Koresteia: The adobe villages
A visit to Koresteia is an experience you should not miss. The so-called “adobe villages”, with their distinctive red-hued houses and unique architecture, create a truly cinematic setting that feels frozen in time. It is no coincidence that Theodoros Angelopoulos filmed scenes from The Suspended Step of the Stork here, nor that television productions chose the area as the ideal location to bring the life of Saint Paisios back to the small screen. The “adobe villages” of Kastoria were built using materials drawn directly from the land itself: soil, water, and straw. Adobe bricks made of mud and red soil, shaped by hand and dried in the sun, are combined with stone foundations and roofs of wood, reeds, and tiles. The houses are oriented southwards, making use of sunlight for warmth in winter and ensuring coolness in summer, while their northern walls are left without openings to protect against the cold. It feels like witnessing an early form of bioclimatic architecture, born out of necessity and practical experience. Today, the villages stand silent and weathered, bearing visible traces of time and abandonment. Yet their eerie atmosphere and the reddish tones that emerge among the walnut trees are enough to leave you spellbound.
