09.30.09 - Ioannina and Athens (part 2)

Alive off my dinky plane, I was greeted by Isaac and Diana Dostis. Without knowing what the other looked like, we immediately knew who the other was. From the port we cabbed to my lovely hotel, the Patriko, where I would stay for both nights in Ioannina. It was a small, quaint hotel, run by the nicest woman ever, and an old lady who makes the best pita and potato and parsley, and pita and cheese in the world.

After dropping my baggage, we walked to the bus station to book my overnight KTEL bus ticket. Then the afternoon was ours! Isaac took me around Ioannina, showing me the shul, the old city, past Jewish shops and real estate, the old school, and the two houses thought to have belonged to the Davidson family. Trekking the cobble stoned Ioanninian streets, dodging people, cars and bikes, and trying to grasp each of Isaac’s infinitely valuable stories was a pleasurable challenge.

Around 5:30 PM we prepared for Yom Kippur and between 6 and 7 ate a very filling meal at the Matsa Pension, a small bed and breakfast owned and run by Toula and Allegra Matsa, the two woman who helped me find my lodging. Wonderful people. From eating too much mashed potatoes, salad, pumpkin mush and bread, we then waddled over to the shul, where for the next 25 hours I must have spent 14 of them in services. Services were 6:50-9:30 on Sunday night, 7:45-2:15 on Monday morning and 5-8:15 (I showed up at 5:45). Services were lead by Cantor Haim Yitchack, the Athenian Cantor. He was extremely dynamic and charismatic, a real master of the service and a true speed reader. I don’t think he missed a word. Assisting Haim in every aspect of the service was community elder, and self taught Hebrew scholar, 84 year old Samuel Koen, a true wonder and amazing Romanoite Jew. As for the services themselves, the numbers peaked on Sunday night and Monday night around 110. Monday morning it started small, got bigger and ended equally small. Jews with different percentages of Romanoite in their blood came from all over Greece, primarily from Thesalaniki and Athens. The rule is that as long as ten men show, Cantor Haim will conduct services. The men sat in the middle facing rows and on one side, and the women on the other side. Services were conducted in a traditional orthodox fashion with no female participation. Most males wore kipot and talitot (yalmukas and prayer shawls). It was truly a sight, one in which many of the older congregants were joyful and wet-eyed about. From what Isaac told me, this is basically the only time during the year that everyone unites to see each other. I couldn’t have chose a more unique and opportune time to experience the Jewish community of Ioannina.

But here is what sadly fascinated me – the unfortunate truth. Out of the 110 people, maybe only 5 were interested / able to use the Hebrew machsor (high holiday prayer book), some congregants opted for a Greek transliterated booklet of holiday highlights, and the VAST majority just sat in services for the many hours without a clue as to what was going on. And what is sadder is that they didn’t appear interested. Some members even brought cameras to document everything. Granted, I acknowledge that this level of religious observance and knowledge is the extent that most of today’s world Jews obtain; and it is amazing that attending Yom Kippur services is so important to them, however long they must sit unknowing what’s occurring. And even more amazing and special are the relationships they re-solidify and reseal every Yom Kippur. But the sad reality is that without the Jewish practices and knowledge you have no tradition, and without Jewish traditions it is very difficult to know what makes you different from everyone else around you. Because the Romanoites do, or did not, invest in the continuity of Jewish tradition, whether due to value or financial decisions and/or their shortcomings, they unfortunately will be an extinct Jewish sect and community in a generation or so. Apparently, as Isaac shared with me, the history of the Romanoite Jews, and Balkan Jewry, can be traced back to 300 BCE. Yet, historians have not documented it as much as nessasary, and the Romanoite Jews will soon not be around and practicing their traditions. Undocumented and unrecalled history is like it didn’t exist. This is the bottom line sad truth. And something must be changed soon, or else part of my, and many other peoples’ heritage will be lost, undocumented and unknown to all, forever.

Regardless of this pessimistic, but realistic fate, I found the whole community extremely warm and welcoming, and the services themselves very reflective – maybe because there was no one to really talk to, and nowhere to go. After the shofars blew to conclude the holiday, the whole community reconvened at 9 PM (Greek time) at the De Luc Hotel for a fancy dinner to honor 4 Romanoites for their contributions and efforts within the community. Dinner was lovely, I sat at the “youth” (unmarried) table with some people I had met or seen at the synagogue. After dinner they showed Isaac’s short film, “I Never Danced with my Father.”

Tuesday was the big touring day. We started early for our 8 AM appointment at the archives followed by a trip to the Court House. The afternoon before we scripted a family tree going as far back as possible. We got as far as the great-great grandparents for Davidson and Negrin. At the archives we believe we found great-great Grandpa Menachem “Methathias” Negrin’s birth certificate. We were unlucky with his wife’s (Gracia’s) father’s information – “the judge”. Not even in the courthouse basement were there documents because the records on law started in 1913, when Ioannina gained independence from the Ottomans. After our genealogical search we were invited to two respective breakfasts: 1. 9 AM at Matsa Pension 2. At my hotel – Patriko. The highlights were at Matsa Pension the 3 cups of mountain coffee and at the Patriko a handful of the old lady’s potato/parsley and cheese pitas.

From breakfast #2 I checked out of the Patriko and Isaac and I went for some more Ioannina history. We saw the Holocaust memorials, street where the Jews were taken to the death and labor camps, and we saw the Jewish cemetery. As we walked we shared many stories, as well as concerns for the future of Ioannina and its Romanoite community. At 2 PM Diana rejoined us for a little adventure cruise to and around Ioannina’s island. This little body of land, in the middle of Ioannina Lake, has the biggest trees I have ever seen, second to Muir Woods and Redwood forests. It also had some beautiful and tiny monasteries and churches from the time of Ali Pasha, a plethora of trinket shops all selling the same thing, and some nice restaurants. With so much accomplished thus far, and a busy evening, we all retired back to the Dostis house for a rest. I crashed on the couch pretty instantaneously.

During the evening we attended Isaac and some of his friends’ exhibit on the history of Ioanninian soccer. It was very pleasant. Midway through Dianna and I stepped out for some pizza at their friend’s Olga’s place, which was an incredible meal. The night ended with some more family tree talk and collaboration and brainstorming on our respective work and efforts towards holocaust awareness through the spreading of “goodness”, “moral courage” and stories of rescuers. At midnight I was on my 6 hour bus ride back to Athens.

Isaac and Diana are extremely special people. They live very simple lives. Their passions are apparent in their work and their dedication and efforts to those passions are as great as the cornucopia of friendships they have created in their 3 years living in Ioannina. Diana is the quieter of the two, but that could also be because she knows much less Greek than Isaac. In smaller groups and one on one her personality and insight enlightens conversations. She is gentle, creative and loves art projects, especially making and sending cards and bookmarks. Isaac is the outgoing one of the two. As Diana described and as we all envy, he is truly a mover and shaker. With Isaac, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect based on our emails, but now I know what he means when he concludes his letters with “warm thoughts.” Isaac, like Diana, is one of the warmest people I know. He only breathes goodness and only exerts positive energy. I truly admire the way he approaches life with such a genuine and pure optimism and fervor. I see him being someone who jumps out of bed every day, as the sun shines through the windows, and with a giant smile and eagerness to take on the tasks ahead – kind of like a little boy on the first day of school. He saintly epitomizes the paramount personas of patience and persistence. What I will take most from Isaac though, is the collaboration of everything he embodies, which can be summarized in his own axiom of “What’s Next?”. With this axiom, Isaac, a potential mayor candidate of Ioannina if he ever gets his Greek citizenship, works daily towards a better Ioannina, where people come first. Like I said, he and Diana are very special people, who I will consider friends, and even family, especially depending on if Isaac can find out if our great-great-great grandparents were brothers…the theory is possible.

The city of Ioannina has some great parts and some needs improvement parts – as Isaac will tell you. It has some squatters, some impoverished, some young, some old, and some wealthy. Most small stores have the same trinkets, some have similar clothing models and there are many cafés or restaurants. Ioannina University has also brought in a lot of new, younger life, but that was only apparent at night. The people were very nice, but I am confident it’s because I was always with the Dostises or other Romanoites, otherwise I think they might have acted in a similar Greek way. Ioannina really gave me an authentic feel for the highly bureaucratic, slower paced, and excellent food Greek lifestyle.

6 AM Wednesday morning I arrived at the Athens bus station, grabbed the X93 bus to the airport to lock up my duffle and then I took the X95 into the city. The day had 3 goals: Climb Lycabettus hill as close to sunrise as possible, do some souvenir shopping, and get a good Greek salad for lunch and spanikopita for dinner to go. Mission 100% accomplished. The view from Lycabettus was of all of Athens, with the Parthenon and port in the same photo – that was a strenuous climb. My shopping was successful too. I found a beautiful island picture. And my meal – Wow! So with actually almost no money, I took the X95 through the Athens traffic back to the airport.

Greece overall was a true adventure. Isaac sums it up best when he calls Greece a “two-and-a-half world country.” The Balkans – OMG…I honestly expected a higher quality of life in Greece, especially when I learned that the EU admitted Greece more than 20 years ago. I found that the Greeks were miserably distant and impatient, to the extent of rude at times, but most commonly if you didn’t know Greek or make any attempts at showing that you know anything about Greek culture. I found that they treated their city poorly too. Athens has been thus far the dirtiest city that I have visited, with the most street vendors and the most illegals. Although its surroundings are beautiful, it isn’t the typical lush beauty. The area is more barren, dry, dusty and rocky then fruitful and green. Athens is also a real international city. I anticipate coming back to Greece but most likely with a tour group, unless I do Mykonos and Santirini. Overall, my experience was undoubtedly incredible, but Greece as a country, and as an outsider to the Greek people, especially alone, is an experience I can wait a little longer to have again.