I went to a beautiful shop in a sleepy little village of Megalochori in Santorini.
The owner was very hospitable and patient as she provided information about the various items & the materials which have been used in making them. It was fascinating to note how they have been sourced from different parts of the country.
My favorite was the stunning chess board made of bronze sourced from Athens. It was one of the best chess boards I have ever seen.
One side of the shop was filled with various types of statues, their blue color signifying color of the sea & the domes of buildings in Santorini. Whitewashed building with blue domes are a feature of islands like Santorini and Mykonos.
There are other statues which have been made using the black sand from the famous black beach in Perissa, another village on the southern edge of Santorini. The owl statues are very famous here, as the owl is the symbol of goddess of Athena. The metal used in the souvenirs is sourced from Crete, Greece's largest island.
The paintings of Santorini and other places in Greece have been drawn by the owner herself. I was tempted to buy one of them but as I was going to be on the road for a long time, I decided to resist any such temptation.
The ceramic bowls are made using the material coming from Thessaloniki, a city on the border with North Macedonia.
The "evil eye" is a special symbol used in Greece and in many other cultures. In Greece, it comes in the form of blue eye and is supposed to ward off the bad effects of the evil eye.
This was probably the longest amount of time I had spent in a shop in Greece and after all the chit chat, I decided to buy the black owl statue. The store's wonderful location & the peaceful setting added to the vibe of the place. I loved the relaxed pace of life in this little village and to me, this special store was the perfect symbol of Megalochori.
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