Tuesday, November 10, 2020
Agia paraskevi is located in the inland area of Kassandra, and it is surrounded by a forest of pine trees. The area got its name from the homonym church, which it can be found in the outskirts of the village. Agia (as the locals call it) has a rich historical tradition and it has been catastrophically destroyed three (3) times before and throughout the Greek Revolution of 1821. Great warrior of the Greek Revolution of 1821 was Christodoulos Dhmhtriou. Constantine Sarafianos and Constantine Karagiorgis were two (2) Macedonian warriors who come from the Agia paraskevi village. Visitors have the opportunity to wander around the quiet and narrow lanes of the village, as well as to “escape” and stroll around beautiful routes inside the dense forest. The locals of the village, who can be described as, “down-to-earth and full of hospitality”, will be glad to guide you through the art of apiculture and teach you everything you need to know when it comes to its secrets. Apiculture and olive cultivation is the main occupations amongst locals. All around the village, small, quaintly and full of charm taverns can be found, in which you can taste traditional delicacies and appetizers derived from Chalkidiki. Of course, everything is accompanied by locally produced ouzo and tsipouro.
The village is old and even though we do not acknowledge the exact time of its creation we do know that it has been around for quite some time now, even before the devastating destruction of 1821. Information regarding the era of its destruction does not exist.
We do have two (2) Macedonian warriors (Constantine Sarafianos and Constantine Karagiorgis) though, and in fact, they were both teachers. Moreover, the second one, Constantine Karagiorgis, was arrested by the Turks for propaganda and was put eventually in prison. Back then, The White Tower of Thessaloniki was used as a prison, and it was there, where Constantine Karagiorgis was put. And to be exact, the reason why he was arrested was because of a song (O Thourios Tou Riga) he sang at school to his students. The song’s theme was about freedom and revolution, and overall a very much rebellious song which, at the time being, anything rebellious that had the ability to encourage the Greeks, was not allowed. The Greek Consulate had appointed him to do propaganda to the Bulgarian villages. He eventually died due to poisoning and from the many hardships that someone had to face while inside the prison.
During the German Occupation, Ioannis Mavroudis (also known by the German occupation police as, “Giannis with the black beret”) was someone who took action and the police wanted to put in prison. He was part of an organization titled as «ΕΟΔΗ 503» (Organization regarding information and acts of sabotage). He was a bold and brave man. With his caique he would organize some routes across the sea in order to transport men, information, knowledge and money. All that, cooperatively with the “Secret Intelligence Service of the United Kingdom”, commonly known as MI6. It is said that they spirited away Giorgos Papandreou, Panagiotis Kanellopoylos and numerous amount of New Zealand residents, all the way to the Middle East.
And for that reason, after the end of World War II, which was full of death and sorrow, the community of Agia Paraskevi received a “thank-you” letter from the Prime Minister of New Zeland.
As far as we know, when it comes to the area of the people who would sabotage, we are in possession of the information that he had entered two (2) times inside of some ( ordered by the Germans ) caiques, purposefully got drunk the whole crew and took them to the Middle East.
And in order to honor his integrity, people recount the following incident: “Once, the English gave him thousands of pounds to transfer to Sithonia. The man who accompanied him suggested they keep the money to themselves. Giannis though, not only refused to do something like that, but he also threatened him that if he ever mention that again, he would kill him.”