Monologues's Representative Interview

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The interview with the Monastery’s representative was realised in Greek. It started with an introduction by me and I informed him about the content of my research. The interview was taken in the abbot’s office, where the representative offered me a chair and I had plenty of time at my disposal. Particularly, the interview lasted 64 minutes. During the interview I recorded whatever we discussed by using my tablet and the program Sound Record, version 1.5.0.19_150731.
The interview with the representative, Mr. Kosmitis Taxiarches provided me with useful information about the Monastery’s role and its funding system. He highlighted the importance of the Monastery during the Ottoman occupation. As we have seen above, the monastic complex was used …show more content…

For example, Mr. Kosmitis Taxiarches himself lives in the area. He is a theologist and works at the Monastery’s shop, which sells icons and products such as rosaries, amulets, books and wooden carvings. These are constructed by the four monks. Sometimes people from the local community are employed there as workmen. There is also another shop that sells traditional products such as herbs, honey and traditional drinks, which is rented by the Monastery to the man who runs the shop. In this way the Monastery itself also benefits financially. The monastery is also funded by the National Strategic Reference …show more content…

Unfortunately, these mysteries take part in the Church of the Virgin Mary and not in the Katholikon or the crypt, as during the Byzantine period. This is a problematic situation, as the attraction of the site is the Katholikon. An additional problem is that the Katholikon is only open between 10 AM and 4 PM, even during the summer. As Mr. Taxiarches said, there are many cases of tourists who go to Delphi and later come to see and admire the mosaics and the relics of Hosios Loukas, but find the Katholikon closed. This creates a problem, because the visitors want to see the monument, but the Archaeological Service and the Ministry of Culture systematically ignore it.
Moreover, travel agents in the region organise tours to Delphi, Distomo and Steiri. Thus, the visitor is able in one day to visit three different places of historic, spiritual and cultural value. In the past, this happened more often, but due to the financial difficulties the number of Greek visitors has been decreased, as Mr. Kosmitis Taxiarches informed

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