This episode of Common Ground with Prokopis Agelopoulos took listeners on a tour of the historic village of Magouliana, in mountainous Arcadia.
Magouliana is the birthplace of Fotakos (Fotios Chrysanthopoulos), aide-de-camp to Theodoros Kolokotronis. It is also the highest-altitude village in the Peloponnese. Founded in the 16th century, the village is known for its picturesque character, its beautiful landscape surrounded by fir and walnut trees, and the unique handcrafted wooden iconostasis of the Church of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary.
Helping us discover the village were Thanasis Kanellopoulos, president of the local community; Georgia Gontyka, who emigrated to San Diego in the 1970s at the age of 17 and now spends several months each year in Greece; Nota Kollia, an icon painter who spoke about the area’s religious monuments and the remarkable carved wooden iconostasis of the church, created by the Epirus craftsman Nikos Moschos, also known as Christodoulos; and photographer Mara Kapela, who left city life a few years ago and settled in Magouliana with her partner, creating a distinctive home using environmentally friendly materials and techniques.