#pculiar

Every August 15, Orthodox Christians from all over the world crawl to the church of Our Lady of Tinos in Greece...

Yes, you read that right: As soon as they disembark the boat at the port of the island of Tinos, many believers fall on their knees and begin the difficult journey to the church. Their aim is to touch the holy icon of Virgin Mary, which can be found inside and is believed to have healing powers.

The icon is believed to be the handiwork of Saint Luke. According to legend, its whereabouts had been unknown until the first day of the creation of the modern Greek state. That's when the Virgin Mary visited Saint Pelagia (just a simple nun at the time) and revealed where the icon had been buried. Our Lady of Tinos was consequently declared the patron saint of Greece and a nationwide fund collection was carried out for the building of a church to house it. The first pilgrimage took place in 1823 and since then it constitutes the biggest Greek Orthodox pilgrimage.

Avlona is a kind of surreal rural village, in a short distance from Olympos in Karpathos island. In this village, Olympians grow vegetables and some do grapes. In the old times, people would grow their products just about anywhere. Today only a few still carry on this tradition.

The permanent residents are three. Michalis, Anna and Irene. Michalis and Anna are husband and wife and own the only cafe around. Irene is their nearby neighbour.

However, there are many more houses around, as most of people from Olympos also own a house in Avlona. The climate there is much drier that that of Olympos and there is also some space to grow stuff.

After the two day festival in the ancient city of Vrykous, the party moves to Avlona. These are the days of Avlona as the locals call it. Everyone who owns a house in Avlona moves there for 2-3 days and opens the house. It is such a nice time and the place really livens up. I had visited Avlona many times before, but this one was by far the best. All houses have their lights on during the night and they invite you for a drink or a small bite.

Later at night everyone visits the main square and have dinner. The music starts and the Olympian festival begins. As in all the celebrations, singing starts with religious chanting, then moves on with slow songs for the table and then they start 'Mantinades' These are on the spot made songs that speak about the villagers affairs.

This customs takes place twice a year in the Historic Town of Missolonghi. This is the summer one, which is much more crowded than the winter one and lasts for three consecutive days.

Every year on August 15, during the Assumption of Mary, a very dramatic pilgrimage takes place in the island of Tinos. Believers from all over Greece come to pray and ask for blessing for their loved ones.

This is probably the longest litany in Greece. About 40km which is eight to nine hours of walking.

I started by car from Athens to reach Pili village in Euboea. This is where I was to meet some locals who would take me to Katounia village, where the litany starts. They use large pick up trucks and SUVs. I find myself climbing on the back of a pick up truck, along with five women. All trucks are equally packed.

The road is made of dirt with many rocks here and there and at points is so narrow that the truck barely fits. In one side is a vertical cliff that ends to the sea and to the other side is the mountain. I remember everyone moving towards the mountain side so that they din't see the void. The back of the truck that was by the side of the sea was at times literally floating in thin air.

The Evening Prayer had already begun when we reached the village and everyone was lining up to pay respect to the Saint's Icon. As soon as the Prayer ends, the litany begins. People take the Icon in their hands and priests in front they start the journey.

At the back women follow, carrying bags with food, water, fruits and dried nuts for the journey. They wear comfy clothes and shoes. Some cars come along in case of an emergency, but also to help some people who are getting to tired to follow along. They seem to be quite handy when the road goes uphill. Some children even have their swimming suits so that they can have a swim at the sea.