At the same time, those who stayed in the villages were cut off from everything that was happening in the big cities. T.gr.: Alexandros, what are the main differences between the city and village life?Īl.M.: The houses were deserted, the squares emptied, and the coffee shops shut. Today, 3 years later, we’re still in the same village, but many things have changed inside of us. away, we were carrying the city on our backs and our movements showed it. The first night we used to the GPS to get to a tavern that was 100 m. We came to the village without having seen the house except in 2 old photographs. Katerina Fragkala : It went really well, but they said they wanted me to start in 5 days. T.gr.: Katerina, how did the interview go? The interview was arranged, and we headed towards the mountain. We are not from these places, we didn’t know anyone here, but we started considering whether it could be a good choice for a new life. With the help of the photos I brought back with me, I managed to map and retain with me each spot I visited, and at the same time, an idea was born: how would it be to call such a place “your home”? Many thoughts and discussions arose, where could we go if we left the city? About a year and a half later, my partner came across a job opening in Zagori. It was a repeated love at first sight, and at the next sight, and the next until the last. T.gr.: Would you call it love at first sight?Īl.M.: Yes, indeed. It was in the autumn, the sky was cloudy, there were leaves in every shade of the rainbow, and the “final blow” came when, on my last morning in Zagori, I saw that year’s first snow covering the peaks of Tymfi. The trip lasted 7 days but my brain remained there for long after I returned.
How did Zagori enter the equation?Īl.Μ.: A photoshoot in the area, 4 years ago, was my first contact with Zagori. T.gr.: And the time came to choose your next destination that will also be your permanent residence. Let’s take a look at our conversation that took place with the gorge of Vikos in the background. However, each person deals with these thoughts differently. It’s a conversation in which thoughts most people living in the big city have had come up. Endless slopes ahead of you as the sun rises, morning fogs covering and hugging the trees, colours and shapes that make you wonder how much beauty nature contains even in the smallest spaces.” His answers are more artistic, revealing the artist’s sensitive view, and, at the same time, a person’s utter certainty about what he wants and how he can claim it. “I can’t count the times I’ve come across something that made me scream in photographic excitement just 10 minutes away from my home. We didn’t waste any time, and I made an appointment for an interview.” Alexandros is a landscape photographer. “There was a job opening at a popular hotel in the area. “We are not from these places, we didn’t know anyone here, but we started considering how our life would be here,” Katerina tells me when we talk about what made them choose Zagori.
We had spoken quite a few times on the phone, and I had already understood that moving away was a conscious decision. We met with them in Zagori, on an October evening. And what did they do about it? They left. Alexandros Malapetsas and Katerina Fragkala saw things in a different light and quickly realised that life in Athens didn’t suit them. Working away from the busy city may be something many wish for, but still, making such a decision is not easy.
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