Churches and tombstones

As a planner, I find it’s really helpful to have a map when I’m visiting a new area. The map provided by the hotel has been useful in helping us to plan our days - what to see, where to go. Last night we had another look at it, to see where we haven’t been yet, what we haven’t seen yet. And that helped to formulate the plan for today. And there should always be a plan.

But first, coffee. Yes, our favourite Greek coffee chain, Gregory’s, is here on Syros island too. It’s nice to know there’s somewhere to get a consistently reasonable coffee with soy and decaf options, because we’ve had some pretty abysmal coffees from other cafes. And Gregory’s light fittings are cute and quirky too.

Cute light fittings

Gregory’s “vegan” options - soya, almond, coconut

This morning we set off to find a couple of landmarks on the map that we hadn’t yet ticked off. First up, the Saint George Mausoleum, not to be confused with the Catholic Saint George Cathedral on the hill in Ano Syros. This one is a Greek Orthodox Church and next door to it a mausoleum and cemetery. The church is small but typically ornate, and several local ladies were inside, busily dusting and polishing.

St George slaying the dragon, of course 

But the real reason we’d come here was to wander through the cemetery. When we were in Paris we spent a very enjoyable afternoon exploring the enormous Pere Lachaise cemetery, locating the graves, headstones and tombs of some famous names, and plenty of unknowns. There’s just something fascinating and quite moving about cemeteries - all those loved ones gone, and untold stories of loss. Maybe it’s also seeing how desperately we humans desire not to be forgotten.

We couldn’t really read much at all on any of the headstones - the odd easy name like Maria, Yannis, Nikolaos - but the numbers were universal. What really struck me was how many people died in their 80s and beyond - it seemed that the most common number we were seeing was 89, which is phenomenal when you think about it. It must be the fresh seafood, vegetables, olive oil, red wine, and sea air. And all those steps keeping everyone fit. There’s definitely something to be said for the Aegean lifestyle.

Aside from the probable war death (1918), there’s a lot of longevity in this family 

Probably another war death in 1945, but then there’s Maria, who lived to be 101

One of the tombs was, strangely, open, with steps leading down, which was a clear invitation to my husband to poke his nose, and his camera, inside. Turns out he got a little more than he bargained for, although why he would be surprised to find a bucket of old bones in a cemetery, I simply can’t imagine!!

Having had our fill of the cemetery, we moved on up the street to the Taxiarchon Church, otherwise known as the Church of the Holy Archangels. It’s a temple in the shape of a cross, with an impressive bell tower. Unfortunately the church was not open for viewing today, but we got our “money’s worth” standing in the front courtyard when the bell suddenly chimed, VERY LOUDLY.

And there was a lovely view of Ano Syros from the terrace.

As we headed back towards the town, we eventually found ourselves approaching the small Archeological Museum that we’d located a couple of days ago but which was closed on the 18th and 19th for reasons unknown to us. Today it was open, so in we went. It really is small - just 4 rooms of artefacts - but is one of the oldest archeological museums in Greece, founded in 1834-35. It’s worth the visit if only to marvel at the age of some of the items, many from the 3rd millennium BC. Some of the items were grave-offerings, recovered from a settlement at Chalandriani, on the north-east coast of Syros, dating from around 2400 - 2100 BC.

All morning we were passing groups of children walking around with yellow and white daisies and little white effigies, singing in shops, receiving a coin for their efforts, and then moving on. When we popped in to a bakery (because why not....... and anyway they had chicken pies) we asked what it was all about. The answer, in broken English, was something to do with Easter, something to do with tradition, something to do with Lazarus dying and being raised from the dead.

Google to the rescue - it’s amazing what you can find out when you search for “Greek children Lazarus tradition song”! Turns out it’s the Saturday of Saint Lazarus today, or Lazarus Saturday, one of the most significant feast days in the Orthodox Church. A day where Orthodox Greeks celebrate the last (recorded) miracle of Jesus before his crucifixion, where he commands his beloved friend Lazarus to “come forth” after he had been dead four days.

When we arrived back in Miaouli Square, a whole crowd of these children (and their proud mamas) were gathering on the steps of the Town Hall to sing their Lazarus carol, holding their flowered effigies of Lazarus. A great photo opportunity for us.

Too cute

Easter is starting to make an appearance in the shops, with eggs and bunnies on display, and the red-painted eggs which are a tradition of the Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, to represent the blood of Christ, as well as the hard shell symbolising the sealed tomb of Christ, and the cracking of the shell symbolising his resurrection from the dead.

We had one more church on the map that we hadn’t yet found, tucked away near the harbour. The Catholic Church of the Evangelist, otherwise known as Our Lady of Annunciation Catholic Church, is unimpressive on the outside, unassuming on the inside, as we’ve come to expect of the Catholic, as opposed to Greek Orthodox, churches.

Time for a little lunch, a little browsing, a little shopping - yes, I bought a hand-made bowl - then back to our hotel for the requisite afternoon rest and relaxing harbour viewing to which we’ve become so accustomed!! Not so many ferries in and out today, it being Saturday, but enough to keep us happily amused.

Then, dinner. We chose somewhere warm, out of the cold wind, and with plenty of options for hot, cooked food, no salad for us tonight. Our host served us an appetiser “on the house”, which was a delicious spread made from parsley, garlic, lemon, olive oil and soft bread, and with crispy croutons.

Instead of the usual Greek salad, tonight we chose a local dish called Horta, otherwise known as boiled wild green vegetables, which it’s hard to describe without using words like “hay” or “grass clippings”. The addition of lemon juice and salt improved the taste somewhat. It looked like sautéed English spinach, and it was definitely edible, but not really desirable in any way! We looked it up later, and apparently it’s a “sought-after succulent green” that is served in a variety of imaginative ways by chefs in upscale restaurants. Ummm, okay, I’ll take their word for it. Here’s what ours looked like after we’d tucked into it.

We actually ate all of it, because, well, it’s green, it’s a vegetable, so how bad could it actually be??

To complement our Horta, we had slow cooked veal in tomato sauce, which was tasty, although a little dry. We’d heard the microwave “ping” a couple of times, so suspect it was pre-cooked, frozen, and reheated. Just for us. The fried potatoes were pretty good though.

After dinner, Emilina, otherwise known as “mama”, cooked us a sweet treat, again “on the house” - Loukoumades, a traditional fried bread dumpling with honey and cinnamon. The origins of Loukoumades may be quite ancient, with legends telling of deep fried honey donuts being offered to the winners of the first Olympic Games in 776 BC. They are definitely an unusual combination, with a soft, tangy, sourdough-like middle, crispy outside, and the sweetness of cinnamon and honey drizzled over the top.

Tonight’s essential patisserie treat was not chocolate, but lemon (because it was my turn to choose) and it was a delicious way to end another day of exploring on Syros.