Friday, March 03, 2017

Preparing for Clean Monday

People shopping in the central market of Thessaloniki for Clean Monday public holiday in Greece.

Thessaloniki central market

Market stall in Thessaloniki central market

Moving north

Five for Europe - Refugees at the Idomeni transit camp - 2015

A reminder of what I was doing last year in the refugee transit camp in Idomeni on the Greek border.

The traditional "bell ringers" from Greece and many other parts of the Balkans gathered in Thessaloniki

Every year folk troupes from villages around Greece and other Balkan nations perform "bell dances"


Bulgarian folk dancer

These dances were used to drive off evil spirits with the sound of their bells and so ensure health and prosperity for the whole community in the coming year.