Overview
1st day
We depart from our hometown and after several stops; we reach the city of Volos, where we can visit the archaeological site of Dimini. The site has become known because it has the most complete image of the Neolithic settlement until today. Next stop will be Theofilos’Museum in Anakasia, a mansion made of stones, whose last floor is decorated with murals of excellent quality painted by Theofilos Hatzimihail. Afterwards, we will visit Portaria, the big village of west Pelion, where mansions of traditional architecture have been built. We can have lunch at the square of the village. Not far away we can find the “balcony of the Pelion” , the well-known Makrinitsa where you can find paved alleys and shops with traditional sweets. We can enjoy our coffee there overlooking Pagasitikos gulf. After that, we return to Volos and we go to our hotel. In the afternoon, we can enjoy a walk at the coast of Volos as well as at the shops, which are located at the centre of the city. At night, we return to our hotel.
2nd day
After having breakfast we will visit the archaeological museum of Volos. We can visit the rooms of the museum with the exhibitions from the excavations that took place in Thessaly. We will see the unique finding of an 8 years old girl who was buried with her doll and other personal objects 2500 years ago. Next, we will visit the villages on Pelion that are located next to Pagasitikos gulf. Passing through Agria and Lehonia, we will reach Milies. We will visit Anthimos Gazis birth place where along with Gregorios Konstantas and Daniel Filipides founded the the Generation School in Milies in 1814. At the central square of Milies the Holy Temple of Pamegiston Taxiarhon is located. In the temple, there are two important constructional innovations. Underneath the floor, there are canals and wells that assure the impermeability of the floor and the reinforcement of the bass sounds. Relatively, at the bases of the domes, adjusted clay jars (turned upside down) reinforce the prime sounds, they enclose the sound at the inside of the temple so as not to be heard out of the temple and make the whole structure of the roof lighter. The result of all these constructions is the perfect acoustics of the place. In 2000, after having been approved by the Ministry of Civilization, a Bach festival took place, where voice pieces of religious music were presented. At the inside of the Temple you will be surprised by the special murals and especially that of Agios Christoforos presented as a ship and the fretwork iconostasis which is covered with gold and represents animals, flowers and plants. The Temple of Taxiarhes has an important history, since here on the 8th May 1821 Anthimos Gazis raised the Flag of the Revolution and declared the Revolution against the Turks. The flag is preserved until today and can be found at the Public Library located at the square of Milies. Exact copy of the flag you can find at the Folclore Museum of Milies. Then, we will visit Vizitsa, which has been characterized as a tenable settlement, where impressive mansions can be found dated back in the 18th – 19th century. These mansions are samples of the wealth that the village had. While returning to Volos, we will stop to have lunch at the beautiful coastal village Kala Nera. We will return to Volos in the afternoon.
