Saturday, June 5, 2021

Some Assistance, Please


Jeff–Saturday

 

Today, I’m looking for a little help
figuring out where in Greece to set my next Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis novel.  It will be number 13, so I guess it could be a venue with a decidedly unlucky reputation.

 

However, don’t bother to suggest Ikaria, because that’s where I’ve set my just completed #12, slated for a 2022 release.  Besides, times have changed Ikaria’s luck for the better.

 

I suspect than when most hear “Ikaria” they think “Icarus,” which is perfectly understandable, as that’s where Icarus ended up when he disobeyed his father, Daedalus, and flew too close to the sun on his waxen wings. According to one legend, he perished on the rocks just off Ikaria’s, southern shore.

 

Ikaria and Icarus together again on a graffiti island wall

Others may know of Ikaria because, in 2012, The New York Times labeled it, “The island where people forget to die.”  On Ikaria extreme longevity is common, with one in three residents living into their nineties, and an unusually large proportion achieving centenarian status.  That’s why Ikaria is now considered one of the world’s five blue zones; places where people live longest and are healthiest.  The other four being Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia, Italy; Nicoya, Costa Rica; and Loma Linda, California.

 


Ikaria sits in the northwestern Aegean, approximately 130 air miles west of Athens and 30 miles from Turkey.  It resembles an elongated version of the American state of New Jersey turned on its side, though less than one-tenth the size of the state of Rhode Island, and a population of just 8,500. From the sea, it resembles an overturned ship, and from the sky an island sliced by a jagged mountain spine into a fertile three-quarters to the north, and a rocky one-quarter to the south.

 


Reputedly inhabited since 7,000 BCE, Ikaria’s rugged mountainous terrain, lack of decent ports, brutal winds, and reputation as the poorest island in the Aegean, discouraged virtually all but pirates and conquerors from paying it much mind.  And when they did, it was in raids for booty, slaves, and women, often slaughtering those inhabitants they didn’t spirit away. 

 


The pirate terror raging across the Aegean grew so horrific, that in the 16th Century virtually all of Ikaria fled to the mountains, and for eighty years lived within ingeniously camouflaged stone homes, concealed among secret villages.  To this day, Ikariots remember that time as their “century of obscurity.”

 





That past stands in testament to the determination of Ikariots to individually endure for however long, whatever it takes to survive.  Indeed, in 1829, when Greece obtained its independence from the Ottoman Empire, Ikaria remained under Ottoman rule.  Not until 1912, when Ikariots tossed out the Turks, did it join modern Greece—following five proud months as the independent country of the Free State of Ikaria, complete with its own flag, anthem, and postage stamps.

 


But joining Greece did little to change longstanding Ikariot skepticism toward outside help, and for much of the twentieth century, the Greek government gave little more than sporadic assistance to the island, while using it as a place of banishment for thousands of political dissidents.

 

Following the starvation years of World War II and four more years of civil war between nationalists and communists, the government banished 13,000 communists to Ikaria as a place of containment for those with unwelcome political views, and with that came the nickname it still bears of “Red Rock.”  But the government’s plan did not turn out quite as it intended. 

 

Many of those banished were educated, including doctors, lawyers, teachers, and creative types.  The government forbid them from living with locals, and their movements were restricted, but with so many needing places to stay, and the government offering little assistance in the way of food and shelter for the exiles, they ended up living in virtually every unoccupied house on the island. Many of those homes were in desperate need of repair, so the exiles fixed them up. Over time, locals came to regard them as welcome guests, not criminals, and the island became a sanctuary for dissident thinking.

 

Today, tourism drives Ikaria’s economy, fueled by its international reputation as one of the world's five Blue Zones, dedicated friends of the island, and a laid-back attitude appealing to the young.

 

As to whether the rigorous daily exercise demanded by life on a mountainous island, a diet of fresh home raised food and homemade strong wine, the mildly radioactive hot springs, the island’s politics, or a combination thereof accounts for its longevity, I leave for the professionals to decide. But my favorite explanation for it all is drawn from what many cite as the Ikarian Motto:

 

“If it doesn’t get done today, it will get done tomorrow.”

 


Ah, the stress-free life.  There is lot more to be said about Ikaria, its people, environment, history, and intrigues, but for now I’d appreciate a little help on selecting the location for #13.

 

Any suggestions?

 

Thanks and stay safe.

 

–Jeff

 

26 comments:

  1. How about Koroni? Olive groves, surfing, sailing, lots of expats.

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    1. A great suggestion, Helen. The three fingers of the Peloponnese are among my favorite locales, but the closest I came to Koroni was in setting "Sons of Sparta" in the Mani "middle finger." Perhaps it's time to give native Greeks a break, and start knocking off ex-pats. :)

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  2. Ikaria is a much more interesting place than I realised! Thanks, Jeff.

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  3. It has a very colorful history, Michael, and also stands as an example of centuries of unbridled exploitation of natural resources. Its ancient forests fed voracious logging and charcoal industries. Today, virtually all that remains of a species of oak dating back five million years is in the preserved six-square mile Randi Forest, the oldest forest in the Balkans.

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  4. How about something built around Greek myth such as Asclepius. There are various Asclepion temples around. Seems like you could do something with "healing sleep" that becomes permanent.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asclepeion

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    1. Thanks, Dave. You're correct--as always--that Asclepius had temples in some very interesting places. Sort of like doctors these days who set up satellite clinics. Healing sleep. Hm, if I set the book in autumn, perhaps I could title it, "Fall Asclepius." [say it quickly]

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    2. I did...and Sue gave me an odd look.

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    3. Sue's a fine judge of character(s).

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  5. How about a murder on a body found on a ferry. Something maritime in nature.

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    1. Maritime works, Sis, provided the boats aren't on strike. :) Thanks

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    2. Labor troubles seem like a perfect complication for the story.

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    3. Which KIND of 'labor'? Or both? :-)

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  6. Wow, that last picture is quite the portrait that Barbara took of you. I hadn't realized you were such a clothes horse. What's that you say? Oh. So sorry, I would have sworn...

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    1. You just have to know how to accessorize, EvKa, and you too can pull it off. That photo actually comes from the NY Times article referred to in my post. The man has a fantastic story to tell of how moving back to Ikaria after being given six weeks to live yielded him decades more. Here's the link to the article. https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/28/magazine/the-island-where-people-forget-to-die.html

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  7. Hi Jeff! Have you thought about Thessaloniki being the second city of Greece and so close to borders of other countries? That would also include Chalkidiki which is touristy as you can get especially with tourists and migrants from the Balkans. Much love! Can't wait!

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    1. Thanks. That's actually a locale I've thought of using several times, especially when a friend was mayor of Thessaloniki. I did somewhat involve it in "Devil of Delphi," and before that Chalkidiki in "Prey on Patmos"--though Mt. Athos had center stage there. The time may have come to give Salonika the spotlight it deserves.

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  8. How about Olympia? I've gotten the strangest, creepy feeling both times I visited.

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    1. Good suggestion, Donis. Thanks. I actually had the same feeling on one visit, but attributed it to my company. :)

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  9. What a great post! I'd heard the name "Ikaria" but knew nothing else about this fascinating island. I adore those stone houses too.

    As for lucky #13...you could always have the good Inspector take a vacation to Japan ;) I happen to know a historian/traveler here who would be more than happy to help you find a proper spot to hide a body.

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    1. I cannot think of a better companion for the good inspector (or his chronicler) than the distinguished historian/traveler you have in mind. Body hiding skills are a definite bonus.

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  10. Thanks Jeff! Of course I have no idea what the new story is about but wouldn't be great to add the Jewish aspect of the city somehow? Much love, Louna

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    1. I agree, Skywalker. It's hard to tell a story touching upon the history of Thessaloniki without addressing its Jewish aspect.

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  11. How about high in the mountains of Vervenna overlooking Tripoli (where my and cousin Renee Pappas ancestors came from. A major battle was fought there in May of 1821 where the war hero Kolokotronis overthrew the Turks and kept them from invadining Tripoli. The mountains surrounding the area are said to have artifacts from the war. Perhaps the good inspector can investigate the murder of an antique dealer found dead in the mountains.

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    1. Anything touching upon your cousin Renee interests me. She's a wonderful story in and of herself. :) Thanks.

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  12. Okay, for islands my vote is Hydra or Spetses or Kastelorizo or Rhodes. And of course, I would vote for a return to the Peloponnese: development in the Costa Navarino area is and has been rampant through lockdown. . .lifestyles of the rich and famous. . .might be a new Mykonos in the making. . .just a thought. . .

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    1. You are a traveler's guru, J&J, and the places you pick are great. In fact, in "Sons of Sparta," I modeled the project involved in that plot on Costa Navarino and on what looked to me as the inevitable development in that part of the Peloponnese of precisely the sort you describe!

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