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"Path of Agios Vassilios - the passage of Soliotis"

Mountain hiking - cultural heritage and sports action for the 200 years since the Revolution of 1821 Venue: T.D. Ampelokipon Aigialeia Achaia, Sunday 10 October 2021.

The part of the path that connected Arfara with Zarouchla was a unique communication path, a path of living for many centuries, through which passed all the products produced at lower altitudes, such as citrus, oil and olives, fruits and wheat and which they exchanged. with dairy and lambs with the breeders who lived in the mountains.

1. Tsipoglou episode

Nikolaos Soliotis and his team passed through this road after the clash and murder of the three Turkish clerks in Portes, Agridi. On March 15 & 16, in Arfara now, he kills the eight Ottoman tax collectors, the Tsipoglou group, as vividly described by a professor of philology and local writer George Angelos Kanellopoulos, in his book "History and Folklore of the villages and settlements of the area and settlements of (first source), writes: "The Tsipoglou incident, ie the murder of the eight men of the Tsipoglou group, (known Ottoman Tripoli tax collectors) outside the village of Arfara, who were wandering in the area to collect the capital tax…. Nikolaos Soliotis and his young men, assisted by gunmen from the team of Anagnostis Kordis, Valimites and Arfaraios Menzelos and Diamantis, set an ambush on Tsipoglou's team, which spent the night at the house of the village mayor, Kanellos Kanellopoulos. There, the provost’s wife, as she did not want them to be killed inside her house, she fed them well and made them very drunk, so while they were sleeping, she oiled the sturgeons of their weapons and made them useless. So, the next morning, the team of N. Soliotis beat them in the stream of Agios Vassilios and in the place Koutsoupies (a few meters below) and killed them. Since then, the place has been called "Bad".

Second source: Athanasios Fotopoulos, "Historical and Folklore of the Eastern region of Egialia and Kalavrita, Athens 1982.

Soliotin is also credited with the extermination of Turkish follower of the cavalry taxpayers (slaughterers), who traveled the provinces to collect the capital tax, who under Tsipoglou, wandered to Hassia (the Turkish name of our region, from the Turkish word hass which means "timarion", i.e., land conceded by the Sultan as a reward for services) for the collection of capital tax. Philemon places the event on March 16, he mentions Anagnostis Kordis as an accomplice. In the column about Soliotis and on page 5., the date of March 19 is mentioned and it is clarified that Mr. Soliotis was not present at the incident, because "learning that the well-known Ottoman Tsipoglai were also passing through Tripoli after eight other Ottoman subordinates from the surrounding village of Arfara, he sent some of his soldiers along with his brother and killed them as well."

However, there is another version, according to an oral narration from the Kalavrita yearbook, pp.309-310, where "the demagogue Valimis Pan. Mitropoulos was informed of Nick Saki's condolences and Ant. Stathakarou committed in Portais Agridiou, agreed after Soliotos and 15 Valimitas rushed to Arfara to exterminate Tsipoglou. Because he was prevented, despite the consequent fear of the owner of the house, which was destroyed by the Turks (8 in number), they settled with his men between Arfara and Svyros and killed them all."

2. Mullah Yakub Episode

Source: Athanasios Fotopoulos, "Historical and Folklore of the Eastern region of Aigialeia and Kalavrita”, Athens 1982, (p.206).

"One of the first episodes took place near the village of Arfara. "Mullah Yaqub, an Ottoman official with jurisdiction in the area of ​​the former Municipality of Feloi (perhaps it was a massacre in the area), was invited to a Greek wedding." According to the Kalavrita yearbook p.296, the old man Georg. Ref. Economopoulos, aged 102 in 1906, from Vergouvitsa informed George Papandreou that Moula Yakoub "was not in awe after playing the domestic gypsy instruments the song of Eleni of Limaz aga from Leivartziou, when the Turks hurried there, because a revolution broke out. While they were taking it, they led it to Arfara, the prominent people of Seliani, recognizing the movement based on two-way and occupied a rocky stream near Arfara (Goulas) and passing by there, always exchanging a few "shots". "This episode probably happened on the same day when Nikolaos Soliotis attacked the Turks at the Portes Agridiou site. In the historical anecdote it works if about Nick. Solioti we read the following: "On March 14, 1821, when N. Soliotis arrived in the village of Solon, three Turks were traveling through Tripoli. as envoys with letters despite the kaimakamo of Tripolitza to Khurshid Pashan, whom he learned crossing the road of Agridi, foreshadowing, without the knowledge of the prelates, the alley of that street in the place of Portes Agridi, after only 12 of his fellows were killed". "According to Spiliadis, the attack of Soliotos took place on March 13, Philemon gives the date March 16 and Frantzis March 14.

Hero 1821 in Ampelokipi

In Iroos "March 15 & 16, 1821, of the Helmos Association", located inside the Local Administrative District of Ampelokipoi and in the coordinates 38.099853 & 22.320819.

Plus: Photo "Path of Agios Vassilios - the passage of Soliotis" Mountain hiking - cultural heritage and sports action for the 200 years since the Revolution of 1821 Venue: Local Administrative District of Ampelokipoi, Aigialeia, Achaia, Sunday 10 October 2021.

The mountaineering hike starts from Iroos and heads towards the Goula stream, at the entrance of the wooden path to I.M. Agios Vassilios and continues to the chapel of Agia Paraskevi and the toponyms Drymonas, Koiti Goula, Makria Lakka and finally meets the stone path of Agios Dimitrios ending at the chapel of Agios Georgios and from there to the beautiful square of the village, under the mulberries an arc of 10 km, degree of difficulty A and altitude difference of about 300 meters, with ascent initially and descent at the end. It passes through five of the eight chapels of the village, in which there were old livestock and rural settlements, with amazing views of the magnificent relief of eastern Aegialia, dotted with vines, cherries, walnuts, lotuses, apples, etc., etc. the sea of ​​the Corinthian gulf. Depending on the season and because most trees are deciduous, the landscape acquires different shades, from green in spring and summer, orange, yellow and brown in autumn and gray in winter!

The total hike is three and a half to four hours, degree of difficulty A, altitude difference of 300 meters, starting from an altitude of 700m we reach 1,000m and the marking is with wooden ecological signs bearing the toponyms with pyrography, supported on stainless steel piles.

The purpose of the hike is the revival of the historical memory but also the promotion of the natural beauty of the village, through an experiential sports activity for the visitor. In combination, we offer the acquaintance with the local products and the cuisine of the area, as it operates, with great recognition, the cafe of the square, with local dishes and everything related, such as oil, wine, vegetables, etc.

The Region of Western Greece finances the marking and the initial maintenance of this project, in the context of the celebrations of the 200th anniversary of the Revolution of 1821, with the amount of 1000 euros, implementing the relevant program.

At the inaugural event, information material with historical data related to the trail will be distributed.

PLACE: Local Administrative District of Ampelokipoi, Aigialeia, Achaia

TIME: Sunday October 10th, 2021

See more: portal.westerngreece2021.gr