SEAMEN AND SPONGE DIVERS |
||||
THE MARINE STRUGGLE OF TRIKERI |
||||
 |
Trikeri is a village that is famous for its nautical history.Trikeri men emerged as great shipowners who channelled through the seas of Pontus Euxinus,Propontis and the Mediterranean , gaining great profits.The information given by the English sight-seer William Leake who toured around Thessaly between 1805-1810 is characteristic... " The people live exclusively by the sea . Some people of the lower classes collect sponges or catch fish,while the rest are seamen, shipbuilders and traders .The ship owner or the captain of the ship belong to the highest rank . The richer loan money at an interest over the nautical trade or dispense advanced payment on grain cargoes destined for Constantinople ,where they are generally sold. |
|||
The people of Trikeri are equally adventurous to the residents of Hydra ,Spetses ,Poros and other nautical districts alike and it must be emphasized that the ship owner, the captain and the sailors all have a share over the ship and the cargo. During the lack of grain in France , at the beginning of the revolution , the share of a sailor for just one trip could once reach the amount of 160 English pounds ." During the Turkish occupation , Kon.Koutmanis , Agg.Lemonis , K.Vriniotis , Mpougatselos , L.Kopsidakis , G.Koupmourelos proved themselves to be exceptional Trikeri shipowners. Koutmanis ,Ioannou Efstathios ,Lemonis ,Koumpourelos and many more Trikeri captains were among the first ones to be initiated in "Philiki Eteria" (Friendly Society). For this reason ,Tsakalof Athanasios and Gazis Anthimos , two of "Filiki Eteria " founding members ,came to Trikeri and organised the "Conservancy of Trikeri" .According to a statistic on the existing greek ships that could be used as warcrafts during 1803 by Korais Adamantios, Trikeri appears to be possessing 12 ships ,216 sailors, 48 cannons. Many of these cannons are still preserved in Trikeri and bear testimony to the past glory of the village. Trikeri officiated at the Thessaly -Magnesia struggle for the Liberty of Greece in 1821-1823 offering resistance against the conqueror. The revolution was proclaimed in Trikeri by Gazis Anthimos on 2 May 1821 and then the Trikeri fighters ,starting from Agia Kiriaki and following the fleet of Miaoulis Andreas which was sailing out to sea ,arrived at the villages of Platanidia and Milies and proclaimed the revolution there as well. Trikeri managed to keep the revolution alive up until 1823, a time when ,in the other villages of Pelion , the revolution was strangled at its birth by the numerous troops of Dramalis and Ali-Passas. |
||||
|
||||
 |
||||
SPONGE DIVERS |
||||
 |
Up until 20 years ago approximately Trikeri people were occupied with sponge diving. Trikeri and Kalimnos were the great powers in the field .The fishing period started in April and lasted until September. Divers wearing diving suits (special respiratory suits) were fishing at a depth of about 30m and remaining at the seabed for 1/2 to 1 hour. |
|||
A dangerous job since the sponge divers were exposed to the ferocious beasts of the sea , the sharks and houndfish ,while the great pressure of the sea often paralysed their nether limbs ,a condition also known as "the divers' disease" . |
||||
NOWDAYS |
||||
Nowadays, Trikeri continues the nautical tradition.The men of Trikeri engage themselves in coastal and out-to-sea fishing , debouching from Agia Kiriaki ,Kottes and the island of " Old Trikeri ", while many of them crew the sea-going ships of the Greek Merchant Shipping as naval officers. |
||||
copyright 2006 Interart Adv |
||||