Karpathos: a drinker’s (and eater’s) paradise | Israel Hayom
Highlights: Karpathos is a small Greek island between Rhodes and Crete. It is home to 6,000 women and men who order furniture or clothes from the Internet. Most of the restaurants and taverns on the island are women’s run. A tour of the island is a journey to simpler days, between villages that have hardly been touched by progress, some isolated in the cliffs above the sea and some in the mountains. The first daughter in the family was also the first to get married – even before the son.
It’s an island you can’t miss: sun caressing over crystal clear seas, wild landscapes in green nature, overwhelming food and chilling ouzo – and especially endless beaches and an extremely delightful silence • Relaxing in Karpathos: more than that we’ll go crazy
Two fingers away from Greece, between Rhodes and Crete, lies the island of Karpathos – an invisible piece of land that has not yet set foot on an Israeli tourist, and has everything: green landscapes alongside wild mountains and breathtaking cliffs, endless beaches and crystal clear turquoise sea, hospitable residents, and especially food so delicious you won’t want to leave. First of all, it should be clarified: this is a small island (about 300 square kilometers), there are no clubs, no shops, and its residents (only 6,000 women and men) order furniture or clothes from the Internet, when they need to – so anyone looking for shopping in the mall or a-g-do-do in the pool will have to make do with souvenir shops for tourists and sun loungersinsidethe pool. Ask Europeans who come for two weeks only to return from the island glowing with happiness (and sunbathing).Now that we’ve cleaned the table, we’re on our way – and there’s a lot to tell.
Time travel
A typical Carpathian house, photo: Charlie Shitrit
A tour of Karpathos is a journey to simpler days, between villages that have hardly been touched by progress, some isolated in the cliffs above the sea and some in the mountains, and archaeological remains scattered throughout the island – and tempting quite a few adventurers.It is said that when the Nazis invaded the island in 1943, the men rushed to hide the women and children in the caves on the mountaintops, with their possessions and jewelry, and many believe that the caves are just waiting for treasure seekers, and we also heard about one local looking for buyers for items he has already collected from around Karpathos.The society in Karpathos is matriarchal and it is the woman who sets the tone. Until about two decades ago, the first daughter in the family was also the first to get married – even before the son, even if he is the oldest! – And she who received all the parents’ money. That’s why, as you’ll read here, most of the restaurants and taverns on the island are women’s run.
As with many Greek islands, many houses in Karpathos are painted blue and white – an identification mark that they are Greek, a reminder of the early 20th-century Italian occupation that forbade flying the Greek flag. Peles, for example, is a beautiful village with all its houses painted like this.We were lucky enough to see a typical Carpathian villa on the inside, and we were surprised to find a variety of furniture that vintage flea market dealers can only dream of. However, a house on the island in ancient times was actually one room in which the whole family lived together – half a dining area and half a raised platform with storage space underneath, and above it beds that at night were spread out and in the morning folded into a sitting room. How did children do then, you might ask? Well, according to Iron of Ayala Travel, the only Israeli guide on the island: there is nothing like nature.
At the summit of Olympus
We saw such a house in Olympus, an ancient village in the north of the island, where time seemed to stand still. Fleeing from the pirates of that time, its founders went as far as they pursued them – until they reached the top of the highest mountain, to which the looters no longer had access.Until a decade ago, when a road was first paved to it, dirt roads led to the village, and therefore modernity was late in reaching it. However, a tour of the alleys and colorful houses – for which the term “picturesque village” was born – reveals residents whose ascetic way of life has been preserved to this day: women and men in authentic dress, engaged in crafts such as embroidery, shoemakers and flower honey harvesting, and offer their produce in street stalls.
A one-man show. Nikos from the Blue Garden Tavern, photo: Charlie Shitrit
At the highest point in the village is the Blue Garden Tavern, whose owner Nikos will shower you with everything good – stuffed zucchini flowers and zucchini flowers, fried stuffed tomatoes, amazing paoya (like chickpea paste but made of white beans); childhood-flavored macarons, a kind of coarse pasta made from local wheat; When one of us asked to settle for pizza (“because enough, how much can you eat”), the amusing Nikos – whom Nimrod calls a “one-man show” – insisted: “I’ll let you, but packed in a box. You’ll only eat what I give.” She promised to taste, and finally, out of sheer tasting, gave up the pizza.
The tourist center of the island. The promenade in the village of Pigadia,
From the sea – on fire
The livelihood of the Carpathians is based solely on tourism, so in winter some move to work in Greece and the rest spend time tending to the farm animals and lounging in front of the television until next summer. Last winter, for example, only 75 people remained in Olympus.The coastal village of Pigadia on the east of Karpathos is the island’s tourist center. Almost all the hotels are located there, among them two five-star hotels (we stayed in the luxurious “Cosmopolitan”) and some equally good ones. Among the best we visited: “Tu Alnico”, with vine leaves stuffed with lamb meat and the most delicious manori cheese you will get; And “Sofia’s Place” on the promenade, as the name of the cordial landlady who hugs every guest and showeres him with generous portions of salads, meats, stuffed meats and fish. Ask for saganki – a kind of thick yellow cheese that burns into flames before your eyes and is seasoned with lemon. Fire tasting!
Play to the last guest. Taverna Pelagos, photo: Charlie Shitrit
At the Taverna “Pelagos”, on the main street of the village, the food is reasonable, but its uniqueness lies in the sweeping show of two of the four brothers who own the place, who together with changing artists play every night until the last guest.If you ask the locals about their favorite fish restaurant, they will send you to Phoniki, about 40 minutes drive from Pigadia, and to Agios Nikolaos Spoa – two fishing villages known for fine fish restaurants, where they offer their fresh catch from that day. With elderly nudists on its beach (“The Beauty of Sin,” the movie, it’s not), go to the smiling Maria from the Lets Eat tavern – the only one that doesn’t charge Israelis for umbrellas (you’ll recognize by the blue and red colors) – and indulge in a glass of fizzy Greek “myth” beer or a cooling glass of ouzo. In general, every tavern on the island will always serve you ouzo or myth first.
Source: israelhayom
