The Governor of the Greek North Aegean Islands, Costas Moutzouris, and his wife Dimitra, welcomed the Earl 0f St Andrews, His Eminence Archbishop Nikitas, His Excellency Yannis Tsaousis Ambassador of Greece, Chrisanthy Lemos, and VIP guests, to a celebration of the Greek North Aegean Islands, held in London.
The Islands consist of beautiful Lesvos, Lemnos, Samos, Chios, Ikaria, Agios Efstratios, Oinousses, Psara, Fourni and Thymena. In addition to the wonderful produce, renowned for its purity and excellent quality, the region is also famous for the Chios Festival.
Inspiring videos of the islands were the background for the fascinating description of the area from the Governor of the Region, while famous Greek actor Lazis Lazopoulos recited a poem highlighting its attractions. The novelist Victoria Hislop described her introduction to Greece and how she became captivated by the country and the islands. She told of her love for the people, and their way of life. Victoria read an interesting passage from her best-selling book Cartes Postales from Greece, published in 2016.
Guests were treated to a selection of delicacies from the region, including the world famous Ouzo, a pure extract of Aniseed and sweet smelling herbs, and wines with distinctive aromatic tastes. Olives and extra virgin organic olive oil are an important produce of the region, with 11 million olive trees on Lesvos. Dairy products included Ladotyri Mytilinis, a cheese preserved in olive oil, and Feta cheese. Animals graze freely on the islands’ pastures, and sardines, which the islanders salt, are fished from Kaliomi Bay. Jars of locally produced honey, and sweets made from this speciality, featured in the offerings.
Pictures by Edward Lloyd
SubEditor Diana Austin
