Tag Archives: Corfu

Apr 29 2014
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Interesting People, Quotes, video

Night Impressions of Corfu

 

“The sea was smooth, warm and dark as black velvet, not a ripple disturbing the surface. The distant coastline of Albania was dimly outlined by a faint reddish glow in the sky. Gradually, minute by minute, this glow deepened and grew brighter, spreading across the sky. Then suddenly the moon, enormous,  wine-red, edged herself over the fretted battlement of mountains, and threw a  straight blood-red path across the dark sea. ”

Gerald Durrell in “My Family and Other Animals”

 

 

Vassilis (Bill) Metallinos made the above video. He has made some beautiful videos of the night sky over Corfu, made of thousands of stills,  that can be viewed on his youtube channel. You can read an interview of his here explaining his equipment and method. 

Gerald Durrell lived with his family (and other animals) as a child in Corfu. He has written a trilogy on Corfu and his brother Lawrence Durrell also wrote a book on Corfu, the “Prospero’s Cell“.

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May 21 2013
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Articles, my line of thought

The Union

Enosis, by S Skordos. Photo by D Dimouitsas

Text by Spyros Skordos. Photo by D.Dimoulitsas. EN mag, issue 3 (spring, 2010), pp. 9 and 11

And a bit of Greek on this blog….

Today is the anniversary of the union of Corfu (and the other Ionian islands) with the modern Greek State (1864). In Corfu town we have a public monument to physically mark this event in our large, green and flowery central town square, the Esplanade. Every year on this day this stone monument gets decorated but for the rest of the year it is left in peace and in darkness for teenage lovers to discover each other, in equal distance between seclusion from and proximity to public life. This monument seems to be sitting comfortably there awaiting them to mark their Union.

Thinking of that a few years ago, when, some dear dear friends of mine – Dionysis Dimoulitsas and Vasso Kotsi, among others – and I were producing a free press magazine about Corfu, called EN, we felt we had to connect those dots. To make a note of this personal and social union. The Spring issue of 2010 would be in circulation during this anniversary, so we asked from our witty editor, Spyros Skordos, to remind us all what ‘The Union” really meant for our Corfiot generation. I am sharing this lively article here. To access it, click on either images (above or below).

The text is in Greek. Whoever can, enjoy it!

en3

ΕΝ magazine, issue 3 (spring 2010), cover. Cover photo by D.Dimoulitsas

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Apr 26 2013
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my line of thought

Easter in Corfu: My new site is up’n’running

Easter in Corfu // music in the air My new site about the Corfiot Easter

My new site is up’n’running! It is a site dedicated to the Beauty of the Easter in Corfu and it is titled ‘Easter in Corfu // music in the air’.

Greek Easter is almost here! Coming from Corfu this is a very special time for me. So, since I cannot be in the streets of Corfu this year, listening to its music and smelling the beautiful Spring aromas, I decided to create a digital ‘Homage’ to the Corfiot Easter.

I explain my fascination about the Easter celebration in Corfu at length on the site, so I won’t say much here. But in order to make it clear as to why I felt like sharing the beauty of the Corfiot Easter, I post here my ‘Personal Note‘ originally found on the Easter in Corfu site:

Easter in Corfu is popular and crowded and you might think it’s too much hassle because of that. But I beg to disagree. It is absolutely beautiful, therefore I completely understand the crowds that flock in and I put up with it. People are not crazy for wanting to experience this!

I am Corfiot and I grew up in Corfu. I took part in the Easter processions with my school and the girl guides since I was six up util I was an adult. In my uni years I used to fly back to Corfu just to be part of all this. Having been brought up in a non religious environment, I completely missed the fact that Easter was a religious event, up until the age of 12(!), although, as I said before, I was taking part in the processions. I thought the whole things was a Corfiot way of celebrating Spring and the priests and town churches just tagged along…

That is still more or less my impression of the Corfiot Easter and that is why throughout this site the religious aspect of the celebrations is only mentioned in event or day titles. In other words, through this site you will not find out anything more about Greek Orthodoxy or Christianity for that matter.

As an endnote, let me summarise my intention in sharing my love for the Corfiot Easter with all of you:

Corfiot Easter is an event that makes me feel I have a home that I love. It is a longer than a week festivity that uses all the Corfiot ‘peculiarities’ as essential elements in order for Easter to happen. It needs the coming of Spring in this blossoming island, the European influenced local culture, architecture and love for music. It needs the Greek outward ness, community style of life and pride, to people the whole thing. It needs the ancient rituals to translate into religious festivities. It needs a community which wishes to remember its deceased ones and its past, a community which yearns to celebrate life, a beautiful life ahead of us all.

Daria Koskorou (just days before Corfiot Easter, 2013)

 

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Apr 09 2012
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photographs Image

stormy sunset

This is a view from the San Stefanos beach off Avliotes village in north Corfu. I think it was June when I was there three years ago. At the far end you can see the island of Othoni, one of the most precious pieces of land I have ever visited. Storm has just passed the island heading our way revealing a beautiful and dramatic blue tinted sunset.

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