Skalidis street has been the trade centre of Kissamos town for many years. Butchers’ and grocery stores aplenty attracted crowds of locals every Good Friday, who shopped for their Easter Sunday feast. As a follow-up to this legacy, the Municipality of Kissamos, the New Trade Association of Kissamos and the Municipal Social Enterprise co-organise each year the ‘Good Friday Bazaar’. As per its name it happens on the Friday of the Holy Week, from early in the morning till late in the evening, as merchants, craftsmen, farmers and herders of the area sell their produce at really low prices. Adding to this, cafés and snack bars along the street serve fasting savouries, based on traditional recipes from Kissamos.
FOLKLORE CULTURE Folklore is a culture defined by its namesake: everything the people of a land say, do and act collectively and as a society. Folklore roots across the region of Kissamos are lost in the haze of time, back to Minoan Civilisation times. FOLK ART MUSIC Music and singing are strongly connected to all sides of everyday life for the inhabitants of the area. Traditional musical instruments of Kissamos are the lute and violin, instead of the lyre found in other regions. Locals have dubbed them ‘zygia’ and they are a vital part of days-long celebrations of joyous events like weddings, fairs, engagements, christenings and more. The dancing activities of the people of Kissamos is abundant too, who stomp…
THE KISSAMOS DIET Kissamos locals, as do all Cretans, are traditionally gourmand and enjoy good, quality food. Their land’s trademark produce is the cornerstone of Mediterranean Diet. Local cuisine is, at its foundation, indigenous and the rule of thumb is the use of olive oil on every dish, with tomato and oregano assuming starring roles. The dietary habits of today’s locals are close to those in ancient times, something that is documented by inscriptions on Linear B tablets regarding cheese, olive oil, honey, wine, herbs and spices, meats and grain. Its basic features are simplicity, sparsity, making use of local and seasonal produce, all cooked with imaginative variation. OLIVE OIL No matter where you land on Crete, be it high…