Ladies & Gentlemen tomorrow i am starting my 3 weeks vacations, according to the schedule i will travel in two islands and maybe a third. With the grace of God when i return i will post many pipe smoking photos from each Cafe i will visit. I will be out of internet [forum] in purpose, greetings to all of you, best regards from Athens-Greece!
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If the admins find this inappropriate can delete the below additional post:
Today we have 16th of July here but i will tell you a story for Demetres Gogolakes also known as Captain Metrouses which died in 14th of July of 1907. Was a man which fought with bravery against the bulgarians komitadżi [those felons were like the members of the today's Isis] of IMRO-VMRO which committed atrocities to the Greeks of Macedonia under the full support and coverage from turks. At 1st of September 1906 when was working in the fields the bulgarians sneaky killed his wife and his only child inside his house to make him stop but this make him more angry and ferocious! He and his team pursued those assassins and manage to kill on of them plus other 30 bulgarians and later in 13th of July 1907 returned to Macedonia to find the leader of that gang. His name caused terror to the bulgarians that's why when they were hearing that is close to them they were calling the turks to protect them so when they heard that he is back and was inside a priests house run like cowards and called the whole turkish guard of the Serres plus 500 militia members to fight his team. The turkish Constables surround the neighbourhood and call him to surrender, Metrousis opened the door from the priest house to lure them and the stupid Chief of turkish Constable entered to arrest him but he died by the hands of captain Metrousis. Immediately the fight began and the turks set fires around the house to make him come out, captain Metrousis and his 4 member team manage to escape and entered in a church close to the priest's house. 3 Greeks took place in the Church's precinct and Metrousis with his nephew stand in the bell tower, the Greeks had no reserves, no extra ammo, no water or food but they kept defence for 5 hours against 500 turks plus the Constables. Each shot from the Greeks were well paced so each time a turk was killed or heavy injured but after 5 hours with no support or medical care and under heavy firing start to have casualties. The 3 Greeks in the front of the church wounded heavily and couldn't shoot, they collapsed so the turks manage to snatch them and after extensive torturing they hang them, the last 2 Greek were keep fighting like the Spartans in Thermopylae, desperate but determined to kill as many turks they could without any though of surrender! Captain Metrousis was kept a bullet in his side, was for him so the turks won't capture him alive but when after more than 5 hours of fire fight his nephew wounded so bad that asked from Metrousis to shoot him so the turks won't take him alive. Metrousis did it and immediately pull his knife and committed suicide [like the Harakiri] since he had no ammo to shoot the enemy and collapsed beside to his nephew. The turks waited for long time and when they saw that no one was shooting at them they came out from their barricades and climb up to the tower to find the Greek to punished them but they find only dead bodies...
https://youtu.be/aQ43IatgE40
Tonight i will raise my glass with red wine and my pipe in the memory of those 5 Greek heroes which died to liberate the Macedonia from bulgarians and turks. Few years later at 1912 and 1913 the Greeks after 2 Wars clear the area from those invaders and send them to Hell, one of those Greeks which fought in both of these liberate Wars was my grandfather.
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