Many visitors in Greece might have seen the white paint around the tree trunks. In the past when people didn’t have all these agricultural concoctions to protect the trees from insects and bugs, they used a mix of slaked lime (calcium hydroxide), chalk (whiting) and water lime mixed with water as insect repellent. It’s called whitewash in English and even nowadays Greeks prefer this ecological way to fight insects that destroy the trunk and the fruit.
In Greece, at Easter time everything gets whitewashed: the houses, the trees, the stone steps, the stone fences and anything that looks like it needs a bit of freshening up. It is strongly associated with traditional Mediterranean architecture going back to Ancient Greek and Roman days.
Relive the scenes of your favorite “The Durrells” episode by retracing the steps made by the film crew, as they shot scene after wonderful scene in and around the sights, narrow streets and hidden corners of the City of...
Tsiknopempti or ” Smoke Thursday” is the Thursday during Carnival with Ancient Greek origin, it takes place only in Greece and marks the beginning of the Greek Orthodox fasting period before Easter (lent). This day the observant Greek Orthodox...
