Material life

History of Nea Kessani

The settlement of Nea Kessani has, in scientific terms, linear development, although not along a main traffic axis, but a secondary axis, which crosses the settlement and connects it with the national road (Xanthi-Komotini). The building is moderate, as in most settlements with linear development, and the houses are connected to each other through the main road and the branches perpendicular to it. It is a lowland settlement with intense mobility (spatial and social) unlike the mountain settlements which are closed societies (self-sufficient).

The first houses were built in the northern part of the village, when the Eastern Thracians arrived and on the initiative of General Plastiras, who knew their desperate situation, a budget was approved for their housing. They were granted some pieces of land from the occupied Tepe – Tsiflik and the necessary timber (of Swedish origin) to build the first duplexes. The first houses were so named because they were built on the border of two plots, so that they shared the same sloping roof and the southern (back) wall, naturally belonging to different families. The reason for this choice was the need to save materials and for close cooperation and mutual assistance in the extremely difficult conditions of the refugee situation. The duplexes were ground-floor, with 2 rooms, made of wood and mud bricks. The floor was a mixture of soil (red or black, lime soil was not good), fine straw and manure, which was trodden on and cared for by the women every Saturday who took out and shook out the rags to clean the house. On top of this stable mixture, they finally spread mats and then rags. In their yard they had the toilet, the storeroom, the hold, the stable, the agricultural tools, the barn, the chicken coop, or even the family business, i.e. the tailor’s shop, the workshop, the café, etc.

The remaining houses were built later, in 1928, with the arrival of the Eastern Romulus. The state gave them financial assistance of 5,000 drachmas and they built their houses in the southern part of the village. It seems that because they had not left Bulgaria forcibly, but voluntarily, and because they had already lived for 4 years on Greek soil (in Stryi), so they had somewhat adapted to the new, difficult conditions, they had the will and the strength to build houses with more rooms and independent (no longer duplexes). The new houses were therefore ground-floor, with the following rooms: the hayat’ which was the spring living room, the plank ondas which was the winter living room, the only one with a wooden floor and at the same time a bedroom, the ondatskak’ i.e. the small bedroom and the old nondas the spare room for all the chores. The roof was made of tiles from Serbia. The building material was again large bricks, which were made with cooperation and solidarity. The floor was covered with a mixture of water and red soil which was renewed and trampled every Saturday. On top they put mats and finally the rags. The yard had enough space for all the other known buildings and the baxe, since the house was located on the edge of the plot. Because they were intensively involved in viticulture and wine production, some built a basement for storing wine, while the most expert in wine – grandfather Christakis Ekmektsis – had a barrel production workshop and a cauldron for distilling tsipouro. The first house built was that of Vasilis Alexiadis. The remaining houses were built based on the design of: grandfather-Manitsa, grandfather-Athanasiadis and Vasilis Alexiadis (men of particular prestige among the 40 families that arrived), according to which the settlement service completed the village plans.

In general, the houses were spacious, low-ceilinged and rectangular. Initially, the constructions were simple. The furniture was sparse, a very low round table, the sofras, as the Eastern Thracians called it, a table according to the Eastern Romulans, rags and woven mattresses that the Thracians filled with straw, while the Romulans with bleached wool and a small fireplace for warmth and cooking. The many windows provided warmth and fresh air. They had woven fabrics on the walls for decoration and embroidered curtains on the windows, but not always. As a decoration of the fireplace, on the special shelf, the “boulitsa”, some people put their very good dishes that they brought out only on formal occasions. Of course there was the loom, which was absolutely necessary, the chests with clothes and other family belongings and the beautiful woven rugs that covered the floor. In the kitchen there was the hand mill, the mortar, the pots, the jugs, the trays and other utensils.

 

Of course, over the years, from the 1950s onwards, some of the first houses were demolished, to be built more modernly with concrete. Most of the “new” ones are two-storey with a ground floor or semi-basement, which is used more by the family, because it is spacious, cool, functional and serves as a storage room, as a place for family gatherings (Christmas, Easter, engagements, holidays, etc.) and as the part of the house where we mainly move around. The second floor is somewhat more formal. We only go up there externally, by stairs, while the veranda of the upper floor is essential. The ground floor can also be designed as a regular house. Those that are more recently built have a tiled roof, while those built before 1990 do not. The loom and the hand mill were retired, modern utensils and tools entered our kitchens, the fireplace was replaced by the masina (wood stove) or the radiator and the electric oven, we got more furniture, but our homes still offer the warmth of the traditional Greek hearth. And our baxedes offer us the most delicious, free from harmful substances and fresh vegetables and fruits, like in the good old days.

The view of our village from above, with its clean, rectangular shape, the streets perpendicular to the central artery, and the clean and well-kept houses, highlights the order, tidiness, and cultural level of the people who built and inhabit it.

Water supply:

Water is a source of life and creation, and because our place had water, it was chosen by the first refugees to settle and build Plastiria. In addition to the lake, there was also a river. This started from the village of Paradisos, passed through the area where the road connecting Xanthi with the village is today, after Yenissea and came to our village. It was a lifesaver, because it provided enough running water to drink, wash, and water the animals. Also, the residents were supplied with water from a spring-tub in the village and one in Porto-Lagos. Before the 1940s, a well was built at the exit to Selino. In the late 1940s, two tanks were installed, which were even brought to the village by rolling, so the houses acquired taps. They joined the newer network at the end of the 60s, and so today our village is watered by the Xanthi water network and the boreholes that have been drilled around it.

CLOTHING

TRADITIONAL COSTUME OF EASTERN THRACE: The clothes were all woven on a loom, they were never bought ready-made. It was an honor, a duty and a joy for a girl to know how to weave. On her woven goods and clothes she showed off her passion, talent and personality, while at the same time competing in value with other girls. But let’s see what the first inhabitants of our village wore in the past.

The women from Katikioi wore a shirt that was white, long to the middle of the calf, long-sleeved and had a lot of embroidery, one embroidery was the vlogero, with metered thread ∙ with thin black thread they prepared the background, embroidering tightly, and filled it with colorful patterns and mainly flowers. The harves were also with metered thread, the cocoons were located at the bottom of the shirt, as were the galitsakia, which were colored. It also had embroidery (xomblia) on the sleeves and on the collar. The summer shirt was woven with katsatimono and soft thin thread, while the winter one with weft. On top they wore a skirt, the winter one was called tsukna and the summer one was called fustani. Otherwise, they wore the terlene, a dress like a Cossack, with sleeves or the short-sleeved (dress) guzuk’. The dress also had colorful, elaborate designs on the hem and chest. On the chest they usually placed an embroidery (gold ribbon) that they bought ready-made, the syrmogaitan. They also embroidered with gold thread the fringe, as it was called, which was wide and had the shape of a semicircle, right on the chest, making a nice contrast with the brown, black, dark blue, etc. color of the dress. The terlik was also embroidered with white thread on the seams. The waist was tightened by a metal belt with buckles, they called doors, which divided the belt in half. Of course, the belt was not necessary, the summer dress e.g. It was tied in a ruffle at the waist, forming “wasp nests”, thus appearing very wide. During the holidays, they wore a silver belt, the silver belt, which was offered as a gift from the groom at the engagement. Over the chukna, they wore an apron, also embroidered, black, brown, etc. The decoration of the apron is the expression of the woman’s personal taste. They also wore a short vest inside. On their feet, they wore stockings (otherwise known as socks), that is, long socks made of a sagiaki, white or dark-colored with hooks on the inside to fasten them and with a black ribbon on the inside so that the hooks would not bother them. Brides wore white stockings. Women’s shoes resembled men’s, they were leather, short, with laces and were called kountouria, but these were purchased and were only worn on holidays. On weekdays, they wore pig or oxen shoes that they made themselves. And of course, the characteristic part of the Thracian women’s costume is the headscarf. It was copper-green or multicolored for young and married women and black for widows and the elderly, although from 1912 onwards this distinction did not apply, since all women wore black headscarves, so that the Turks would not distinguish them. The headscarf could have lace, sequins or beads. They placed it in the following way, after first folding it in half to form a triangle, they passed the two ends behind and under the head and tied them at the top (left), while underneath they sometimes wore a red fez. They also wore various other ornaments on their heads, such as the magouri,which was a gold ribbon passed through the jaw and was attached to the headscarf with small coins, called martzelia. The kasnaki was a black round ribbon, which was tied on the forehead and had a silver pin in the middle, between the kosnaki and the eyebrows they had a small row of coins, called tsakatia. Finally, on the head they put the tepelik’, which also had hanging gold coins. All of these were of course for special occasions of celebrations or weddings, as were the rows of coins on the chest and the bracelets on the hands (gold for engagement, glass for other occasions).

The men’s costume was simpler. It consisted of the salwar, that is, the trousers, which were made of sagiaki, a woolen double-layered fabric (a type of felt), black or dark brown, embroidered on the pockets, not too loose, and the shirt, which was white, preferably also embroidered, the short-sleeved shirt was called gandogamjalo. On top they wore a vest, the so-called tzamantan(i), or the dolma, which was a short cardigan with wide sleeves. Their socks were also woolen, black and embroidered on top. The shoes, as we said for the women, were the kountouria for holidays and the gourounocaroucha or voidotaroucha for everyday wear. On their heads they wore the sariki, a cap or a cap. However, everyone’s clothes were particularly well-kept and their preparation was difficult.

This is how my grandmother from Katikioi in Eastern Thrace described their traditional costume to me. It is known that every region (if not every village) in Greece and in the lost homelands had its own local costume. Thus, the residents of Basliki in Kessani were also from Eastern Thrace, but their costume differed from that of the Katkiots. Of course, the men’s costume did not differ much in the two villages (Basliki-Katikioi), so let us refer only to the women’s.

So, women wore breeches from the waist down, which were long and so wide that they resembled a skirt, without any special decorations or embroidery. Later, they were replaced by a long skirt. The colors of the breeches varied depending on the woman’s age and the occasion. On top of that, they wore a blouse that was tied at the waist with a string on weekdays, and on holidays, a long shirt, which had embroidery, always depending on the housewife’s taste, on the sleeves and collar. I think that over the years, the breeches were replaced by the black, sleeveless, long dress, the chukna, which was also decorated at the collar and hem with multi-colored braids (circular on the chest). Over the chukna was the apron, long, black or red, made of sayak, with embroidery or lace. It could have pockets and matched the color with the rest of the clothes. For an outerwear, they wore the “antiri” or “mendenes”, which looked like a short cardigan, had long sleeves and opened in front with buttons, reached to the waist and did not have a collar or if it did, it was very small, while the festive one had a simple decoration with pleats and braids. On the feet they also wore long, woolen socks, the “tsourapia”, embroidered. On special occasions (weddings, holidays, etc.) they wore, as decorative elements, doublets or rows of coins, which also indicated the financial status of each person. The scarf or “skepi” was colorful, red, white or black, embroidered, or with lace and they tied it like the women of Katkiotissa.

 

TRADITIONAL COSTUME OF EASTERN ROMYLIA

Women from Eastern Rumelia also wore a long shirt with embroidery on the hem, sleeves, collar and over it a skirt or a wide woven dress that flared at the waist, the foutani. It was ankle-length ∙ it is said that once a woman sewed a dress a little shorter than usual and was nicknamed “goutzukko”, because she wore a “goutzukiko” (= short) dress. They did not put padding on the shoulders, but made a sura and the fabric puffed out there. The sleeves were never short, but long in winter and summer ∙ only men could sometimes wear a shirt with short sleeves. Over the dress was the apron, which was long, black or even colored, with elaborate embroidery. The designs were usually flowers (carnations, roses, etc.), while on the chest and hem they had “Russians” (designs inspired by Russian tradition). The scarf was white, multicolored or black for widows and had small sequins around the edges. On the feet they wore socks, woolen socks, long to the knee.

The men wore the putouria or butouria (of the elderly), that is, woolen trousers, puffy, with narrow ankles that hugged the calves like leggings, in black or brown. On top was the shirt, white, woolen or cotton (in the summer, like all clothes), with particular care embroidered, as were the jerseys, which they wore inside and were essential. Over the shirt they put on the tzamandal’, the vest, which was woolen and short. At the waist they had a red, wide belt, which they used as pockets for their snuffbox, cigarettes, wallet, etc. On their feet they wore woolen woven socks, which turned outwards at the knee, revealing beautiful embroidery. The shoes were leather and were called tsarouchia, while in the old days they had tsarouchia and footmuffs, which hugged the shins. The head was covered by a lambskin cap, which they bought, while the children wore caps.

In the past, no one wore a suit, however, since that was the privilege of a teacher or a doctor. Anyone who sewed a suit would be reproached by the villagers: “What are you, wearing a suit?” A doctor or a teacher? It was only in 1937 that many people began to wear suits, especially on holidays.

None of the forms of folk art presents such a strong local color as the costume, which is why such a variety of types or individual elements appears. Over time, the development and interaction of the three groups, the costumes of the inhabitants of Nea Kessani changed completely and were eventually abandoned, to be succeeded by the modern way of dressing.

EMBELLISHMENT

Natural beauty and well-groomed clothing, which showed how good a housewife a girl was, were important for the Thracians of the early century. The elaborate embroidery, which was very difficult to embroider on the uniform, the beautiful braids, the tall, slender body, the black eyes, the good reputation of the family and herself, made a girl an enviable and sought-after bride. Of course, there was the “fkiasid’”, which they made themselves, the make-up of the time, but they did not prefer it; in fact, those who put fkiasid’ on their face were considered provocative, almost obscene. Sometimes they made the kara – boia (black paint) for their hair or shaped their eyebrows with charcoal. Their hair was braided and decorated with plaits, i.e. colored ribbons with small flowers, which hung gracefully under the headscarf. They also pierced their ears with a needle, after rubbing them with nettle to numb them (it sounds painful).

WEAVING, KNITTING, EMBROIDERY

The loom is the hallmark of Greek traditional culture and a good knowledge of weaving was an immediate necessity and pride for a girl of the time. Everything they wore, but also the blankets, the rugs, the towels, everything was woven, everything was made by the housewife. From a young age, and also during her engagement, a girl had to prepare most of the clothes and other woven items that she and her future family would need for the rest of their lives.

 So they took the wool, scalded it in cauldrons to clean it and rinsed it with plenty of water. Some dyeing methods followed at this point, otherwise they “scalded” it, i.e. they scraped it, then carded it on the carder (=tool with tall, upright nails, where they scraped the wool) and sorted it ∙ the best comes from the back of the animal (the  Sarakatsanai could separate up to forty lokias of wool). Then they scalded it, that is, they made it into a tloupis to put it into the roka, they spun it with the roka and made it into thread. At this stage it was called stimoni. The thread was passed through the tlygadi and dyed. [A note on dyeing: Wool was dyed either with paint that they bought, or with plants, such as for black and green. To dye wool green, for example, they took the sorghum (=scalded wool) and put it in jars with lapata, a plant that they collected and let rot, they left them there until the wool turned green and then they made it copper green]. Then they passed it through the winder and with the roudan they collected it into bobbins. This was followed by some tying and winding the warp on the warp with great care, so that it would not get tangled. Finally, two women together would raise it on the loom, pass the thread through the wicks and the comb and the warp were ready. To weave, they used shuttles, on which they placed the bobbins with the thread. The woven cloth was called the weft and was gathered at the back instead of the loom and was now ready for sewing or embroidery.

They embroidered almost all their clothes. Shirts, dresses, shawls, aprons, scarves, and even socks had elaborate embroidery that revealed the skill and passion of each housewife. The thread was bought in skeins called skeins or skeins. The designs were straight geometric patterns or flowers, animals and fruits or human figures in a dancing pose. They were embroidered with a meter stitch (xombliasta), which was the most difficult method, or with the design on the fabric, which was easier. For embroidery on clothes, they had canvas ∙ “It’s like tulle, you put it all over the clothes and embroider there according to the design, whatever you want, and then you pull out the threads, pull out the threads and the embroidery is done. You see the design on the paper, the canvas is white” (this is how an old lady who knows her art very well describes her work). Types of embroidery are the “rosakia” on the chest and hem, the “vlogero”, the “harves”, the “kokonakia”, the “galitsakia” on the shirt, the “xomblia” on the sleeves, the “anevato”, the “pisovelonia”, the “fishbone”, the “trypogazi”, according to the Eastern Orumeliotes, “azouri” for the Eastern Thracians on the pillows and sezerades on the quilts. They had embroidery on the walls, on the fireplace the “tzakliki”, like a curtain, while on the windows the mesala or other curtains. They were all colorful and flowers (roses and carnations) dominated.

Knitting is another great art that the housewives of Nea Kessani are excellent at. Not only the old ones, but also the young ones. In addition to woolen clothes with intricate designs, they knit wonderful lace, tablecloths, scarves, squares, etc., a job that requires a lot of patience and talent.

One last note: before the coal-fired iron, they didn’t have an ironing tool. To straighten clothes, they would fold them neatly and have children sit on the piles to step on and “iron” the clothes.

TRADITIONAL SWEETS AND FOOD

The Thracian diet was shaped by the climate and natural environment of our country, which has vast plains, mountains and lush forests, large rivers, fertile fields, cold winters and sweet summers (at least it was, because with the climatic changes in recent decades, much has changed, but traditional foods and sweets are always the first preference).

Several years ago, the villagers produced almost everything they consumed. They kept food in their cellars, flour, wheat, sugar, touloumo cheeses, onions, meats, sausages, must, dried fruits, everything they needed on a daily basis. Cooking was one of the main occupations of the housewife. A necessary condition for a young unmarried girl, in order to be a good bride, was to master the art of cooking well and the Plastiriotisses are certainly very good at this art. In fact, during the holidays, when the whole village was feasting and eating, the housewives would bake many dishes and compete to see who could make the best. On weekdays at home, everyone would sit around the low table, the sofra, and eat from the same utensil, since separate plates were an unnecessary luxury. So, everyone would grab their own spoon and… “whoever grabbed the food, ate while fasting,” because they were simply ahead of the others.

Pasta

The first and best food was bread, a complete food, enough to keep a person active all day and of course the most economical. Everyone had wheat, Thrace is very rich in wheat, which they ground themselves in hand mills or in the mill, which was in the village of Koutsos. Then they sifted the flour into the kneading trough, added salt, lukewarm water and yeast (sourdough) and kneaded it, then they covered it well with warm clothes or a blanket to warm it up and rise, they shaped it and finally baked it in the traditional oven. Most of them kneaded twice a week, since the bread they made each time lasted at least 3 days ∙ besides, it was too tiring and time-consuming a job to do every day ∙ a characteristic is what they often say, that is, “you have to get your ass wet to knead well”. In fact, when they kneaded and put the dough on the baking sheet, until the buns rose and the oven was hot, the mother would take a piece and make a pie for the children or spread it on a baking sheet and press it. It would bake quickly and they would cut a piece, open it and put in lard, lard, cigarithras and whatever else they wanted. Another version was the “loukoumia” ∙ a small portion of the bread dough was kneaded with butter and a little cheese, then the housewife spread it on the baking sheet, divided it into square pieces and made a hole with her finger in each piece. She baked these pieces, and the “loukoumia”, as the people of Eastern Romulus called them, were made without being eaten. The loaf was called vitalia. Bread is sacred, so it is not allowed to be dropped or stepped on, nor thrown away, we cross ourselves three times when cutting it and we consider it the primary food for man, it is after all the body of Christ. Furthermore, we never leave bread upside down, because that would be like mocking God. It is no coincidence that bread is used in many customs.

A classic Thracian dish is trahanas, which comes in two types: milky and sour. A very popular dish, trahanas warms the insides, gives strength and endurance for the hard work of each day, while in the evening it offers sweet rest. It is also very nutritious for young children. It is a food known throughout Greece, but it differs from region to region only in terms of the method of preparation. Milky here is made with milk of course or yogurt, semolina and flour, while the sour dough contains instead of milk, various vegetables, such as eggplant, pepper, pumpkin, which we boil, make porridge, and knead with the melted sour yeast and flour. After kneading, we cut the dough into small pieces, spread it in a dry and shady place to dry well and then we pass them through a sieve to be grated into very small pieces. After a few days of being spread out to dry very well, the trahanas is ready, we put it in the tourvades (fabric bags) and keep them throughout the fall and winter, as the most convenient food in the house.

Another traditional type of pasta is giofkades, which are made with milk, eggs and flour, which are kneaded together. Then we divide the dough and roll out thick sheets with the blastri. We let these sheets dry and divide them into very thin strips, which we cut into pieces. giofkades are also preserved in turvades and cooked like spaghetti, they are really nutritious and delicious with white cheese and fried pieces of bread. Otherwise they are called chylopites, if they are longer.

Couscous is similar, which looks like a multitude of shrapnel. It is made with eggs, milk, flour and yeast from coarsely pounded rice, which is kneaded and then sieved to take the right shape and finally left to dry for three or four days. It is cooked like giofkades. We should not omit the bulgur, which is broken and blanched wheat and is widely used in stuffed dishes and as a garnish instead of pilaf.

Other pastas are milina, katsamaki’ (corn flour porridge), kasa, loukoumades and mikikia, savory kouloura, which are probably the simplest and most common in the house. Milinas are generally called pies with cheese, leek, greens, minced meat or sweets with zucchini, rice, etc. and with a sheet that the housewife opens ∙ the success of the pie depends on the talent and little secrets of the housewife, Katsamaki’ is a porridge made from corn flour and similar is kasa. Dad, it was a preparation with egg and batter in a pan. Mikikia are a type of loukoumades, round with a hole in the middle, they are essentially dough similar to bread, which we cut into portions and fry in corn oil ∙ fluffy, they are eaten with honey or sugar and cinnamon. The savory bun is a round bread that is often used in customs. They also make a sweet bun, which resembles a tsoureki. For Agia Varvara, we boil wheat by adding sugar and raisins and serve it with its juice in bowls with roasted flour, sugar, cinnamon and other herbs and crushed walnuts. It is a wonderful dessert and we make it only on the feast of Agia Varvara and it takes the name of the honored Saint. . The lagana was called vitalia  and was not only eaten on Clean Monday.   Finally, Easter buns used to be simple, they didn’t have milk or eggs. They were made by godmothers for their christenings in the shape of a doll for girls and a horse for boys. They made the doll’s body triangular and placed a white boiled egg on the head and a red one on the body with the arms crossed over the egg. For the horse, they started the dough from a sigma, then they opened a mouth and made bridles, they placed the red egg and it was ready to bake, without brushing it with egg.

Vegetables, greens, legumes

Greek cuisine, and especially Thracian cuisine, is rich in vegetables. It is no coincidence that all the houses of Nea Kessani have their own vegetable garden with all kinds of vegetables. While, long ago, producing the products that the family needed was a matter of survival, today it is a matter of choice, since the vegetables that circulate in the market are clearly inferior to homemade ones, which are free from fertilizers, hormones, chemicals, etc. Lentils, beans, chickpeas, green beans, okra, peas, broad beans, eggplants, cabbages, lettuces, onions, spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers are in our daily diet, which is of course very healthy and rich in oil. As for vegetables, we prefer brussels sprouts and chicory, which are abundant on the estates, as well as spinach, chard, poppy seeds, nettles, which make delicious salads and fillings for pies, and apple pies. As for legumes, my father often says that he and his generation grew up with them. Beans and chickpeas were part of almost every day’s diet. Today, the beans and chickpeas of Nea Kessani are known in the rest of Xanthi for their unique quality and deliciousness.    

Fish

The “lake” and the sea of ​​Porto-Lagos fed the people of Plastiria for many decades, and fish is our favorite food. For many years, the most popular fish were carp, of which the lake had plenty. They were so large that men would clean them on large tables in the yard, cut them into slices and grill them over charcoal; one could feed a family. Unfortunately, with the disruption of the lake’s ecosystem, carp disappeared. A unique ouzo appetizer is eel, grilled over charcoal, although a bit forbidden, because it is heavy and raises cholesterol. Also very popular are sea urchins, asparagus, and tongues, whose season is in summer and they are eaten fried, while grilled sardines are the apotheosis of taste. For the winter, we prefer cod (from November onwards), mackerel, and cod. The cod heads are delicious grilled, especially stuffed with onion and herbs, baked mackerel with tomato and onion, and fried cod. Another great appetizer is salted sardines and anchovies with old onion and raki or with legumes. Let’s not forget that because fish is closely linked to Christian tradition, it is the traditional food that is required on certain holidays. On March 25th, ^we eat salted (salted, of course) cod, fried with garlic, on Palm Sunday and on the Transfiguration of the Savior, we also eat fish, while during most of the Christmas Lent, fish is allowed.

Meat

Meat was once a luxury item and a classic festive food. Because the climate was cold, they preferred fatty meats and fats. They ate mainly pork and beef, but also lamb and game. A long time ago, they had a total of three herds of animals, one with oxen, one with buffaloes and one with cows. They were herded by some shepherds who were hired by the villagers for this job. He would come at sunrise, take the animals from each house and return them in the evening; from there, the housewives would take care of milking the abundant milk, from which they would make yogurt, cheese and butter. Pigs were essential in every house. At Christmas, they usually slaughtered a pig and then followed the cutting up, which required art; they divided it into steaks, giblets, fat and lard, which they cured. While the lard was thick, they cut it into pieces and put it in a basket, a layer of lard, a layer of salt, in many layers, and left it to cook. They cut it into thin slices and ate it with bread. They also cured the bones of the slaughtered animals with salt, which, when boiled or roasted, gave the food a nice flavor. The fat, the pork fat, was essential, because for several years there was not much olive oil and they used the fat. The pork sausages, which we eat at Christmas and Easter and which are a wonderful appetizer, are famous.

Also famous are kavourmas, pastourmas and bambo, typical Thracian dishes. Bambo is made with the large intestine of the pig, they wash it very well by turning it over, prepare the filling with white and black liver, fatty meat, rice, bulgur, bay leaf, herbs, fill the intestine, roll it up and bake it. Kavourmas is a mixture of various types of meat, mainly beef and pork, goat or sheep and resembles the canned corned beef that is on the market today, without of course being able to compare it with our traditional mezedes in quality and taste . It was essentially a way to preserve meat outside the refrigerator. Tsigarithras were delicious, the dry-roasted, solid pieces left over from the persistent frying of pork fat. They often added leeks or eggs, making it an ideal winter delicacy.

Kebabs are pieces of pork meat cooked on paper or in a clay pot or on a spit like a souvlaki, but also fried; when fried, they are also called jiz-biz and are eaten on Christmas Day in the morning after church. Kebabs are also called a type of long, very spicy meatballs, grilled over charcoal. Sarmas is a traditional Thracian dish almost unknown in the rest of Greece. It is made with lamb liver and the membrane that wraps it, i.e. the mantila. First, we boil the liver, cut it into small pieces, which we mix with rice, onions, spices, raisins and fry this mixture. Then we place the “mantila” in the yuvetsi, pour the mixture in and wrap it with the mantila. We bake the sarmades in the oven, after brushing them with egg. It is a special dish and we usually make it at Easter, in addition to the roasted or skewered lamb and the fricassee, which is made with lettuce and lamb. I think the dishes stuffed with rice and offal or minced meat are among our favorites, such as dolmades / giaprakia with cabbage leaves and sarmades with vine leaves with or without minced meat (gialantzi).

Of course, we all have a chicken coop, so eggs and poultry are not missing from our table. In the past, when meat was scarce, children grew up on eggs, in the absence of other rich sources of protein. Once a teacher wanted to explain to the children the importance of a good breakfast and said to them: “My children, every morning I force myself and definitely eat an egg” ∙ two student friends and similarly large ones commented: “we eat about ten without even trying. If we even try, how many will we eat?”. After August 15, the people of Northern Thrace slaughtered chickens every Sunday, depending of course on the possibilities of each household.

Sweetness

The people of Plastiria did not eat many sweets, not even during the holidays, but they do not eat many today either. However, they preferred spoon sweets and syrupy sweets. Figs, sour cherries, cherries, sweet watermelon, cucumbers, eggplants, bergamot, zucchini, are always found in our kitchens and cellars; similarly, saragli, kantaifi, galaktoboureko, baklava, etc. are among the most beloved, as are sweet pies with zucchini, walnuts, rice, sugar, cinnamon, etc. pure ingredients. We also make wonderful retseli with grape must and various fruits, such as figs.

Wine, Tsipouro

Nea Kessani is known for its wines. Most of the residents have their own vineyards and we produce in the cellars in the traditional way the sweet as communion or the meraklidiko brusko wine, as well as of course the tsipouro (with or without anise). And men and women drink a lot, especially during holidays, feasts, family celebrations and more. The truth is that the people of Plastiria know how to party and get their fill of the drink of the gods, without losing control since they are very resistant to alcohol. They even say the proverb: “Drink water, to have a strong head, drink wine, to drink it like this”. The art of winemaking is an art that the refugees from Eastern Romulus in our village knew well from their homeland, they introduced it to the other residents and bequeathed it as a valuable tradition to their children.

Grandpa Christaks Ekmektsis, who also had a barrel workshop and a cauldron for tsipouro where Mr. Antonakis’ center is today, made sure that all the villagers had vineyards. Wine had long been considered a great food. They would often eat wine and bread for dinner. Of course, cultivating the vine is not an easy job and in the past, with the poor tools (the dikeli, the patoftyaro), it was a laborious task. The best part was the harvest. They would go with the carts, girls and boys, and work enthusiastically, with songs, with the necessary (but discreet) flirting, and after the work (picking, transporting and pressing) they would end up in a feast. A three-course feast, to rejoice in the blessed fruit, with lots of dancing and singing, as if they hadn’t worked all day. From the must, housewives made mustalevries, mustoukoulouras, retselia, i.e. boiled wine with fig or pumpkin and petimezi. Petmezi, in fact, was the sweetener they used in the absence of sugar, a kind of luxury in the past. During the occupation, they ate mamalinga, i.e. porridge made from corn flour with petmezi. They loved and we love our vineyards very much. The following episode is typical: Once, agronomists came to inform the villagers about new grape varieties and went to find them in the cafe. At one point, an old man asks his friend what these scientists are talking about. “They tell us to uproot our vines and plant mushrooms,” he replies. So the grandfather picks up his cane and throws it at the agronomist. Fortunately, he had good reflexes and managed to dodge to avoid having his head cut open.