VILLAGES
PHOTO: ZEFI POTIRI
Falatados It comprises the second biggest village after “Pyrgos”, dated since 1400 AC.The village is traditional, with narrow cobbled alleys and many arches. The inhabitants, in cooperation with their progressive Association, organize many events of cultural and religious content. The Holy Trinity, a massive and impressive church with a cupola, adorns the village. It has a coffee house-grocery, cafeterias and taverns with traditional dishes. Here a place of figurative Arts operates with both contemporary and old exhibits, as well as the so called “house of exhibitions”. Some other interesting feature is the exhibition center, housed in the old elementary school, with paintings of classic artists. During September, the famous festival of the arrack production takes place in its schoolyard.There are also many old winepresses and arrack makers here which are well preserved and operating “RAKIZIO” (Arrack brewing) The «rakizio» belongs to the auxiliary rooms of the village house, where the farmers brew their raki (from the Indian orak), the traditional strong drink of Tinos. After the vine harvest and the grape stepping in the wine presser, they take the remnants of the bunches and put them in a copper boiler with a 40-120 kg capacity, on which a cap is firmly placed which ends at a coniform exit with a pipe. They place it on a focal point with strong fire, for the distillation to start (after getting a special permit from the chemical state authorities). The pipe goes through a water tank, and comes out from the opposite side. During the boiling the steam produced from the boiler goes through the pipe which is cold because of the water and there it is liquefied, dripping at the exit into a container.The first arrack is so strong, that it was used as ethanol in the past. After some time, the next raki, is produced. In the village of “Falatados” the “rakizio” has been established as a celebration and every year on the 8th of September, people from all over the island, meet in the old elementary school yard. As the raki is produced, the people who attend drink together, while the women offer food. Dancing and singing with violins and lutes, follow.
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