THE TUNNEL OF MEMORIES – project “IT’S PERSONAL”
Edessa is a small picturesque town not far from Thessaloniki, in the heart of the green Northern Greece. It is nested in the web of incredible waterfalls that entangle with the beautiful scenery of this mountainous part of ancient Pella region. This town is precious as a jewel with layers of history inwrought in its ground. This town is very precious to my heart, as it was there where my grandmother Sophia was born and raised. And it is as precious now for all my dear family that still lives there.
I first visited Edessa when I was 8 years old, 41 years ago. In my fading tunnel of memories, the mosaic of recollections about this place are like shining light. One of the strongest pictures that flash in front of my eyes is the vision of the old house, where my grandma was born. A very old building, probably from the mid 1800s, with crumbled rendering from the walls that resembled a gushing flesh cut with exposed laths like ribs in a deep chest wound. Looking at the walls, I always thought that if I hold my breath and keep very still and quiet, I might hear the heartbeats of the old house.
Grandma Sophia fled Greece as a young woman just before the Great World War erupted, but somehow it felt as if she has never left. Or at least, we were shown that she never was forgotten. My sister and I visited our family in Edessa again in 1988. Every time I left this town I left a big chunk of my heart there, as I never felt so deeply and genuinely welcomed and loved the way I felt in Edessa.
In the coming posts, I will take you through the long corridors of my endearing memories about Greece, Edessa and my loving family there.
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