Jaap van 't Veen's photos with the keyword: Tzoumerka

Syrrako is a beautiful and picturesque village, which impresses with its grey stone houses that are perched on a steep slope of Mount Peristeri on an altitude of 1.200 meters. The ‘fairytale’village – located in the heart of the Tzoumerka region - is declared to be a traditional settlement. The village offers stone houses with slate roofs, cobbled alleys, churches, watermills, stone fountains, which are creations of renowed craftsmen. Syrrako was built by Greek Vlach speakers in the 15th century. Around the year of 1480 the village along with other villages in the area, went under the Ottoman domination but managed to secure a privileged tax treatment and some kind of autonomy. Syrrako and neighboutring Kalarrytes were the only villages of Epirus that took part in the Greek Revolution from the first years. During that period, the village was looted and burnt down by the Turks and the inhabitants abandoned it, trying to save their lives. They returned in the year 1825 and rebuilt Syrrako.

Kalarrytes (Kalarrites/Kalarites) is one of the most beautiful villages of Greece. Its houses are built according to the traditional Epirotic architecture. The village boasts beautiful stone bridges, cobbled roads, stone houses with traditional schist roofs, old drinking fountains and watermills. The village - like neighbouring Syrrako - was built in the 14th and 15th centuries by Vlach pastors. The Vlach inhabitants, having secured special privileges and the protection of the Valide sultan. Thanks to their sharp business acumen, helped the village grow through the trade of not only agricultural products, but also the particular goods in which they specialized. The silversmiths of Kalarrytes were known for quality craftsmanship. The family Voulgaris is very well known; one of them moved to Roma in the 1880s and opened a store that would become the famous brand Bulgari. Kalarrytes - surrounded by the imposing mountains of Tzermouka - lies at an elevation of 1200 meters and is sometimes called the ‘Eagles’ Nest of Epirus’.

Tzoumerka - also called Athamanika - is a mountainous region in northwestern Greece, between Ioannina, Arta and Meteora. Its highest point in Tzoumerka – part of the Pindus mountains - is the mountain Katafidi with 2.393 meters.zoumerka. The region is not very well known, yet offering an “earthly paradise”, picturesque villages, extraordinary monasteries, surrounded by gorges, rivers and steep mountains. Tzoumerka has a low population density with just some smaller villages. Forests dominate the low-lying areas of the mountain; grasslands, shrubs and barren rocks the higher elevations. The name Tzoumerka seems to be of Vlach origin, as “tzoum” in the language of Vlachs means the “steep peak”. We took a drive through the most rugged and remote part of Tzermouka: Metsovo - Syrrako. This was one of the most challenging and exciting road trips we have ever driven. Imagine a narrow road - barely wide as a car - full of small and even large boulders, sometimes a partially eroded road surface (PiP4). That road winds steeply through the landscape with many hairpin bends. To make matters worse, we also faced fog for much of the drive. After the hamlet of Chaliki, the road improved to reach an altitude of almost 2,000 metres - sometimes with snow on the roadside. With a countless number of curves, we finally reached Syrrako. With that, this Greek adventure came to an end.

The Vyliza (or Viliza) monastery is located near the village of Matsouki. It is built in a wild landscape on an altitude of more than 1.000 meters, overlooking over a gorge of Kallaritikos river. The name “Viliza” - from the Latin word “vigilo”, which means “guardian” - was given to the monastery. Its location and fortuitous construction justify the name. Most probably the monastery was founded in the 11th century. But the most ancient written testimony of Vyliza is the icon of St. John the Baptist, dating back to 1676. The monastery was one of the most important in Epirus with a rich library and a great participation in the local community. The monastery has many cells around the catholicon in a rectangular courtyard. The little church has splendid frescoes, dating back to 1793. The precious icons of the church are replicas. The original icons are kept safely in a museum in the neighboring village of Matsouki. In 1893 the monastery was abandoned and then destroyed. Since 1981 the monastery has been restored. To visit the monastery, we first had to collect the key from a cafe in the village of Matsouki. After parking the car at the roadside, we could start a walk to the monastery. The stone-paved path went constantly up and down and counted many steps. When it started raining on the way back, it was quite a challenging walk of almost 2 kilometres. (See PiPs on the right side of the main picture)

The Kipina Monastery - a couple of kilometers outside the village of Kalarrites - is considered being one of the most impressive monasteries in Greece. It is wedged into a vertical cliff and seems to be a part of the rock. It was constructed in 1212 and dedicated to the Assumption of Virgin Mary. A short path from the road leads to the monastery; after crossing a wooden drawbridge that guarded the entrance from invaders, one can take a look inside. The katholikon inside a small natural cave is decorated with impressive frescoes, dating from the late 17th century/beginning 18th century. The iconostase is carved and gilded. During our visit it was absolutely dark inside the church and had to use my mobile-phone light for making some pictures. A secret door leads to a 250 meters deep cave, which was used to protect nearby residents. During its existence the monastery played an important historic role, acting as both a secret school during the years of the Turkish occupation, as well as a hidden arsenal throughout the Greek War of Independence and the following liberation of Epirus. The monastery got its name probably from the gardens ( kipoi in Greek) that were cultivated by the monks in the valley. Nowadays, there are no monks living in the monastery and it is free to visit. Just check if it is open, otherwise one has to collect a key from a nearby café.