Cover photo by Nikos Kakagias
Article by Nikos Kakagias
Edited by Harrys Pourouzidis
Lake Polyfytos — Rymnio Bridge
Now and forever… Aiani, for as long as our legs can still carry us.
The Vardar wind was fierce, freezing our ears, its breath reaching deep into our bones. And yet this strange flame inside always guides us, pushes us onward and upward, and now we reached the heights where Kozani meets an old companion, a place that now stands alone, watching the times pass by.
Aiani: from the eternal to the present. And we set out to recreate, upon the canvas of memory, a story that might be forgotten by many, but still lives in the burning eyes of the few who remain. They are its guardians, devoted keepers of ancient treasures held close to their heart, lest the harsh winds of difficult times scatter them. They struggle to inspire new generations which they are still waiting to arrive.
The Riverbed of the Aliakmon
The sky was heavy, and the birds on the lake, startled by the weather, had withdrawn to their shelters, leaving our cameras disappointed. But, as it has been proven from past occasions when our endurance stayed strong against the elements, we were not discouraged. A small band of feet took the road along the bed of the Aliakmon, and before the cold was given any time to stiffen fingers and noses completely, we had once again reached what we were looking for.
Our gracious host understood it too, and allowed his smile to light the scene while our own George dutifully carried out the task of modelling that we had placed upon his shoulders imperceptibly
“I think here the light will be better, and the background should give us a more balanced bokeh…”
Dimitris Vavliaras, a true son of this land, thin as a twig yet resilient against the winds, has been struggling for years, through his photography and his music, to preserve the habits, and gestures of a way of life that refuses to accept the defeat imposed upon it by those in power.
We, the humble fellow travellers, let ourselves be led by Aiani’s ancient scent, tracing with our hands the faint marks it had left behind in its passage through the centuries.
Environmental Information Centre
Our first stop was the Environmental Information Centre, which Christos opened especially for us, taking on the role of guide as he led us through the interior. He spoke to us about the interventions in the landscape that began in 1973 with the construction of the dam, changes that permanently altered the morphology of the region. In their place came a body of water covering 57 square kilometres, and fish entered the local diet.
Water gave breath to the land and became a force for growth — until different times arrived, different priorities were imposed, and most people left.
A few remained behind, fighting almost alone against people, systems, and entrenched ways of thinking.
The birds and fish transformed into images behind display cases, so that younger generations might see them and learn, in the hope that some living memory of former glory might survive in them and become a reason to fight for it.
What remained with us was the same bitter aftertaste that so often follows a visit to any corner of this long-suffering country.
Fauna
The lake may have been empty of its winged inhabitants that day, but Dimitris’s kindness in offering us years’ worth of his photographic work was truly admirable. We thank him warmly for allowing us to share with you, the reader, his images of the wondrous world of Lake Polyfytos and its wildlife.
Archaeological Museum of Aiani
With a certain humility, we visited the jewel of the region, standing there at the entrance to the village. The museum, worthy of the weight its name carries, is divided into four sections, each one holding the fragments this land had kept safe. The continuous presence of human life here, from prehistoric times to the late Byzantine period, is recorded in the traces people left behind, both small and great. Aiani owes its name to Aianos, son of Elymos and nephew of Aeneas. Elimeia was the name of the region he ruled, an autonomous land until it was incorporated into the Macedonian kingdom of Philip II. In Roman times, Aiani became a major mining centre for copper and iron, while its life continued into the Byzantine period, as shown by the finds in the museum’s final section and by the still-standing religious monuments of Saint Demetrios and the Dormition of the Theotokos.
Our tour through the well-ordered museum was more than satisfying, thanks to the generous dedication of the guard on duty. He exceeded every expectation and reminded us of similar encounters we have had at other archaeological sites.
Such people deserve to be mentioned. Without grand academic titles, but with absolute respect and love for the timeless value of history’s fragments, they give voice to the will of ordinary people: to preserve forever the glory of these stone witnesses, and to explain to the uninitiated the meaning behind the general’s words:
“For these stones, we fought.”
Necropolis & Acropolis
It was the same man who opened for us the gate to the guarded area of the royal necropolis northeast of the village. The site contains built chamber tombs, cist graves, and simple pits for the common people. Within them were found a few grave goods — whatever the looters had left behind — along with several Mycenaean clay vessels, which most likely testify to the movement of Mycenaeans toward the north.
Beyond the shelters protecting the funerary monuments, the site itself speaks through its neglect of the indifference of the modern state. It leaves the visitor with the same bitter taste already described along with the burrs clinging to our trousers.
Epilogue
Time passed, and Dimitris, faithful to our ancient traditions of hospitality, accompanied us to the village’s final “conference hall.” There, with the sound of a Pontic lyra, the village’s sole ambassador of refugee memory, the moment was crowned with a few glasses of wine, a quite familiar epilogue for our collective, one that binds together all the group’s excursions. Once more, the glasses were raised, sealing our devotion to the group’s ancient principles.
Photography is only the excuse. Spread the word.
Dimitris Vavliaras for the invitation and his company,
Christos Giannakopoulos, municipal employee of the Aiani community,
and Giannis Karamanolas, guard of the Archaeological Museum of Aiani.
