"At first I used cowhide (red and black leather) to make strong shoes for mule riders. They had nails in the soles so as not to be worn out too quickly. Then I used to make sewn shoes as well, which were fashionable for grooms. Nowadays there are still some aficionados who insist in ordering sewn shoes. They seem to like them and pay good sums of money for them. In the last few years though, I was hardly making by with my job, as the price of leather shot up because of the appearance of industrial shoes. From 30 drachmas per kilo it reached 15 euros and counting".

No plastic

Lakis Gkasdogkas has been a shoemaker in Litochoron since 1950. He learned this craft before he went to the army and has been doing this job all his life. He recently decided to retire. His shop and tools remain in place. The shoes he used to make were made of pure leather, with no plastic at all. Back in 1965 he used to charge 250 drachmas per pair which was considered little, because elsewhere one could pay up to 500. He also used to repair soles, and charged 50 dramchma for the job. After glue and plastic patches became widely available, Lakis dropped the price to 100 drachmas per pair.

"How were we to survive this? It was a severe strike for us. From the thirty shoemakers working in Litochoron only two of us were left, and now we’re both retired". There used to be a tradition of shoemakers in this area, because they were in great demand. This was mostly due to the rocky paths and sharp stones that wore shoes out quickly. The village itself probably gets its name from region’s rocky landscape, since Litochoron means ‘the place of rock’. Even Sonnini, the French naval officer, who tried to explore Olympus from the side of Litochoron in 1780, wrote in his diary: "It's hard to walk; there are stones and rocks all over the place. Huge layers of stone heap one above the other".

Grooms used to wear them

The best way for someone to understand the social developments in Litochoron is by listening to Lakis Gkasdogkas describing the shoes he used to make over the years: "I started off making shoes for mule drivers, with nails in their soles. Afterwards there were the sewn shoes, worn by grooms and dandies. Now, I thank God for women’s heels, because they often break in the village's uphills and downhills, so I get some work".

Lakis did not have any children or apprentices to pass his craft down to, so there was no one to succeed him. During the last years the young men in Litochoron are mostly absorbed by tourism and construction, because these seemed more promising areas of employment. But there are many tourists who choose Litochoron for its traditional houses and authentic craftsmen who keep practicing the old professions. If new houses keep getting built on the slopes of Olympus, the charm and reputation of this historic village may soon erode.
TEXT-PHOTOS: GEORGE ZAFEIROPOULOS
SOURCE: www.greecewithin.com

MORE PHOTOS

When the paths of Litochoron were covered with asphalt, sewn shoes went out of fashion.

Litochoron is an excellent place for vacation.

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