In Molyvos they have tried to put their own ‘prevention measure’ in place. When the fires started again in June this year again, lots of people thought it was a man in the village. Last year it was said that it was he who encouraged kids to start the fires and when a bunch of angry villagers tried to confront him, he fled on his motorbike. After some more fires the villagers took matters into their own hands and refused to sell him bread, no shop would serve him and he couldn’t get a meal in a café or restaurant. The man fled to Kaloni and since then there are no more fires in Molyvos. But the people in Kaloni must be wondering!

(With thanks to Tony Barrell)

@ Smitaki 2009