Filenews 6 June 2022 - by Despina Psilou
They travelled with pastries and storms. The port as another heart, gave pulse to the city and the naval lines were the arteries. With the ship thousands sought another homeland. They moved for their matchmaking. They went to study, to trade, to worship, to get to know other places, to take a vacation. The shipping connection was part of life. A few decades earlier, during Saturday eight different ships departed from the port of Limassol to pass, among other things, from Piraeus. The passengers were loaded with hope, the snack, even their vehicle and 'anchors away'! The "F" on the occasion of the connection of the two ports, after 21 years of interruption of sailing, gathers information about this part of history that sank into oblivion.
As mentioned by the scientific director of the Pattichion Municipal Museum - Historical Archive and Centre of Studies of Limassol, Mimis Sofokleous, the ship was a way and a part of life. "If there was no ship there was no access," he said and clarified that at least from 1900 onwards, the only times travel was restricted were in the First and Second World Wars as well as in the Turkish invasion, where they were in danger of sinking. It was interrupted again in 2001, in peacetime, for 21 years.
The ship, as he clarifies, was the means for immigration as well. "It was a mass exodus and people, of course, didn't leave by planes." Usually, he explains, the migrants arrived in Piraeus and from there continued by train to their new homeland. At the same time, it was the means to studies. "Students until at least 1976 used the ship to go to university. Odysseus, Agamemnon. The student experience in Athens and later in Thessaloniki was a boat ride". It served, says Mr. Sofokleous, the students on the one hand because the trip was more economical, and on the other hand because they could take with them boxes with things for their home, edibles, personal items. "There were many ships connecting Limassol with Piraeus. Some start at least in the 1900s. They would go from Limassol to Piraeus and then continue to Italy: Brindisi, Ancona, Bologna, Milan or even to the south of France. In fact, he said, since 1900 hundreds of ships passing through Limassol have been recorded.
Among the ships, there was Apollonia with which Nikos Kavvadias travelled. Also, Cynthia, Enotria, Andriatica, Aeolis, Alcmene, Aristides, Aphrodite, the legendary Sol Phryne and many more. They pass through Rhodes, Heraklion, Marmara, Smyrna, Constantinople, Constanţa, Beirut, Naples, Marseille, Genoa, Alexandria.
The trip to Piraeus in 1929 was 42 hours and the ticket quite costly. "In places without food someone had to pay 3.5 pounds and it would increase if food and other amenities were added. When you consider that the monthly salary of the time was shillings and not a whole pound, it was quite expensive. The fare, in fact, increased depending on the distance of the destination. For example, for Genoa, it could have been as high as £20." In the course of time, around 1970, the price becomes more affordable reaching 22 pounds. To reduce expenses, travellers prepared eggs and other food for as many days as the trip required.
From the old to the new port
It was not always easy to approach the boat. From 1954 to 1974 the old port operated, in which large ships could not dock. "People were transported to them by boat (a large boat used to transport people and objects from land to the ship and vice versa). There are photos where people are seen loading their suitcases in this way. There was difficulty. Then, around 1974, the large port was put into operation. It greatly facilitated the traveller and gave the possibility of cruising", says Mr. Sophocleous.
Outdoor exhibition for the trip
On the occasion of the shipping connection between Limassol and Piraeus, from 19 June 2022, an open-air exhibition on the history of the city in relation to sea travel will be in progress. Then, with the material gathered, two permanent exhibitions will be inaugurated. One in the departures hall titled "Cyprus wishes you a good trip". It will list all the ships that have left Limassol, along with objects, photos, menus, etc. The other exhibition will take place in the arrivals hall titled "Nikos Kavvadias welcomes you to the smiling Limassol". This is the sailor who travelled the world, while he spent a while on trips to that city.
They travelled in cabins, in third class, on deck
As Captain Kristis Asimenos and former director of operations of the Cyprus Ports Authority told "F", the routes to Piraeus have always passed through another port. "Depending on the company. Some ships were going from Rhodes, others from Heraklion in Crete, others were returning from Tinos". The trip, he says, lasted a total of 36 hours. "You wanted a day and a half to Piraeus, as you were travelling at 15 miles/ per hour."
Intermediate ports, he clarifies, were chosen as they attracted many passengers. "They functioned as a tourist destination. People would take their double cabs (their car) and go around Rhodes". The first ship to operate such a route, he notes, was the Sol Phryne. "This was also travelled by several students and people who wanted to emigrate."
One of the routes, he recalls, started on Saturday from Limassol and reached the port of Haifa, Israel. "It would return to Limassol on Monday morning loaded with other pilgrims and excursionists, with perishable goods and other goods. On the same day it was departing, on Tuesday it was in Rhodes and on Wednesday in Piraeus".
Depending on the traveller's financial capacity, a different cabin was chosen. "There were also those who travelled on the deck and slept in dining rooms, smokehouses and chairs. Later, when several ships came in and there was competition, the less wealthy instead of deck went to a third place - the cabins. In the cabins, that is, that were low below the surface of the sea." However, he underlines, there was a time around the 1980s when there were eight passenger ships in the port of Limassol on Saturday that were coming and going to Piraeus and other destinations, not counting cruise ships. At the same time, he mentions that Limassol in the late 1990s was the first port in Europe on cruise ships.
People knew each other, made friends, played cards and had a good time, he said and added that there were no shortage of contingencies. "I will not forget on a trip of Sol Georgios, I was then working at the port, a pregnant woman gave birth on the route from Limassol to Beirut. The ship continued the journey because it was halfway through. Even Captain Kleanthis helped with the delivery!''
