And now for something completely different....

There is probably a story behind this olive tree but I don't know what it is just yet.....

St John The Hermit - My Family's Protector

The church up the road from the Kafenion behind the Alfa Hotel is the
Koukoutsakis family private burial ground, I guess we love the view for there.

The church is about 700 years old and is built on the cave of St John the Hermit part of which is actually inside the church. St John the Hermit came with the 99 Holy Fathers possibly from what is now Turkey. The story goes that on the way to Crete they forgot him in Gavdos and then they prayed to him to put his coat on the sea and they brought him here by the power of prayer. When he came to Azogires, in our neighbourhood, Koukoutsiana, there was a prison. The prisoners were ill so he cured them and when they got their freedom, they built the church around the cave where he lived, you can see part of the rock of the cave in the photo above.

Originally the church had mosaics inside; beautiful frescoes depicting the 99 Holy Fathers and much more but unfortunately, during the 2nd World War, the church committee thought make the church prettier so they white washed the walls, destroying the frescoes.

My family came here over 300 years ago and they settled here after a hard life at sea. They were pirates you know, under the leadership of Kapetan Mavros - meaning Captain Black - and that’s where our first name comes from - Mavroukakis black man - kara in Turkish I think. My family were involved in the fight against the Turks and we fought for Crete’s freedom again and again and again, causing us to change our name again and again – Mavraki –Mavroukakis – Kokotsakis - Kokozakis Koukouzakis - Koukoutsakis. We spread all over Crete but Azogires and Saint John were always in our hearts and to this day, all branches of the Koukoutsakis family have one John in the family named after the saint..

To make a long story short, we are protecting Saint John with our own lives and our hearts and in return he is our family protector. He has always protected us, as we are the guardians of his deepest secrets; whenever a family member was in trouble, St John was there; in time of war, in time of peace, St John was there and he always will be there.

When I was a child I witnessed my own father falling of an orange tree when the branch broke. Suddenly the branch floated in the air allowing my father to jump of safely and as he turned around the floating branch hit the earth; this incident happened below St John’s church. Also, several years back my uncle George used the cave as a stable. He had a dream telling him to stop doing that but he didn’t and a few days later a rock fell inside killing one of his best goats. Despite that he continued to house his animals inside and then one day as my father was by the hotel, he noticed a flash inside the cave and saw my uncle running out together with his donkey. That was the last time my uncle put animals inside that cave and he never spoke about what he saw or witnessed

YET ANOTHER BACKGAMMON COMPETION IN AZOGIRES

Yes a third competition for this Winter! They can't get enough of it! Backgammon is running in their veins and there is nothing they can do about it.

First prize Winner was David Hale from the UK, second prize went to Suzy from Germany - you may all know her from the Palechora Camping Restaurant - and third prize, finally an Azogirian, our very own Horst Schaab. At last, after what seems like an age, (well it would if you spent your time watching people play backgammon) Azogires has a Champion!

The night before the backgammon, Mr Arthur Jarvis, an Azogires resident, was walking down the dark road when he noticed something jumping in front of him. Not knowing what it was, he immediately he took a defensive position as he was trained to do in the Military, and it came out from the shadows...............It was a Frog.

He aproached and realized that it was not like other frogs we have, so he picked it up and brought it down to the Cafe.

Anybody any ideas as to what sort of frog it is? If you do, please let us know.

PS. The frog was returned to the bushes where it was found.

CHRISTMAS EVE IN AZOGIRES

It was a wonderful early evening with 6 or 7 diferent types of Christmas puddings and 5 diferent main dishes. Why do I mention the sweets first?? Well because they were International sweets and we had Irish, German, English and even Greek goodies on that table accompanied by nice soft Christmas music and great company. Eeveryone there enjoyed themselves and all promised to return next year for this traditional party. Unfortunately some people that we would have wanted to be there were unable to make it for various reasons.

However, we wish everyone Merry Christmas And a Happy NewYear.

For this coming Year we wish you all happiness, health and prosperity.

Remember, in spite of the economic crisis that may not allow many people to make the vacation they wanted to this summer, no matter what happens keep on smiling ! ......And don't forget, Azogires means 'life for ever' - that's our logo.

Azogires Raki - Brings the dead to life again!

The medicinal properties of Azogires Raki were demonstrated yet again in Carshalton, South London, on 27 December 2008.

As part of the by now world infamous "Isn't bloody xmas over yet?" Tourette by The (Insert Name Here) Mummers, The Turkish Knight, having been killed by St George in a most dastardly fashion, was brought back to life by a generous tot of Azogires Village Raki.

After three such killings and rebirths, each involving the consumption of far too much Azogires Raki, the Turkish Knight was last seen skipping down Carshalton High Street waving a plastic chicken around his head and singing a very rude song about a goat.

[The (Insert Name Here) Mummers are a group of men based in South London, who perform traditional English Mumming plays and whose avowed intent is to take mumming out of the schools and put it back in the gutter where it belongs. Their association with Azogires goes back as far as last Tuesday and they weren't invited to the Raki making party either.]

BREWING RAKI IN AZOGIRES

As in every previous year for the past 100 years, the distillary again did its magic in Azogires. For one more time the traditions were honoured, for one more time the Raki was made and for one more time everybody got pissed drunk.

That's what it's all about ???

Not quite; it's about getting together, having fun, enjoying yourselves and learning more about patience. Patience because that's what's required while the Raki comes out drip by drip by drip - that's what it's all about. In the meantime we cook potatoes, chestnuts, meat and even marshmellows - as my grandfather used to say "You can't eat on an empty stomach. " Or was it the other way round? Doesn't really matter, what matters is to be there with friends and family enjoying the mystical fumes and aromas coming from the pot.

THE 2ND AND 3RD INTERNATIONAL WINTER BACKGAMMON COMPETITION IN AZOGIRES

Yes, you heard right, its not just another Azogires a rumour, it's 100% true!

Just a few weeks ago in Azogires we had the Second International Winter Backgammon contest with contestants from 8 different countries all playing with great humour - and if that was not enough they had their very own Chestnut cook in Jessica Hale who made the best roasted Chestnuts I ever had.

1st prize winner was David Hale
2nd prize winner was Canadian Peter
3rd prize winner was Sakis from Lebanon

But this was not enough for our players who were hungry for more blood and demanded that we had a another competition - and so we did.

Once more they fought for their lives and tried to take each others heads off -they succeded! (Sorry, I'm in a bloodthirsty mood today!)

1st prize winner was Canadian Peter
2nd prize winner was David Hale
3rd prize winner was Sakis from Lebanon

(I know it all that sounds familiar but some people are unbeatable, although they did come close to losing to Horst Schaab and Martin Strellow! )