Kazaviti (Mikro & Megalo)
If
you follow the left road in the crossroad of Prinos and in a distance
of 4 klm, you will reach the first Kazaviti, the so called Mikro
Kazaviti (Small Prinos). 500 m after that lays Megalo Kazaviti (Big Prinos). They are definitely
the most traditional little villages built in a hills’ slope, inside a
dale. Unfortunately, today a lot of houses have been abandoned by the
local people who left for finding jobs and better life in the lowlands
of the island or ever further away.
Resisting in time, the old stone houses with the wooden balconies and
the hand-paιnted ceilings, climb up in scales through dense greenery.
In the past century, these villages were called Papaz-Mahala and
Tsingoura respectively. The Kazavitia villages flourished during the
years when the highland villages had many more inhabitants and were
well developed due to the piracy overruling the seaside areas. In
addition, in Megalo Kazaviti operated a very important School which
contributed in the development of the village. 
Today,
you can visit Kazaviti and admire the remains of the schools, the old
mansions and the churches, but mo stly to relax and enjoy the sounds of
nightingales and running water. The nature of the area is very generous
and that is why Kazavitia is the fist place for tourists to visit when
they reach Thassos. Here you can enjoy drinking coffee in the villages’
square or have dinner in Vasilis’ tavern just in the entry of the
village, which boasts the best food on the island. The last years many taverns and restaurants are open the hole year.
Let’s see how its
cultural union presents the village:
It was an agricultural–rural establishment in an area which was famous for its The area preserved the same agricultural-rural profile during the ulterior years as well as the main relation to the vineyards; the wine seems to testify the name “Kazaviti” which is Latin in origin and its etymology comes out of the words casa (house) and vitis (vineyard).
A
s
it comes to the recent years, these settlements probably were created
in the beginning of the 17th century. Since the middle of the 17th
century, the elevation of the piracy forces the inhabitants to transfer
to the inlands.Today, the most preserved character of the villages is mostly of 19th century while the oldest signs f ound on houses are dated in 1806 and 1807. The houses preserved up to date are of the so called Macedonian Architecture type, built by skilled workmen of West Macedonia and Epirus.
The villages Mikro and Megalo Kazaviti are of the most significant traditional settlements of our country. However, due to their desertion by the inhabitants since 1960 and after, they experience problems in their overall development and preservation. Their recent inhabitants are in great deal foreigners or native people outside Thassos, while the domestic people of the island who preserved their houses are very few.
The marvelous situation of the villages, the unique flora and fauna which surrounds the area and its great historic and national value, necessitate the activation of all relative national vehicles towards the solution of the serious problems and the preservation of these settlements in their traditional form.
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