Amfilissos
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Amfilissos:
river area of cultural inheritance and ecology
The Amfilissos river and the streams that flow into the bay
of Balos in the central south coast of the island of Samos
permeate an area rich in cultural and ecological
inheritance.
The area was once famous for the creation of fine pottery,
exported through ports in the bay of Balos. Over the
centuries, the inhabitants of the viilages in the area have
developed a variety of rural actitvities: farming and
harvesting olives, fruit, nuts and vegetables in harmony
with nature, together animal husbandry and fishing.
Map of the Amfilissos Area
In the middle ages, Amfilissos area of
Samos
was peaceful and prosperous, and the inhabitants were left
to look after themselves, with the major threat coming
from
pirates
who would sail along the coast, spying, for villages to
ransack for provisions and treasures to to steal.
Fear of attack by pirates led to the almost complete
depopulation of the area in the 15th century, but
inhabitants began to return a century later.The villages in
the Amfilissos area reached their peak population in the
first part of the 20th century. During the last part of the
20th century, fishing from the
ports
in the bay of Balos declined, as did some labour-intensive
forms of agriculture, like harvesting of olives, carob
beans and nuts.
Summer seasonal tourism in the Amfilissos area has
increased substantially over the past 20 years, focused
on
resorts in the bay of
Balos.
Nowadays, day visitors come from the towns of Samos to
enjoy the beach and restaurants and bars. Package
tourists, mainly from Northern Europe, come to stay in
hotels and rented apartments, usually for 1 or 2 weeks.
This has resulted in an increase in beach-side hotels,
apartments and restaurants and bars in Balos and Pefko .
Traditional Restaurant and newly-converted Bar on Balos
seafront
At present, longer-term visitors come mainly from the Greek
mainland and diaspora. These include previous inhabitants
of the area, who come to visit, and stay with, the
remaining members of their families who still live here, or
return temporarily to houses in the Amfilissos area, that
they still own, for holidays.
Houses in Neochori: some some temporaily occupied and
available to rent
However, the villages in the Area (Skoureika, Neochori,
Koumeika) have, as yet, seen little influx of tourism,
despite having renovated village houses available for rent.
Their population has declined: the school in Neochori
closed in 2000, and very few pupils remain in the schools
in Koumeika and Skoureika.
Young people, who have grown up in Samos or would like to
find work in Samos currently are faced with a
variety of local problems
that make it very difficult for them to live and work in
the Amfilissos area, particularly if this involves
practising their professonal and creative skills.
The
Amfilissos Network
is now active, bringing together the key actors from Samos,
and worldwide, in developing the initiatives and projects
that will operate in parallel, making an integrated effort
to overcome the problems, and increase dramatically the
variety, richness, connectivity and creativity of life,
work and recreation in the Amfilissos area.