Tag: Leonidio

Tsakonians are an ancient Greek tribe with Laconian roots who took refuge in Kinouria of Arcadia in order to avoid Slav invaders and Frank conquerors in the Peloponnese. They have been living there ever since and they still use their tsakonian mother tongue a Doric dialect. Tsakonians are famous for their uncompromising spirit, their huge love for their country and their business success amongst the broader Balkan area.

"My great-grandfather was traveling from Crete and because of the rough sea, the ship stopped at Maleas Cape of South Peloponnese. He lived a big adventure that he used to talk about all the in the following years, he used to talk about it so often that we gave him the nickname Maleas. That is why I am also called Maleas".

At the end of August, the aubergine feast takes place at Leonidio, where more than a ton of aubergines are prepared in countless variations. The night of the feast the best food receives prizes by the judges and afterwards there are festivities. Eating and drinking until dawn is a just part of the traditional feast.

Thousands of native and foreign visitors pass in front of the long tables, where there are hundreds of pans and pots, and try a great variety of aubergine recipes. The elegant and imaginative women of Leonidio, with their intense personalities, are the stars of the day. 

"What are these people saying, dad? I don't understand them". "They are Tsakonians, my child, a tribe that lives in a different time. Mankind is so close to going to the moon and they keep speaking their old dialect. Isn't there someone to teach them to speak Greek? I wonder when evolution is going to reach this place".