The uninhabited village Gera on Tilos

The uninhabited village of Gera does not receive as much attention as Mikro Chorio. But it's not so strange, because Gera wasn't really a real village, unlike Mikro Chorio. Gera came alive in the summers when those who lived in Megalo Chorio and Mikro Chorio moved to Gera. However, Gera is as uninhabited as Mikro Chorio.

Read about Mikro Chorio here »

Vangelis Papadopoulos was the name of a man who grew up on Tilos during the 1950s. Vangelis suitor was Zorba, and it was because he danced as well as Zorba, they say. He later moved to Rhodes and also spent a few years in Finland. But he always returned to Tilos, an island he loved and he did everything to keep the island's old traditions alive.

In 2010 he published a small booklet called "Tilos in the past". There he writes about his upbringing in Mikro Chorio and other parts of Tilos. A short chapter is about Gera, where he and his family lived during the summers. I have used parts of that text here.

About 300 people lived in Gera in the 1950s.

As the families living in Mikro Chorio grew, they also started building houses in other places on the island. They founded Krithonta, Gera and Pano Meri, and moved their households there for a few months, especially in the summer for the grape harvest in Gera.

The houses are small and the ceiling height is low.

They founded a small village in Gera with small houses because most people only used them in the summer. They didn't have to sleep in the houses. They slept under the stars on the terraces of the courtyards. Gera was a rich place. Many fruits and crops grew on its soil. The figs were famous. In the summer, around 300 people gathered there. In winter, only a few, especially old people and shepherds, stayed to guard the small village.

Ruins of the once fine village of Gera.

Vangelis Papadopoulos writes like this in his booklet about Tilos:

“My father opened a coffee house near the spring for the needs of the people. The men gathered there in the evening for mastic, coffee and wine. They used stones as chairs. When it got dark, we sat together with our mothers around the fireplaces and listened to the old woman's fairy tales and stories. During the day, everyone together, men, women and children, harvested the wheat, the barley and the peas for the fava."

"When it got dark, we sat together with our mothers around the fireplaces and listened to fairy tales."

It is fascinating to stroll around the deserted village and philosophize about bygone times.

It is incredibly fascinating to stroll around the deserted village and fantasize about how life once was. You really feel the beat of history. Imagine if walls could talk! Gera is not as interesting as Mikro Chorio, but the village is still worth a visit, not least for the beautiful hike there, which you can read about further down.

Gera is a perfect place to have a picnic and look out over the sea.

Gera is a perfect place to have a picnic: bring some tomatoes, olives, feta cheese and fresh bread, sit on a rock and enjoy, and think about times gone by. I promise it will be a memory for life. What do I do if I want to take a swim, you might ask? Well, then you go down to Despoti Nero beach, which is below Gera, and take a swim.

After you've had your fill of Gera, take a swim at Despoti Nero beach.

Vangelis Papadopoulos passed away in 2012 but his memory lives on at Tilos. In the same year, the immensely popular mayor Tasos Aliferis passed away. He came to Tilos as a doctor from Rhodes and helped shape life on the island through his vision and hard work. Tasos Aliferis was the first to marry a gay couple in Greece and was the one who banned all hunting on Tilos. Just to name a few of all the things he did that were unique to Greece. In honour of Tasos Aliferis, the beach promenade in Livadia Tilos was named Tasos Aliferis street.

The beach promenade in Livadia is now called Tasos Aliferis street.

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