Via Egnatia board game
We are nearing the completion of a unique educational project called ‘Caravan Via Egnatia’. It is a beautifully executed board game that depicts a journey along the Via Egnatia around the year 1800.
The players are travelling along the Via Egnatia as for example a merchant, a soldier, a musician, a monk or a shepherd in the era before today’s nation states. On the way to Istanbul they meet fellow travelers of all sorts and creeds speaking different languages. They solve problems together, exchange knowledge and help each other, they even can invest resources in a caravan to travel together or go on a special mission individually. In this playful way they get to know their neighbours and their common history better. The game is part of a Via Egnatia-project on schools, with information for the teachers. It will be played in groups of 6 players in the classroom.
Although primarily intended for use at schools, the game is also it is also suitable for playing in clubs or even at home. The game is now being produced in three languages: Macedonian, Albanian and English. In May and June 2024 the game will be presented and disseminated in selected schools in North Macedonia and the Netherlands. In cooperation with specialized organizations in the other Via Egnatia countries we will expand the project all along the Via Egnatia from Albania to Türkiye.
The next step will be to broaden the use of the game by organizing inter-regional school and club tournaments, both physically and via the Internet.
Testing the prototype on a school in North Macedonia
IN MEMORIAM TAKIS SIDERIS
The Via Egnatia Band suffered a painful loss by the sudden death of Takis Sideris, leader and inexhaustible inspirator of the band.
Playing bouzouki, baglamas, cümbüş, violin, a variety of flutes (ney) and piano, with a broad musical interest and knowledge, he was an unstoppable source of music.
He will be dearly missed.
Click his photo to go to his memory page.
in Lychnari2014 nr.1 an article was dedicated to him.
Via Egnatia Band
The Via Egnatia Band performed on several manifestations and other meetings, like lectures, of the foundation.
Members of the band joined the caravan in 2010 from Thessaloniki to Istanbul to play in city squares and in hans (caravanserais), thus contributing considerably to the success of the walk and the making of the children's action painting.
You can see and hear the band members on Youtube
Culture: art, music and dance
VEF considers art and music as powerful media to develop consciousness of common history and future. Art is a way to further peace, friendship and cooperation. As such VEF is active in organising concerts and exhibitions.
Children's painting: during the Caravantour a big Via Egnatia-painting was made by children from all nationalities along Via Egnatia: Albania, Northern Macedonia, Greece and Turkey. This painting has been exhibited in Istanbul in 2010, and can be seen on VEF manifestations in the Netherlands.
Concerts: we hope to organize a series of concerts along Via Egnatia. Musicians from the different VE-countries will participate. The concerts will be coupled with music-camps and masterclasses for young and old international participants.
The Via Egnatia Cross Border Band will play on different festive occasions and combined with lectures on Via Egnatia, mainly in western Europe.
One of the participating organisations is the IRAM-Institute of Balkan Music. It has a large (online) database of Musical Balkan Heritage. They will plan an international conference on music along the Via Egnatia.
Cooking book "Along Via Egnatia" |
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Mrs. Engin Akin is a Turkish culinary expert. She had for eight years a radioprogram on cooking in Turkey. When you go out eating with her you are sure you get the best food, because everybody recognizes her from her programs. Engin not only loves cooking, she also loves people. She says: Do we know that the dishes that we have grown up with their warming aromas and their ever comforting tastes are shared by so many people regardless of their nationality? To be intrigued by their similarity of other tastes in other geographies is also a way understanding our "self". I have made such a journey with the book I wrote with my co-author Mirsini Lambraki called Two Nations at the Same Table about Greek and Turkish Cuisine which was received with great enthusiasm in both countries. It opened a new door to enjoy each other around a table. A table which represented through the dishes of centuries of living together which I am sure did not consist only of wars but also of shared joys, in short of true friendship. The simple dishes that we cook today have gone from generation to generation each hiding stories about ourselves, our ancestry, our history and our mutual contribution to mankind through the culture of food. Mrs. Engin Akin is now writing a cookingbook with recipes from all along Via Egnatia, from Italy to Istanbul. In cooperation with Via Egnatia Foundation she has visited Albania to gather recipes. She is very interested in local cooking and askss you for your favourite recipe. And she asks you what your mother cooked and your grandmother. My journey which starts from Turkey and continues on to Italy on Via Egnatia passing through Greece, Northern Macedonia and Albania stems from the passion to find shared joys through tastes but I need the help of everyone. |