This is how “the maritime Sacred Way” will be from Elefsina to Piraeus – Watch video

The countdown has begun. There are only a few weeks left until Elefsina is officially declared the new cultural capital of Europe for 2023 and everything is moving at a very fast pace. Among the priorities is an ambitious plan: To carry out the maritime interconnection of Elefsina with Piraeus, through 7 municipalities, which will “carve” a new “sea Sacred Way”. This is an initiative of the Piraeus Port Organization (OLE) and “Elefsina 23 cultural capital”, with which, as the CEO of OLE Apostolos Kamarinakis and the general artistic director of “Elefsina 23 cultural capital of Europe” emphasize to APE-MBE Michael Marmarinos, will create a new surplus value in the city of Elefsina and will give a strong boost to the development of tourism. In fact, Mr. Marmarinos talks about the creation of a “second memory” next to the historic terrestrial Sacred Way of the Mysteries of ancient Greece.

The audio-visual department of APE-MPE Video-services with drones and cameras recorded parts of the route, such as in front of the sea area, where the historic naval battle of Salamis took place, which will also be the tip of the spear in the cultural events planned in sea ​​Sacred Way, as well as the narrows of the pass of Aspropyrgos to Elefsina. At the same time, through the narration of the head of museums and archaeological sites of Western Attica, Kalliopi Papageli, we recorded in the video that we are releasing today, the archaeological monuments that one encounters on the land route from Athens to the port of Elefsina.

The script and direction are signed by APE-MPE journalist Giorgos Kouvaras.

“One Sea 7 Cities”

This original idea will be implemented with open type ships, it will start from Piraeus (probably from Pasalimani) it will pass through the historical strait of Salamina, it will cross Keratsini, Perama, Haidari and Aspropyrgos and it will end at the port in a short distance from the archaeological site of Elefsina.

“It will be a cultural route. A wealth of culture” underlines Mr. Marmarinos in APE-MPE and continues: “With a brilliant inspiration the deputy mayor for culture Mr. Tatakis gave a subtitle to this gesture: “Seven cities one sea”.

“Each of these cities that the cultural wealth will pass through has a cultural reserve to offer on this route, not to dwell on the spectacular and the fundamental, such as this wealth runs through the straits of Salamis, it runs through history of the naval battle in the same waters” Mr. Marmarinos emphasizes to APE-MBE.

For his part, Mr. Kamarinakis explains about the maritime Sacred Way of which he has all the operational functions: “We believe that we are giving a new breath and not only for the cultural capital that will be Elefsina, but I think that there will be a legacy for to become something new. Something pioneering and optimistic. In other words, let’s see something new and hopeful in the region of Western Attica. It will be a route with cultural events at every stop of the ship.”

Multiple benefits

Looking forward to the potential benefits of such an action, Mr. Kamarinakis emphasizes that they will be great.

“We are currently building a trunk. The trunk will also have various branches that will go to the cities-municipalities where the maritime Sacred Way will pass. Therefore, we are giving the opportunity for representatives from the municipalities to come, who will highlight the local peculiarities of each municipality through a tour guide or various events.”

For his part, Mr. Marmarinos considers that “when accessibility increases, the ability to access a city, its internal potential for economic development also increases”.

It should be noted that today there is no connection between Piraeus and Elefsina by sea, other than commercial ships. For Mr. Kamarinakis, the “sea Sacred Way” will also motivate tourists who come to Piraeus by cruise ships or other means to visit Elefsina via the cultural route.

Combination of sea and land culture Holy Road

This new innovative action could also be combined with the terrestrial Sacred Way, in a cultural trek. Many times, and in the past, the head of the archaeological sites and museums in Western Attica, Ms. Kalliopi Papageli, had emphasized to APE-MPE the great interest in the axis of the Sacred Way and describes exactly how the cultural route can be

“It is a finished product of cultural interest. Imagine telling strangers to come and walk in the steps of the Mysteries and follow the Sacred Way. Start from the archaeological site in Kerameikos. Cross the ancient Eleonas, the remains of which you will see in the garden of the Agricultural University. Pass by the post-Byzantine church of Agios Savvas which has built-in reliefs above. Go through the metro stations, where excavations have been carried out and parts of the Sacred Way have been revealed. Go to the Diomedes garden, where you can really combine nature and the traces of the sacred path. See the Byzantine monastery of Daphni, with exceptional mosaics that can only be seen in the country’s monastery of equal value, and where in ancient times there was a sanctuary of Daphni Apollo. Pass through the narrow valley and the temple of Aphrodite, an archaeological site that is preserved and belongs to our tax office. To pass from the lake of Riton to the lake of Koumundourou. Pass by the medieval castle of Aspropyrgos which was built of marble from the burial monuments along the Sacred Way and was white therefore it was called Aspropyrgos. Finally reach the entrance of the current city of Elefsina and there at the intersection with the ancient bed of Kifissos to see the Roman bridge, one of the best examples of Roman bridge construction. And finally to end up at the archaeological site of Elefsina”.

Memory will be upgraded

“At this moment, the terrestrial sacred Odos that we know has been completely degraded”, Michael Marmarinos observes for his part and adds: “We are fortunate historically, that it still preserves its name. And we should fight for the maintenance and preservation of this name because this is how we awaken consciousnesses and perceptions so that this Sacred Way continues to be a walking experience at least as a possibility.

The cultural capital in one of the processions that will end up where we are, has a title of 21 kilometers and in a way supports this institutionalization… with the tourists marchers a wish for Eleusis”.

“The connection with the maritime Sacred Way, concludes Mr. Marmarinos, is coincidental in the sense that many parts of the land flow towards the sea. And from a point onward they move parallel to her. The connection is that the monuments of the Sacred Way may refer to the guided route of the sea, which has to highlight other points especially of the sea”.

The work of OLE

Regarding the operational action, Mr. Kamarinakis states to APE-MPE, referring to the work of OLE SA to achieve the project, that all the relevant bodies have expressed their interest and support, with the first being the Ministry of Shipping and Island Policy which raised the Maritime Sacred Way under his auspices.

“The inauguration of the Sea Sacred Way is planned to be carried out by the Athenian trireme “Olympias” and OLE SA has secured the spot for its safe docking in the historic port of Elefsina. At the same time, with the artistic renovation of the building on the pier of the former American Base, very close to the old Olive Mill, where cultural events are hosted, a building complex is being created that will be a point of reference for Culture on the beach front of Elefsina”, says Mr. Kamarinakis.

The goal is for the project to continue after 2023, emphasizes the CEO of OLE.

RES-EMP

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