Dirahi

Dirahi, also Dyrrachio or Dyrrahio "(Greek: Δυρράχι)", is a village in the west-central part of Arcadia prefecture in Greece. Dyrrachio had a population of 299 in 2001. Agriakona is also connected with the road linking the GR-7/E65 (Corinth - Tripoli - Kalamata) 10 km north along with the highway and the town. It is situated at an altitude of 800 meters (2,500 ft) on Taygetos in the Arcadia prefecture of the Peloponnese. It is about 40 km NW of Sparta, 30 km S of Megalopoli and 40 km NE of the town of Kalamata. Its population in 2001 was 167.

Nearest places

*Kato Gianeioi, north
*Pellana?, east
*Leptini, northwest

Geography

Dyrrachi is situated in a valley area, the mountains are to the east and west. The road linking Leontari and Dyrrachi is to the north. Farmlands are within the village area and the mountains are also around the area.

Population

History

The village used to have a large population before the beginning of the 20th century. After World War II and the Greek Civil War, the population began to decline as residents moved to larger towns and cities and outside of Greece. The population lost since that time, the population lost by half between 1981 and 1991 but it regained between 1991 and 2001. The fire ravaged most of Dyrrachio on Tuesday August 27, 2007, advancing slowly and burning much of the area, including undergrowth and trees; most of the residents remained behind. Windspeeds were high and temperatures were around 40°C at the time. Firefighters, along with the town's residents, choppers and airplanes put out the blaze. The blaze did not spread east into Pellana and into the Laconia-Messinia prefectural boundary, as the fire was put out before it reached these limits.

Information

Its main industry is agriculture. Its main products are olives, citrus and other fruits, vegetables and other crops.

Dyrrachio has several rural roads and approximately 6 km of hydro lines and roads; it also has approximately 8 to 10 km of rural roads.

Its residential houses and buildings are on the main road, the town being about 200 to 300 m wide at its centre. Many of the houses were stone built until the 1970s. Electricity arrived in the same year. Vehicles arrived in the 1970s, and paving of the main road and television arrived in the 1980s. However, computers and connection to the Internet are rare even at the beginning of the 21st century. The monthly or bimonthly circular that serves the village and the Dyrrachio environs is the [http://www.dyrrachitikanea.gr Dyrrachitika Nea] (Δυρραχίτικα Νέα)

Panorama

The village offers panoramic views of the mountains around the area including the west, the north, the east, Tsiberou to the southeast and to the south.

Other

Dyrrachio has a school, a church, and a square ("plateia"), its nearest lyceum (middle school) and gymnasium (secondary school) are in Asea.

ee also

*List of settlements in the Arcadia prefecture

External links

*http://www.dyrrachitikanea.gr - Newspaper's website
* [http://arcadia.ceid.upatras.gr/arkadia/places/dyrrahio.htm History and Information about Dyrrachio]
* [http://www.gtp.gr/LocPage.asp?id=8882 Dyrrachi on the GTP Travel Pages]
*Map and Aerial Photos:
**Street Map Information: [http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?latlongtype=decimal&latitude=37.2925&longitude=22.2062&zoom=6 Mapquest] , [http://local.live.com/map.aspx?&lats1=37.2925&longs=22.2062&alts1=35 LiveLocal] , [http://maps.google.com/maps?||=37.2925,22.2062 Google] or [http://maps.yahoo.com/maps_result?lat=37.2925&lon=22.2062&mag=2 Yahoo! Maps]
**Satellite
http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=37.2925,22.2062&spn=0.11,0.18&t=k Google] or [http://virtualearth.msn.com/default.aspx?cp=37.2925|22.2062&style=h&lvl=15&v=1 Microsoft Virtual Earth]
*Coordinates: coord|37|11|26|N|22|12|21|E|type:city_(299)_region:GR