AN ADVENTURE IN THE EXTREME POINT OF GREECE … AN ADVENTURE IN EVROS!

AN ADVENTURE IN THE EXTREME POINT OF GREECE … AN ADVENTURE IN EVROS!

Traveling around Greece is in itself a unique experience that will last a lifetime. Especially when this trip takes place in the northernmost part of the country – in the prefecture of Evros and in distant Thrace, which many consider to be a hidden beauty paradise. And if for some of us it seems like an adventure to travel from Sweden to this destination, I want to point out that even if it is a small one, it is an adventure worth experiencing … The journey from Sweden to Alexandroupolis, which is also the capital of the prefecture of Evros, can be done as follows. Either by flight from Stockholm to Thessaloniki and from there by car or bus (the distance is 320 km and takes about 3 hours), or via Athens and then a direct flight of 55 minutes to this distant city.

HISTORICAL FACTS

I cannot help but comment on the amount of museums I visited during my walk in the prefecture’s capital. The Natural History Museum, the Historical Museum and the Ethnological Museum really impress visitors, while the Catholic Church St. Joseph gives the city center a certain lair of prestige. Finally, I cannot imagine a visit to Alexandroupolis without taking at least one picture in front of its impressive lighthouse and dozens more on its beautiful beaches, such as Chile, Agia Paraskevi, the Blue Coast and Dikela. The beach bars that will catch your eye are “Achinos”, “Cavo by Thea Thalassa”, “Yasu”, “Ciel”, “FishEye” and “Baha”.

Travelling 22km north you come to Feres; there you can visit the monastery of Theotokos Kosmosoteiros, which was founded in 1152 by Sebastokrator (emperor) Isaac Comnenus in what was then Bera (present-day Feres) and which is considered one of the most beautiful examples of Byzantine art in mainland Greece.

When in Feres, nature lovers can visit Evros´ Delta. Evros´ Delta National Park formed at the mouth of the river Evros is one of the most important biotopes in Europe. The river water and other material have, in collaboration with the influence of the sea, formed and continue to form a complex delta with a variety of biotopes, where a large number of species of plants and animals find refuge.

Its total area is 200,000 km2, of which 95,000 km2 (80,000 km2 land and 15,000 km2 acres of water) are included in the list of protected areas, due to the important species it hosts.

In Samothrace, a beautiful island, full of waterfall and located just opposite Alexandroupolis (about 1 hour and 45 minutes by boat), you can visit the Temple of the Great Gods, the chapel of Panagia Krimniotissa and the island’s special folklore museum. And since one of the main characteristics of Samothrace is the wild nature and its waterfalls, I consider a visit to the natural pool of the Gria Vathra and to the Fonias gorge (the Killer ravine) an absolute must.

Near Alexandroupolis you can also visit the ancient Mesimvria. It is located 20 km west of the city, between Petroton Beach and Dikela. Ancient Mesimvria was developed in the 400s to 300s BC; you can see the fortification wall, the temple of Apollo, the temple of the goddess Demeter, and the cemetery outside the city wall.

Continuing another 70 km northeast of Alexandroupolis, you come to Soufli, a village whose reputation, despite being small in size and population has reached far beyond Greece’s borders. Its high-quality silk has been used by the most important foreign fashion houses, such as Dolce & Gabbana and Gucci; a visit to the Silk Art Museum and the Silk museum must therefore undoubtedly be included in the visit.

At a short distance of just a few kilometers from Soufli you reach Didymoteicho, with its dominant, homonymous and famous castle. Large parts of its Byzantine walls are preserved, as are 24 of the towers, some of which have Byzantine monograms. The walls were rebuilt by Justinian I the Great. Didymoteicho was the capital of the Byzantine Empire and many emperors and kings were born or have visited several other areas in Evros, such as King Charles XII of Sweden who visited the area during the period 1713 – 1714.

Near the village of Pythio – 13 km from Didymoteicho and 17 km from Orestiada – is the Byzantine castle Pythio or Empythion. Pythion’s castle was built 1330-1340 AD. by John VI Cantacuzene.

GASTRONOMY AND TRADITIONAL DISHES

An area as beautiful as Evros, which impresses even the most demanding visitor, could not help but impress even the taste! The only thing that needs to be mentioned is that Evros’ strong point is the good food. And when we talk about good food, we’re talking about really good food! The first thing we noticed and wanted to taste at our first stop in Alexandroupolis, was of course the fish. Steamed skates, grilled gilt-headed (sea) bream, fried mullets, oven-fried bluefish, sun-dried octopus and mussels with or without breading are an excellent choice, especially on “Nisiotiko”, “Thea Thalassa”, “Ai Giorgis”, “Ta Filarakia”, “Zourafa” and “Harama” that surpasses itself in terms of seafood delicacies. When it comes to meat, our proposals are also numerous here, but “Loukoulos”, “Massa Soura”, “Sarikas”, “Hovoli” and “Metochi” win the competition from the first bite.

Traditional handmade pasta and sauces are some of the local products that we filled our suitcase with when we left Alexandroupolis and continued our journey north.

We made a short visit to Soufli, a small village about 70 km northeast of Alexandroupolis, with almost 5,000 inhabitants; we were extremely surprised as we did not expect such a small village to have such a wide range of local products. Without exaggerating, we can say that here we tried the tastiest ice cream in our lives, where the Paschos family immediately won our hearts with the incredible flavors they produce. Sausages that look like a horseshoe, the Moutlia family’s special kavourma, the Bella family’s wines and tsipouro may be far from my own tastes, but it was an experience I wanted and had to experience. We visited “Bereket” and “Mezedofolia” and definitely want to visit these again as the menu was very carefully selected, with the regional food culture in the center. And, since summer is soon upon us and many of us think more about our diet, the yogurt “Celigato” is one of the reasons to think about our apparance!

Before our trip to Evros ended, we visited one of the northernmost and most remote areas on the map, where a small treasure of flavors is hidden, just 50 km above Soufli; Orestiada is what we call a delicacy! There we started the day with the tastiest pies. Cheese, minced meat, spinach, leeks, wild greenery, sausages, potatoes, zucchini and creams, are some of the first-class ingredients used for airy pies in Orestiada, where the “Paradosi” store became our favorite place. But those who wanted a little extra and spicier taste in their plate could order river fish (such as eel, rudd and wels catfish ), red – dry tarhana, sauerkraut and beans at “Safran” or “Murmur” where even the most difficult taste buds were satisfied. We also recommend “Hayati”, “Keftedaras” and “Zervas”, without reservation when it comes to good food. And since good food does not exist without a good dessert … last but not least, we mention the shockingly delicious dessert muhallebi (milk pudding).