The city of thounsands of beautiful natural pictures, of tireless cyclists, of five prime ministers and writers.
The city is surrounded by the langoon of the thousand colors and the uncountable birds. Early in the morning, the cool touches of the east paint the calm lake’s water with every shade of blue purple, as Varasova is mirrored in its water. In the afternoon, when the sun sets, the “lying sky” of the poet Malakasis, also born in Messolonghi, can be distinguished in the ultimate orange-red pallette.
Messolonghi is a unique city, deserving the honorary title “holy”, after its history, narrated by its land.
All residents, regardless of their age, move around with bicycles. Their lives are tightly connected with the lagoon that “takes care” of them as well as the rest of the species that live in it. This is where the breams, the fish eggs, the eels and the sea basses come from.
The local dialect includes strong accent, as the locals tend to cut off the last letter of the words. For example, “kunupi” (Greek word for “mosquito”), numerous in Messolonghi due to the lagoon, becomes “knup”, “psari” (Greek word for “fish”) becomes “psar” etc.
Messolonghi is full of images, every corner is steeped in its tragic but heroic history. Whoever knows even the basics of the Greek history is aware of the tragic story that took place inside its walls. In the Gate that still stands and welcomes the visitors to the city that honored and fought for freedom, there took place the scenes of 1826 exit. This was the moment when the around 10.500 residents of Messolonghi decided to secretly exit their city on the night of the Palm Sunday (the Sunday before Easter), after many months of brave resistance and having no other hope to save themselves. Very few heroic “free besieged” managed to survive, after the betrayal of their plan.
Nowadays, the town is developing slowly. It is characterized by its short, stone houses that are either still inhibited or have been turned into public buildings such as the Trikoupio cultural center, the town hall and Diexodos, which was the house of Razis Kotsikas, one of the most important warriors during the Revolution.
On the other hand, there are also “pelades”, wooden cabins standing on stilts above water, mainly used by the fishermen exploiting the lagoon.
The lagoon is one of the most important ecosystems of the country, taking care of the birds and the fishes, as well as the people living of it. Not only through the abundance of food, but also through the peaceful pictures offered by its calm waters.
Messolonghi continues its course through the centuries in a similar pace to the boats crossing the calm waters of the sea-lake. Visit Messolonghi and get the chance to taste fresh fish, take photographs of the nature that spontaneous poses in front of your camera, bathe in the therapeutic springs of Agia Triada, enjoy a tour through the years of the Greek Revolution and take some wonderful sunsets with you.