My town, our landscapes 26.10.2012
PYLI, OUR TOWN Pyli (Porta) Pyli Primary School Fotini Ntai
2012-13
Greece, Thessaly, Trikala, Pyli •
Trikala (Greek:Τρίκαλα) is a city in northwestern Thessaly, Greece. It is the capital of the Trikala regional unit. The city is straddled by the River Litheon, which is a tributary of Pineios river. According to the National Statistical Service, Trikala had 81.355 inhabitants in 2011, while the Trikala regional unit had 131.085 inhabitants.
Thessaly, Pyli Thessaly: Region of Greece Capital: Larissa Regional units: Karditsa, Larissa, Magnesia, Trikala
Pyli (Greek: Πύλη) is a municipality in the Trikala regional unit. Situated 18 km west of Trikala, right at the bottom of two mountains Itamos, and Koziakas, which mark the beginning of the Pindos mountainline, Pyli marks the entrance to a great gorge and the natural path that leads to the city of Arta. The municipality of Pyli contains 7 municipal units, but the town itself has a population of about 2.000.
Trikala’s landmarks
Pyli Pyli is a big village with lots of houses and fields. The dwellers of Pyli dealt in agricultural work, especially onion and wheat cultivation.
Pyli or Porta? Pyli is situated between two mountains, the Koziakas and the Itamos, at the foot of the Pindos mountain range. Due to its geographical position it was named “Porta” meaning “door” while now its name is “Pyli” meaning “gate”. It arised from landform around it. Between the mountains there is a “vaid” a passage through which people come into Pyli. This passage could be characterized as a gate linking the plain with the mountains.
Itamos
Porta
Koziakas
Portaikos river or Portaikos team? • The river Portaikos, a tributary of the river Pineios, runs through this location.
Portaikos
Itamos
Portaikos
Portaikos: football team
Porta Pazar • Pyli used to be named “Porta Pazar”. The word “pazar” is Turkish and it means “bazaar”. This name resulted from the great market that there was in this place. • Now “pazar” every Friday.
Pyli’s landmark • Pyli’s landmark is an arched stone bridge, built in 1514 by St. Vissarion, connects Epirus with Thessaly. The bridge was the only one until 1936 linking the plain with the mountains. It’s 30,5m long, 67m wide and one-arched.
St. Vissarion
Four bridges
Two Monasteries •
There is a church in a monastery in the mountain Itamos. The locals have given this monastery the name “Goura”, which means “water spring”. Most people go there at Easter in order to attend Christ’s resurrection service.
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In the historical community of Agiou Vissariona (230 m. el.) we arrive from the side of Pyli's that is hardly two kilometres far. The village owes his old name "Dousiko" in an endemic of the place species of oak with the (slavic) name Dousko or Douskari.
Three Churches • The village has got three churches. The first one is the Byzantine church “Porta Panagia” devoted to Virgin Mary. The two other churches are devoted to St. Nikolaos, who is believed as the patron saint of the sailors, and St. Vissarion who is considered to be patron saint of the area. St. Vissarion
Porta Panagia
St. Nikolaos
Schools in Pyli • There is a Nursery School, a Kindergarten, a Primary School, a Junior High School, a Senior High School and a Vocational High School. Primary School
Junior High School
Kindergarten
Primary School
Images of Pyli
Traditional Costumes
Traditional dances
METEORA In a region of almost inaccessible sandstone peaks, monks settled on these 'columns of the sky' from the 11th century onwards. Twenty-four of these monasteries were built of the eremetic ideal in the 15th century.
Visit Pyli, Visit us
The Mayor
The town hall