Athens, Evzone Guards

This is a snapshot from our moving RV (note the rear-view mirror), that shows the Evzone Guards in downtown Athens. Don’t remember the day of the week, but it didn’t seem to be any special ceremony, like an official changing of the guard, maybe they were just going from one place to another. The guards are wearing their traditional white and black kilts, red and black caps, and red clogs with pom-poms.

The uniforms are hand-made by people skilled in hand-embroidery and machine-sewing. The uniform takes up to one month to sew. The skirt has 400 pleats to represent the 400 years of Ottoman domination. The ‘tsarouhi’ shoes are handmade, and has sixty nail studs, so they don’t slip as they march.

Later we were told that the pom-poms, on the toe of the shoes, were originally a large cloth that would drag on the ground, and smooth over foot prints as they walked, so the enemy could not tell how many men there were, or in which direction they were going. We have tried many different sources, but have not been able to validate that story.