The Breathtakingly colossal Mountains of the Agrafa District.Greece.

Agrafa is a mountainous region in northwestern Thessaly in mainland Greece. It is mainly comprised of small villages, including Krioneri, Morfovouni (Vounesi), and others. The Agrafa is famous for its completely autonomy throughout the entire 400 years of Ottoman Turkish occupation of Greece and the Balkans. The word agrafa literally translates to "unwritten." Because the Turks were unable to conquer this region, the area and its population were not recorded in the Sultan's tax register. As a result the people were free to conduct their business and their customs as they pleased without Ottoman influence. Jump to: navigation, search Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1067x800, 168 KB) Summary The Breathtakingly colossal Mountains of the Agrafa District. ... Jump to: navigation, search Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1067x800, 168 KB) Summary The Breathtakingly colossal Mountains of the Agrafa District. ... Thessaly (Θεσσαλια; modern Greek Thessalía; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is one of the 13 peripheries of Greece, and is further sub-divided into 4 prefectures. ... The Ottoman Empire at the height of its power Imperial motto El Muzaffer Daima The Ever Victorious (as written in tugra) Official language Ottoman Turkish Capital İstanbul ( Constantinople/Asitane/Konstantiniyye ) Sovereigns Sultans of the Osmanli Dynasty Population ca 40 million Area 12+ million km² Establishment 1299 Dissolution October 29, 1923... A sultan (Arabic: سلطان) is an Islamic title, with several historical meanings. ...

The Agrafa region has been populated for approximately 2,500 years. The fiercely independent spirit of its people, known as Agrafiotes, is matched by a harsh and forbidding landscape. The central Agrafiotis River valley is surrounded on three sides by a steep 2,000-meter wall of mountains, and on its south side the river drains via a series of narrow and often impassable gorges into the man-made Lake Plastiras.

Most of the surrounding forests in the region were controlled by Greek Orthodox monasteries for many hundreds of years and throughout the Turkish occupation of the Balkans. The residents of the Agrafa purchased tracts of land from the monasteries hundreds of years ago and these forests remain in the communal hands of the current inhabitants. Ironically, the Agrafa was a center of literacy during the 400 years of domination and slavery by the Turks. Since the monasteries were independent from the Sultan, it was here that the Greek language was kept alive; reading and writing were taught in secret generation after generation as the Turks forbid the general population to learn how to read and write their own language. Unlike the majority of Greeks many Agrafiotes can trace their family histories back for generations since they were free to read, write, and record births, baptisms, and deaths. Greek Orthodox Church can refer to: the Orthodox Church of Constantinople, headed by the Patriarch of Constantinople, who is also the first among equals of the Eastern Orthodox Communion. ... Buddhist monastery near Tibet A monastery is the habitation of monks. ... Jump to: navigation, search The and southeast. ... Jump to: navigation, search Greek (Greek Ελληνικά, IPA – Hellenic) constitutes its own branch of the Indo-European languages. ...

Modernization

Before modernization, most people's occupations in the Agrafa involved harvesting nuts and fruits from orchards, farming, shepherding, and textile manufacturing. Most of the produce from the Agrafa are traditional cold weather crops or crops which can survive in poor soil. The beans grown in the Agrafa are second to none for flavor and quality. The proceeds of the timber sales from the forests purchased from the Greek Orthodox monasteries continue to benefit the community as a whole.

The most famous person from the Agrafa and the driving force behind modernization was General Nikolaos Plastiras. It was General Plastiras' vision to create a hydroelectric dam in the region so that nearly all of mainland Greece, excluding the Peloponese, would be supplied with electricity, particularly the many fractured villages and rural communities. This project was begun during the peaceful era of the 1950s after World War II and the Greek Civil War. Once completed General Plastiras' hydroelectric dam propelled the Greek nation into the modern era. The majority of the workers on this project were Agrafiotes themselves. As a result of their years of dedication and sacrifice to the project, the residents of the region enjoy free electricity up until this day. The Agrafa, originally one of the poorest and most isolated regions of Greece, is quickly becoming a hot tourist destination, as the area's beauty is reminscent of the Alps of Austria and Switzerland. Nikolaos Plastiras (Greek: Νικόλαος Πλαστήρας) (November 4, 1883 - July 26, 1953) was a general of the Greek army. ... Hydroelectric dam diagram The waters of Llyn Stwlan, the upper reservoir of the Ffestiniog Pumped-Storage Scheme in north Wales, can just be glimpsed on the right. ... Scrivener Dam, Canberra Australia, was engineered to withstand a once-in-5000-years flood event A dam is a barrier across flowing water that obstructs, directs or retards the flow, often creating a reservoir, lake or impoundment. ... Greece and the Peloponnese The Peloponnese or Peloponnesus (Greek: Πελοπόννησος Peloponnesos) is a large peninsula in southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth. ... Jump to: navigation, search World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrinations, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons such as the atom bomb World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a mid-20th-century conflict that... Jump to: navigation, search This article needs copyediting (checking for proper English spelling, grammar, usage, etc. ...

Many Agrafiotes left their villages and settled in the major metropolitan cities in Greece as well as in the United States, Canada, Australia, and Germany, seeking an escape from the abject poverty and lack of opportunities which once haunted the area. The migration from the region first began in the 1920s and has nearly ceased after the military junta which had ruled Greece from 1967-1974 was toppled. Junta may refer to: The Concise Oxford English Dictionary defines a junta as a body of persons acting towards a common aim, especially political clique or faction after revolution or coup détat. ...