Agios Nikolaos Park in Naoussa

Agios Nikolaos Park in Naoussa

My blog today will travel us in one of the most beautiful parks of Greece, the Agios Nikolaos park at the province of Imathia, part of Macedonia. I spent a day there during my Christmas vacations and I will try to transfer some of the area's beauty with my photos adding also some informations about it.

Agios Nikolaos park was my destination and the city of Naoussa the main city of the area. Naoussa is one of the most beautiful cities of Macedonia, built in the Eastern fringes of the imposing mountainous volume of Vermion, with an astonishing view to the rich plain of Thessaloniki.

Being the capital of the homonym province, with a population that reaches 30.000 residents, it combines exquisitely the beauties of the plains with those of the mountains, offering a rich mesh of activities and services to every visitor. It abstains 90 km from Thessaloniki and 510 from Athens.

Because of its particular natural bas-relief and its rich natural spring waters, the city of Naoussa allocates regions of particular natural beauty that have been developed with the creation of two tourist poles of attraction: the Thicket of Saint Nikolaos and the Winter Sports Centre of the 3-5 Wells. At the same time, the region allocates a appreciable archaeological wealth (Faculty of Aristotel, Macedonian graves, ancient Mieza, etc.), which, in combination with the archaeological regions of Vergina, Pella and Dion, comprise a rich archaeological mesh.

Arriving at the Agios Nikolaos park we started our exploration from the small chapel in honor of Agios Nikolaos (Saint Nickolas) which gave also the name at this park.

Agios Nikolaos park is a Tourist Recreation Center just 4 kilometers away from the city of Naoussa. An earthly paradise in the heart of the Prefecture of Imathia . A breath of life against ecological downgrading. An overall of 15 acres of the most beautiful land draw life from the springs of the historical and, in many ways, precious river of Arapitsa . The park of perennial plane trees, which is unique in Greece, impresses the visitor at all seasons.

Agios Nikolaos Park sits at the foot of Mount Vermion, at an altitude of 330m above sea level. According to the ancient Greek mythology, Semeli, the mother of God Dionysos, lived on the slopes of Mt Vermion. It is also believed that the magnificent dancer Silinos, the faithful companion of the God of vineyard and wine, was born in this area.

Semeli was the daughter of Kadmos (king of Thebes). She became the lover of Zesus. They were quite happy with each other, until Zesus learned that Semeli was pregnant. He was so proud that he rashly swore to give her anything she desired. Semeli had been convinced by Hera, Zesus's jealous wife, that she should ask to see Zesus in all his glory. When she named her request, Zesus tried to diswade her, but she was determined. He couldn't go back on his zow, and so he showed himself and was so glorious Semeli was burned to ashes. Zesus managed to save her child, and he sawed him into his theigh. Dionysus was born a couple months later. To keep Dionysus from the still jealous Hera, he was nursed by his Aunt Ino, who dressed him in girl's clothes to hide him. Later, he was hide with the numphs of Mount Nysa, who who said to have joined the Bacchates as he grew older and took his place as a god. Dionysus taught the people of the area how to prepare wine and Naousa and the surrounding area is one of Greece 's best-known regions for it's wines. Xinomavro of Naoussa is a superior quality designation of origin wine. Famous wines of this area are the Roditis, Syrah and Merlot.

Dionysus is one of the more powerful gods in the pantheon, and yet is the only one born from a mortal woman. Despite all of these paradoxes, Dionysus does make one thing very clear: A sure way to anger him is to refuse to take pleasure from life. Is it any wonder he was one of the most popular gods to worship? Well, the people of the area honor him every year during the carnival of Naoussa. The traditional carnival festivities of Naoussa, marked with the characteristic custom called "Genitsari and Boules", date back to the 18th century and maintain the old typical revelry in the streets that make it a renowned special occasion. Festivities start on Pancake Day and end on Ash Monday, running a period of 12 days during which people revel in dancing and wine drinking. The traditional musical instruments –Daouli and Zournas- can be heard in every neighborhood accompanying folk dancers, called Genitsari, with slow Macedonian strains.

My aunt Yiota and I at the lake of the park. We have found a dreamy place where we rest watching the ducks and enjoy the winter scene at a peaceful place.

Winter in a park like this is always a great experience. Walking at those small pathways your mind calms and your body lives in harmony with the mother nature. Loneliness... so valuable in those strange times of our life when we feel we must stop speeding and discover ourselves.

Time for food and the brown trout was really fresh... alive. We made our choice and in a few minutes the fish was in our plate. Agios Nikolaos park is a place with exraordinary beauty and of course the best place for a excursion for those who will visit Macedonia.