Olympos is considered by many to be a living folklore museum – and they are right. In which other villages of Greece do the locals wear their traditional costumes, speak the local dialect, and create elaborate woven pieces and wood carvings? Olympos is undoubtedly a unique village and one of the most beautiful in Greece, which, together with the other villages of Karpathos, preserves and evolves the popular culture of the island.
The festival of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary is a pinnacle of devoutness. In this place, the religious services are deeply connected with the mourning that characterises this conjuncture for Christianity.
The culmination of this traditional celebration is the dance that takes place in the small square, in front of the church of Panagia (Virgin Mary), with the organ players playing the Lower Dance, slow-moving and sombre. Initially, the men, sitting at the table and with leaves of basil on their lapels, sing and drink, accompanied by lute and lyre. As darkness falls, the dance begins, in which women slowly enter, dressed in their traditional festive costumes of astonishing beauty and splendour. The dance is slow and always with a steady pace and a religiously devout mood, lasting for hours. The whole atmosphere is one of the most beautiful that the believer can experience at the festivals of the Aegean. Tradition on the island is a living reality.
The Karpathos feasts bring the folk songs of Karpathos to life but also present the poetic talent of the Karpathians with their impromptu mantinades. These short songs express pain or joy, depending on the occasion. One can attend such festivities with their traditional food and local musical instruments – and traditional hospitality. All visitors are welcome, while the island is flooded with the fragrance of freshly-baked sourdough bread, xerotigana, stifado, macarounes, and other local delicacies.
