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In Tríkala, Cramped!
The Trikala region of western Thessaly—where I come from—and above all its eponymous capital, are renowned for their composers and virtuosos of Greek popular music. This music is often broadly categorized under the umbrella of songs belonging, directly or indirectly, to the Rebetiko genre—a wide-ranging musical form associated with the cultural expression of the working classes and the largely urban marginalized, emerging in the early 20th century.
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Tríkala, city… not alienated!
We think we know Greece like the back of our hand. Yet the country—an Acropolis of a certain Europe—still holds many secrets from us. Take, for instance, Western Thessaly—the region I come from—and more specifically Trikala, the administrative center of the province of the same name. It lies in the heart of Hellas, serving as a gateway to Northern Greece for those traveling up from Athens, well past Delphi.
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Yórgos Ioánnou and his legacy
Yorgos Ioánnou—originally a pseudonym, later the legally adopted name of Georgios Sorolópis—was a distinguished and worthy writer of contemporary Greece. He was born in Thessaloniki in 1927 into a family of Greek refugees from Eastern Thrace, a region that had come under the control of the new Turkish state in 1923 following the Greco-Turkish War in Asia Minor (1919-1922), a conflict Greece lost.
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Patridography
Back when I was in primary school, there was one subject I particularly enjoyed: Patridognosia—sometimes also referred to as Patridographia. Beyond its role as a cornerstone subject designed to foster a sense of collective national consciousness among young Greeks, the curriculum also addressed other comparable educational objectives, all while remaining linked to the various other courses taught at the time.
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Welcome !
Welcome to greekcity.fr! I am delighted to be able to present to you today my new blog “GreekCity”, which we could translate into French “La Cité Grecque”, in short, a figure of the varied city [Πόλις], made up of geography and nature, as well as history and ethnography.
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Annual Call
In these times when world history seems to be accelerating again, on “GreekCity” we focus on everything that still has a little stability, even hope and good pleasure, against all odds. Continuing at all costs on our path of knowledge, we take note of the rich geographical, cultural and historical realities of Greece. You will find often little-known anecdotes, and local stories, reaching numerous texts published since… the second life of “GreekCity”, from July 2023. As you know, the blog, free of any institutional or other affiliation, only functions with the help of your donations and thanks to your contributions, serving to cover its costs and in reality, the largely primary needs of its author, because quite simply, “GreekCity” without its readers does not exist. During this Christmas and end-of-year holiday period we are launching an exceptional financial support campaign, thus becoming, by force of reality, an annual campaign. This campaign, which will last two months, requests your attention and support to reach €3,000 at the end of January, a sum allowing the minimum operation of the site. I would like to thank you wholeheartedly for your loyalty and for your support over a long time. You can make your donations on PayPal, using the “Donate” button. If you prefer to make a bank transfer, please use our “donation” page. With all friendship and with all our best wishes for Christmas and thus the end of year celebrations! Panagiótis Grigoríou * Cover photo: GreekCity, July 2023