The most famous village of the island placed on the northern part. It’s a medieval head-village, which has been characterized since 2008 as the “City of the living popular polisitism of the Dodecanese”. The most interesting thing about this village is that its inhabitants ware their traditional outfits and talk their local dialect in their everyday life.
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Location
Olympos is located on the north side of Karpathos on the mountain Profitis Elias (height 310m). It is approximately 10klms from Diafani, 42klms from Pigadia and 55klms from the airport. It is said that the name of the village is due to the fact that the locals used to call the mountain “Olympos” as it was the highest mountain on the island.
The western side of the village is on a steep slope leading to the sea while the eastern side is smoother. Until the 1980s there was no modern road network connecting it with the rest of the island.
In 2021 a well-known artist of Karpathos created a statue of a woman, wearing the traditional outfit and stivania (leather boots), holding a baby on her shoulders on a sheet. The statue was placed at the entrance of Olympοs.
History
There are indications that Olympos has been inhabited since the 15th century BC. The first inhabitants were probably Minoans and Mycenaean. From the 7th to 9th century it seems that the inhabitants of Vrykoundos and Nisyros came and settled. This is believed to have been caused either by an earthquake or because they were forced to abandon these areas and ascend higher, due to raids by Saracen pirates.
During the Ottoman occupation, the Carpathians managed to expel the Turks. However, due to the signing of the Protocol of London in 1830, the sovereignty of the island returned to Turkey. From 1912 to 1948 Karpathos was under Italian occupation and until the end the administration of Olympos was run by demogerons.
In the 1960s and 1970s the village began to empty due to immigration. Many husbands were forced to go abroad (mainly to America), leaving their wives and children behind. Since then, matriarchy has prevailed in Olympos. There are now 200 permanent residents in the village (population census 2021) and most of them are elderly.
Karpathos has a very large and rich folk culture and still maintains its traditions with great dedication. Learn more about its history in the article History of Karpathos island – the short version.
Village traditions
Olympos is famous for its rich traditions, which are passed down from generation to generation.
1. Outfits- stivania
The traditional outfit of Olympos is very colorful. There are two kinds of outfits: the “kavai”, which is for married and older women and the “sakofoustano” (sack skirt), which is worn by girls and newlyweds. The sakofoustano consists of the petticoat, the skirt, the shirt that goes over the top, the apron and the head scarf, called “tegremi”. Underneath they wear their leather slippers. The colorful ornaments around their headscarf are called “pitsilia”. Little girls used to braid their hair under the headscarf in braids, along with beads and other ornaments. Above is the imposing “kolaina”, the jewel with the gold coins worn on special occasions, which I was told is handed down from grandmother to granddaughter and from mother to daughter, by age and also by name. The kavai consists of the shirt with cross-stitch embroidery, the kavai itself which is in black woven fabric, which is made on the loom, the belt, the colorful apron, the woolen one with its pitsilia (the head scarf), which although it is a single piece, has a special and elaborate way of being tied and the staves, the leather boots with red details, which complete the outfit.
“Stivania” is part of the traditional outfit and are handmade boots made by goat leather. The bright red color that the women’s stivania have, along with their ornate embroidery make them distinct works of art. The embroidery is made by hand or machine. Single women were stivania with more ornaments than the married ones who ware stivani with simpler embroidery.
2. Easter
The most extraordinary about Easter celebrations here is that villagers embody their grief at the death of their relatives who have passed away in the last year. On Holy Tuesday night during the preparation of Holy Table women place fresh flowers and photographs of their diseased. On the afternoon of Great Friday after the return of Epitaphy to the church women unfold their hair and they start to sing dirges. On Easter Monday women cook cakes and take them to the graveyard. They place them on the graves for their dead loved ones.
You can read more information in our article Get to know Easter traditions of Karpathos.
3. Wedding
Every wedding is very special. Preparations last a hole week and the feast lasts three days. The bride is accompanied on her way to the church by music instruments and songs. A very special part of the wedding is “chrisoma”. Relatives fasten gold jewellery and money on the wedding dress.
4.Olympitiko”
Since 2020 it has been recorded as a distinctive element in the Greek National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage of UNESCO. It is the festival for the Assumption of Virgin Mary and it is held on the main square of Olympos.
Make your reservation at Akropolis Village on time.
