In the mountain village of Olympos, in its northern part Karpathos, where the folk tradition remains alive to this day, with the older women still walking around in the traditional costumes of the island and the locals still speaking the local dialect, time seems to have stopped.
Nestled between two mountain peaks at an altitude of 310 meters, the village is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful settlements on the island - and one of the most attractive places in all of Greece.
This point, in fact, was chosen when the inhabitants of the island were looking for a safer and more inaccessible place in order to escape from pirate raids, forced to leave the coastal settlements for more inaccessible mountainous places.
Somehow, Olympus was created, which architecturally follows the standards of the settlements of the Middle Ages, an image that remains almost unchanged over the years until today.
The village and its inhabitants were cut off from the rest of the island until the 80s, as the road leading to it was quite impassable and not particularly conducive to transportation. Until then, in fact, any communication that its inhabitants could have with Karpathos, was made by sea, from the port of Diafani.
This fact may be the reason for the peculiar cultural tradition of the village that remains alive to this day. This specific tradition, in fact, was what prompted Montreal-based writer and editor Katie Sehl to visit the island again - for the second time in two years - and more specifically to Olympus and to discover from the inside, as published in early May in her article on CNN Travel, "what the place is like that describes itself as 'matriarchal'".
In particular, Sehl states in her article that "There are not many places in the world that describe themselves as matriarchal… It seems like a rare opportunity to see something different from what we are used to."
The diversity of Karpathos
Although the island is just an hour away by plane from Athens, as soon as you set foot in it, you automatically get the feeling that you are in a place far from culture. Especially when it is located in the quiet and picturesque Olympus, which is not yet a tourist attraction of the island.
Karpathos, although externally it may resemble another Greek island that someone has seen in photos or has visited up close, in fact is very different from all other Greek islands.
With its unique common feature with the rest of the Greek islands, the excellent beaches and the dreamy waters of the Aegean, in Karpathos you will not find five-star luxury hotels, high quality restaurants and clubs with internationally renowned DJs present and stirring up the crowds.
Something that Sehl already knew from her first visit to the island. That is why he is here again, in order to gain a new experience knowing that he will avoid the "clichés" of tourist restaurants and local shops that sell souvenirs and will see from the inside what life is like on Olympus.
Olympus and her women
With the reputation for society of the village raging that "women here have the upper hand", Sehl found herself on Mount Olympus, after a stop in Avlona - the center of Karpathos where there is no internet, bakery or grocery store to get the essentials.
The purpose of her trip was to discover how the roles of women and men have been shaped in society, and how far her function is from the traditional patriarchal society in which she has lived for so many years.
From a conversation she had with a resident of the village, the editor understood that women in Olympos are definitely dominant in the kitchen, both in homes and in restaurants, while they create and wear traditional costumes for various religious ceremonies, with men dressing mostly in khaki clothes and shirts and living completely removed from the modern conveniences with which we have associated modern society in our minds.
What Sehl realized is that although Olympus does not function as a matriarchal society, its women, nevertheless, have a voice and an opinion, and most importantly, their role is active, distinct and of great value.
This is confirmed by her tour guide on the island, who deals with tourism, emphasizing that "the Women of Olympus have a special power and are responsible both for their home and for their survival in this environment ".
Indeed, the situation on Mount Olympus is just that if one considers that women have borne the burden of maintaining and continuing the popular tradition - they are the ones who create the traditional costumes and wear them in the respective religious ceremonies - they are the ones who have undertaken to feed their families but also help the survival of their society.
Frustrated that she did not find out what she came for, Sehl left Olympus more excited than she expected as she came to a perhaps more important conclusion: the power and empowerment of women independently from the environment in which they live and work and the way in which their society is governed and organized.