In the “embrace” of Kavala’s mountainous volume, Platamonas, A village deeply tied to the Pontian root, hosts each year a special celebration dedicated to livestock, authentic taste and live tradition. The mountainous livestock festival has been established in recent years as a cultural event, an institution for the area, bearing the stamp of the Platamonas Cultural Association “The Prophet Elias” and the Municipality of Nestos. Starring a traditional dish, a trademark of the celebration, the boiled goat, the event honors the man of the labor, the farmer, the farmer, the outdoor guard and the primary sector.
The visitor who He goes up to Platamonas he does not just enjoy a celebration. He lives an experience. Amidst traditional sounds, authentic flavors and autumn aroma, has the opportunity to taste local products, supply the goods of the place and get to know a community that holds its roots firmly. Children are also given special care. In a specially designed space there is a creative workshop, with the collaboration of the Artattack Fine Arts Association, thus turning the celebration into a family affair.
This year, the event, which took place last Sunday, It has gained greater symbolism, as it is 31 years since the establishment of the Cultural Association “The Prophet Elias” (1994). It was then that a group of young people from the village envisioned the “Sydanman”, as it is said in the Pontian dialect, of all the ubiquitous Platamians. A counterbalance that would bring back memories, faces, voices and songs.
As Babis Panagiotidis Cultural Association points out in RES-EIA, “thirty-one years later, faithful to the dissemination of the tradition and history of the unforgettable Pontus, the friends have changed as the reins took the third and fourth generation, But the passion for tradition holds well. In these years, the event of the mountainous livestock, which is co -organized by the Board of Directors, is special and special. This year, for the 24th year, everything went smoothly and with an ally in very good weather the organizers managed to show the best possible result. About 2,000 visitors enjoyed the boiled goat. In less than five hours, about 500 kg of meat were consumed. “
Within a admittedly difficult environment for Greek livestock farming, This celebration remains alive. Despite the problems this year’s farmers face in many areas of Macedonia and Thrace, with the killing of sheep and goats due to the animal lobby, this celebration honors the people of labor and supports life in the countryside. The presence of the world at this year’s celebration, the support of local bodies and the housing of the organizers served as a loud reminder, that tradition unites and supports.
Platamonas, who until 1926 were called Oljak, is located at an altitude of 650 meters in the basin mountains, northeast of Kavala and belongs to the administrative boundaries of the Municipality of Nestos. According to the 2021 census, it had 63 inhabitants, from 78 it had in 2011. At the beginning of the 20th century, about a thousand inhabitants lived in the village, most of the Muslims. After the exchange of populations, refugee families were settled in Platamonas.
According to the 1928 census he had 385 inhabitants, while its population increased to 494 inhabitants in the 1940 census. In Platamonas there was a battle at the end of July 1944, between ELAS’s resistance and the Bulgarian occupation army, which ended with a victory of ELAS. The village’s economy was based on free -range sheep and goats.
The annual mountainous livestock feast held every year on the first Sunday of October, It’s not just a festival. It is a vibrant proof that the history, taste and soul of a place can remain unchanged over time, when there are people who keep them alive.