The Via Egnatia Caravan boardgame
an adventurous journey into history
An educational boardgame for schools
Via Egnatia is a 2000 year old Roman road, from the West- to the East Roman Empire. During its long history travellers of all sorts used this road, from West to East and from East to West: merchants and priests, shepherds and fishermen, musicians and farmers on their way to the markets, diplomats, early tourists and the occasional women. As one of these characters you will travel along this road. What was it like in the old days? Via Egnatia Caravan gives you a taste of travelling in the Balkans around 1800.
Numerous adventures await you: earthquakes and attacks of robbers, broken bridges and treasure hunters, local festivals and bountiful harvests, religious festivals and fake preachers, stray dogs and lost children. There will be obstacles to deal with, interesting people to meet, language problems to solve by pantomime and issues to discuss. Are you traveling alone or together in a caravan? And what are the benefits of a caravan? Do you have enough water and food for the road? Are you staying overnight in a field or in a city? Do you have a donkey to carry your luggage? Can you help each other when someone has an accident?
In fact it is much like travelling on foot nowadays…
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For whom? This boardgame can be played in classrooms, from about 12 years onwards. Usually it is played by 6 players, but it can also be doubled to 12. The game is also interesting for adults and can be adapted in difficulty by extra rules. The game is designed for school purposes, but in the future will be available for everyone.
Facilitators It is advisable for coaching teachers to study the ‘Manual for facilitators’ well in advance. As a teacher it is best to play the game in advance with your colleagues, to learn the rules. Several things can be adapted according to the situation. I.e. if you have 7 players instead of 6 make one of them the game leader who counts the points. Or let 2 children play together as a team.
Time Once everybody has learned the rules the journey from Durrës to Istanbul will take about 1,5 hours. In the beginning it is advised to choose a shorter journey – for example from Durrës to Edessa or to Thessaloniki. Anyway children get the hang of the game faster than adults! |
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Educational goals By identifying with persons from different backgrounds, each with their own talents, children learn to respect diversity and different viewpoints. Cooperation is an important goal, besides personal ambition. The game fosters curiosity for different historical periods and cultures. The game fosters insight in geography of the region. The game fosters critical thinking and global citizenship. History is used as a way to connect. This game is suited to combine with lessons in civic education, history, geography and diverse cultural projects. |
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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. |