Homes, streets and life in Galaxidi
Comparisson reports are under license of:
Lo que dice el Arxiduc:
“Galaxidi’s streets are full of potholes, and half are simply bedrock. Some streets have a small gutter in the middle for waste water. With few exceptions, the houses are fairly poor. In general they are square, the ground floor made of stone with a few connectors on the corners. Above, the houses are made of mud and straw with pieces of wood. This is an advantage because the region is plagued by earthquakes. The houses tend to have exterior staircases. The chimneys built in Turkish-style are strange, with their mason tubes on the outside. The ovens also tend to be outside and are normally round, though sometimes rectangular.”
The place’s wealth is truly due exclusively to its boats. They are reputed to be the best in Hellas along with those from Syra. Galaxidi currently has 350 ships, 250 of which weigh more than 100 tons. Shipbuilding was very important until now. They made from 12 to 15 every year, with a minimum of 9. They haven’t made any new ones for months now. They say it’s because of a government order prohibiting trees be cut down.”
“Next to the small dock they’re building is a small plaza where people sell fish and fruit under awnings held up by sticks. You see people proudly strolling along the marina, wearing their wide blue trousers and red fez hat in keeping with Levantine customs. Some are covered in furs, while other men wear a fustanella skirt and fez hat daringly sloped to one side. Many hold a rosary in their hands, like the Turkish custom. They are black or made of amber, and usually with quite big beads.
There are always card-players to be found in front of cafés and bars. We can understand that these areas are especially busy on Sundays when not only the customary strollers-by happily walk the streets but also numerous sailors with their jacket sleeves rolled up. It’s pleasant to hear the latter’s happy songs on the tranquil night, coming up from the beach or the local boats anchored in the small port with their tall riggings creating a phantasmagorical image. They’re accompanied in their songs by young boys singing Greek songs while fishing along the shore with a wavering light and a trident. At times, we see fishing boats with torches, floating around the points like ghosts. When they come back full of fish, the fishermen also sing happily and loudly.”
Datos proyecto Nixe III:
The Archduke described the construction techniques used in his day to build homes. We found several old homes where we can see the mud and straw used to build them. Others were made completely or partially with stone.
All of Galaxidi’s houses are protected. The city’s hotels thus offer relatively few rooms but within old mansions. Local tourism predominates here, and the city’s carnival celebrations are famous. During Easter, locals customarily burn a black cross on the entrances to their homes.
Walking through the city, we noticed lots of details on the homes and various motifs stuck on the walls and/or roofs, etc.
Lastly, the shops are very well-cared for and offer a lot of traditional products. Tourism here is essentially local. It’s also very famous for its carnival celebrations, attracting a lot of people from the capital.
We continued enjoying marvelous Greek food at the Porto de Galaxidi restaurant. They offered us good service, and in Spanish, in addition to good food. We tried the grilled octopus, a cream fish roe soup and candied fruit for dessert.
Comparisson reports are under license of:
