Megali Chora, Aitoloakarnania

Megali Chora (Μεγάλη Χώρα) Aitoloakarnania

Megali Chora is a lowland village of the Regional Unit of Aitoloakarnania with an altitude of 60 meters [1].

Geography - History

Megali Chora is located southeast of the artificial lake of Stratos in the plain of Agrinio. It is built at a distance of 5.5 km NW. from the city center, between Agios Konstantinos (SE), Triantaika (NE) and Neapoli (North-West). Next to the village and at its northwestern end passes the EO Agrinio - Arta. To the east and to the settlement of Diamantaika, to the right and left of the EO, after excavations by archaeologist Ioannis Miliadis in the period 1927 to 1928, the ruins of a fortified city were found, which is identified with the ancient Agrinio [2]. The excavations were funded in half by the municipality of Agrinio and in the second half by the tobacco company Afon Papastratou. The area has been declared an archeological site since 1992. [4] Its old name, from the Turkish occupation, is Zapandi [5] and from the 16th to the 19th century it was a large town in the area famous for its tobacco, whose cultivation was the main economic activity of its inhabitants until the 1990s. 2000. According to local tradition, unlike Vrachori (Agrinio) it was characterized as a "Hellenistic" village because it was created by Islamized local Greeks who sided with the group of the Muslim settler, Eunuch Musa Musa Aga. From this period, the early Christian royal church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary has been preserved, which since 1925 has been declared an ancient monument. It dates from the 4th to the 6th century, is considered the oldest Christian monument in the area and is believed to have been painted throughout the 16th century when the Muslim Zapand was in full swing. An important attraction is the minaret of an old mosque.
Administratively

Megali Chora is mentioned as a settlement in 1835 in the Government Gazette 19A - 07/12/1835 with the name Zapanti attached to the municipality of Agrinio and in 1923 in the Government Gazette 49A - 14/02/1923 to be designated seat of the homonymous newly established community. In 1927 with the Government Gazette 206A - 28/09/1927 it was renamed Megali Chora [8]. According to the Kallikratis program, it is the local community of Megali Chora that belongs to the municipal unit of Neapolis of the Municipality of Agrinio and according to the 2011 census it has a population of 1,408 inhabitants. [9]

External links

"Zapant, the Great Land of Silence" - Vervenioti Tasoula from the website of the newspaper I Nea Epochi
Megali Chora Agriniou-Zapanti at https://www.youtube.com
Vasiliki Megali Chora Agrinio (Zapanti) from the website http://aitoloakarnania.checkwest.gr
The minaret from an old mosque - Megali Chora of Agrinio at https://www.youtube.com

References

Encyclopedia Nea Domi. Athens: Tegopoulos - Maniateas. 1996. p. 263, vol.21.
"Electronic Navigation of Monuments of Etoloakarnania and Achaia - Spaces". monuments.hpclab.ceid.upatras.gr. Retrieved September 15, 2019.
iAitoloakarnania.gr (February 21, 2018). "Diamantaika Agriniou: A picturesque settlement in the" shadow "of the big city". iAitoloakarnania. Retrieved September 15, 2019.
"DIARKIS CATALOG OF CIRCULAR ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES AND MEMORIES". listedmonuments.culture.gr. Retrieved September 15, 2019.
"Receiver: Zapanti - Megali Chora". pandektis.ekt.gr. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
iAitoloakarnania.gr (December 18, 2017). "Megali Chora or Zapanti: A historic village a" breath "from Agrinio". iAitoloakarnania. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
"DIARKIS CATALOG OF CIRCULAR ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES AND MEMORIES". listedmonuments.culture.gr. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
"EETAA-Hellenic Society of Local Development and Local Government SA". www.eetaa.gr. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
"Official Gazette of the results of the ONLY census 2011", p. 10710 (p. 236 of pdf)

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