Pretty words in Chios island can never end. The beautiful girls' eyelids are called "parpeles" in Volissos. The old lady sitting in front of her home's door in Olympoi is called Vestarckou, which means the daughter of Vestiarchis (in charge of the Emperor’s clothing). In the Aeolian dialect, which is still being used in this village, the father is called "páteras" and the mother is called "mítera", both accented on the antepenult.

Beautiful words

In Agiasmata of Northern Chios, with the spas and the abandoned antimony factory, the "loubinia", out of which the candlewick is being made, are called "kalanthropoi". In Tholo Potami (Turbid River) of central Chios tulips grow and they're called "lalades", and in Spartounda of Pelinneo mountain there are some rare red windflowers. There are blowing winds there that almost never stop and move the enormous wind turbines.

Vigla in Limenas of Mesta is a small tower at the top of the hill, who was earlier being used as a watchtower. Back then, the viglatores (observers) used to exchange code signals from the viglas, using some burning torches called "fryktoroi". Merikounta beach, which is near Mesta, overlooks Diapori, a small black islet, from which the people of Chios departed to go to Psara in 1822, during the days of the great massacre by the Ottoman conquerors.

"Makrylopetra" is a long volcanic rock near Merikounta and "tsaili" is the thick black sand of the beach, which is being used in the ovens and also for sand bathing, because it keeps its heat until late at night.

Glad to hear the words

Even if someone doesn't understand what the words parpeles, kalanthropoi, lalades, páteras, mítera, Merikounta, Tholo Potami, Spartounta, Diapori, tsaili and Vestarckou mean, he still gets a feeling of completeness on hearing these nice sounding and allusive words. It seems that people remember rather than learn in this life. All these beautiful words pre-exist inside them and it is a matter of will and time when they're going to hear and see them.
TEXT-PHOTOS: GEORGE ZAFEIROPOULOS
SOURCE:www.greecewithin.com

MORE PHOTOS

Tulips at Tholo Potami.

Kalanthropoi (loubinia) in Agiasmata.

Old lady Vestarckou was the daughter of a vestiarchis.

Eyelids are called parpeles in Chios.

Tsaili (sea sand) in Merikounta.

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