Platia Village Tinos Island Greece
A small Paris in Tinos Island
Platia village looks like a natural fortress on Tinos Island. With a view to central Aegean Sea, it has on its left a dell that protects it from the enemy while the left side is rocky, making Platia village safe from invasions. This safety that the nature offers to the location as well as a big water vane in the dell, are the factors which led to the foundation of the small village by its habitants.
The core of the Platia village is composed of a complex of close houses which are silent during winter and revive when the summer comes. Opposite, Ahlada village is totally deserted with the exception of the bell of Saint Pandeleimonas church, which calls the habitants of Platia village to be blessed on his name day. They arrive to Axlada village through a nice and well conserved path which begins from another silent village called Plistario, and passes through a small and very old bridge, called Vord.
A charming silence
The silence that dominates in this area and spreads around the church creates an imposing atmosphere that inspires me to explore this hard nature. Grey stones, small green and yellow bushes emerging among the stones, a small beach and the sea which is green or blue dependant on the depth. Thats all. These are the components of my scenery.
Looking at the abandoned houses of Ahlada village and at the three bridges constructed for peoples needs, I am thinking that they could be restored in order to keep their history alive and remind people of their existence as an ancient traditional village.
On the top of this hill, I see the remains of an agricultural village, Karabousa. The houses had been built around a dell were they could find flowing water, which was the reason to settle their life at this place. They had constructed basins to do the laundry and to water their animals.
They used to culture vineyards to make their own wine. They also used the sensitive fruit of mulberries to make tsipouro while the leaves of those trees were a great meal for silkworms.
The habitants of Platia village were famous for their skills in using silk and as a result they had developed commercial activities with Constantinople, Smyrna and Alexandria. For this reason, it is also known as Small Paris. Moreover this trade prevented them from being isolated.
The churches
As I enter the Saint Paraskevi church I firstly see the Saints miraculous icon, burnt on the left, in the past but I dont know for which reason. According to specialists, it belongs to post-Byzantium period but it doesnt compose a great art work.
There is also Saint Pandeleimon church nearby, which was devoted to Saint Paraskevi too, in the beginning. However, as there were 2 churches for Saint Paraskevi, the habitants decided to devote this one to Saint Pandeleimon. Nobody knows when it has been constructed but it is, for sure, as old as Ahlada village. The first part of this churched was caved in the rock but it was afterwards expanded to south and west. On the Saints name day, which is celebrated the day after Saints Agia Paraskevi name day, many people are visiting this place to be blessed by the Saint.
Platia village used to be wealthy and its habitants loved art and everything that could decorate their buildings. There were many skilful artists among them; as a result plenty of artistic treasures have been gathered in the Panagia church as well as in the other churches of this area. I should of course tell that most of these icons have been painted by great painters that lived during the 19th century, such as the monks Grhgorios and Gennadios. I focus on an icon where I see Pantokrator (this is one of the plethora of names that Christians use for their God and it means that the God is the most powerful among all) and was painted in 1640 AC. I also focus on an icon where I see the Archangels gathering, painted in 1732 AC. I also came across some holy objects that were used in 18th and 19th century.
The second church of the village is Saints Anargyri church. Its present shaping has been formed after a renovation that took place in 1861 AC.
The protector of Platia village
One of the most important churches of Platia village is that of Saint Haralambos, who is the protector of this village. He is said to have saved the village from plague, in 1800 AC. The floor, the windows, even the temple of this church are made of marble from Tinos island and the craftsmen were all habitants of Tinos island too. The marmoreal priedieu has been constructed by the craftsman Ioannis Filippotis. The craftsmen from Platia village have also worked on the graves and the sepulchral inscriptions of the old cemetery that was used until 1914 AC, at the place that nowadays is used as a church yard. These inscriptions compose a resource for the history of Platia village as we can find information concerning the life of many habitants, on them.
Saint Ioannis Beheaded church is built on a hill near Platia, with a great view to Aegean Sea and to many villages of Exw Meria area. This church was renovated in 1816 AC by the monk Filotheos Koukoulas.
Looking at the rocks of the mountain, my eye stops on the stone steps that connect the village with the sea and the ports all over the world. They are well constructed but they dont disturb the beauty of the wild scenery.
This village is full of history, traditional memories, art and natural beauty. Its past is very interesting but its present is dominated by silence and sometimes desolation. However, it worth a visit, especially if you like alternative holidays!
