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ther and the grandmother. Grandmoth- Eleftherios Venizelos and after the war dou), play writers and actors.
er welcomed us with her homemade for “the Old man of Democracy”, Geor- And it also has in its provision the first
ice cream and grandfather took me by gios Papandreou, with whose party he in Greece passionate historian of Mac-
the hand to the pastry shop beside the didn’t have the happiness to be elect- edonia, with a flood of books for the
church of Aghios Pavlos to buy me lou- ed (for 10 or 20 crosses every time). On last 60 years, my father’s assistant at his
koumades. the back of these useless then ballot pa- law firm and later Minister of Northern
I had a special relationship with my pers, with the five candidates of the Lib- Greece, Nikos Martis, whose name was
grandfather, papa Lias. He was the life- erals, I started writing my first short sto- never mentioned even once in the tur-
long cashier at the Mills of Georgis ries. That’s how I hated politics since I bulence the Treaty of Prespa caused.
Nikoletopoulos (which survived the was a child and I was never a candidate, Η προπολεμική Καβάλα όπου
Bulgarians, but were blown up before 20 beside the pressuring inviatitions. And γεννήθηκα υπήρξε για μένα ως
years or so by the Greeks to build upon now I know the past of the city, the “lit- ανήλικο παιδί ένας παραδείσιος
it the new Municipality Mansion.) Un- tle Moscow” as they used to call it when τόπος. Ακόμα κι όταν φυλάκισαν τον
til then, their silos were the trademark Pasalidis was Mayor (1936-1940), the πατέρα μου για τη συμμετοχή του στο
of the city, as it is the White Tower for fighting spirit of the tobacco workers, Κίνημα του 1935, όταν με πήγαν στη
Thessaloniki and Acropolis for Ath- the heroism of many people of labor φυλακή, παραμονή της εκτέλεσής
ens. This barbarism from a bank, who and I’m proud I took the Nobel prize του, δεν ήμουν καν ενός χρονώ,
also brought the adjective “National”, is in my city, when Mayor Kostas Simitzis όλο χαμόγελο στη φωτογραφία
something I never came to forgive. gave my name to the Municipal Library. καθώς με κρατά sτην αγκαλιά του
Anyway. Let’s talk about the pleasant Kavala is the European capital of chess. πίσω από τα σίδερα. (Τελικά η
things. My grandfather, whom I adored, Stavroula Tsolakidou from Kavala is εκτέλεση ματαιώθηκε για τους
was an avid hunter. He used to take me the world champion. πολιτικούς και ίσχυε μόνο για τους
with him for hunting at the Shari Sam- Kavala is the most beautiful city in
pan meadow. Later on he gave me a Greece. Amphitheatrically built, she
Flobert gun. And as from the Kariotakis mirrors herself with the sea to the op-
Lyceum I went to the poet, thus from posite “island of the Sirens” (according Who is who
my grandpa’s Flobert I ended to Flau- to Homer), the bordering Thasos. The
bert and I became an author. Neverthe- Kavalians I have met, of Greek and for- Vassilis Vassilikos
less, this was also my grandfather’s fault, eign Diaspora, love and honour their Since 1953 he has published
who was a great story-teller. He was tell- city, wherever they are. Even the men more than 120 independent
ing me stories of wild monsters from who did only their military service here volumes of books (prose, essay,
plays, poetry), and he is one
the Amazonian jungle, where he nev- are talking for these years with great of the most translated Greek
er stepped a foot in his life. And I was nostalgia. authors, after Kazantzakis, Cavafy
in awe. So, together with Flaubert, papa What the city misses is its expansion and Ritsos. In 2016 he was
Lias helped my entrance, in small age, through sea. The development of reli- awarded with the Great Award of
Letters for the body of his work.
to the tale and the comfort of literature. gious tourism, based on the first foot Since 1962 he is writing in Greek
But I knew nothing about the story of that stepped in Europe by the Apostle and foreign Press for Art subjects,
the city I was born into and loved so of the Nations in Philippi. A good foot- as well as for political and social
issues. In 1969 his book “Z”
passionately. Until the Allagi [Change, ball team as it was “The Philippi” in the became a film by Costa-Gavras.
when Andreas Papandreou was elect- old times. (Football today is the biggest
ed Prime Minister], when Lefteris Atha- no-subject advertisement show.) And...
nasiadis became Mayor of the city in the Ministers. Kavala can’t have every
1982, and among his many merits time four MP’s from the one or the
and the good deeds he did (as the bi- other party and none of them becom-
ological cleaning with headquarters... ing a Minister.
in Copenhagen) he developed histo- Nevertheless, culturally it is at the fore-
riography. And thus, due to the lead- front. With its annual Festival, the Lit-
er of the archive research, Nikolaos Ru- erary School of Kavala that started with
dometov, who was recently deceased, Fotos Prasinis, was enhanced with Yior-
I too learned in which city I was born gos Himonas, and today has many re-
into and all the story of my at first nowned in Greece novelists, poets,
(1926) Marxist father, a story I total- composers, musicians (such as the
ly ignored (I knew only his later love for world-famous soprano Alexia Voulgari-

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