Seych Sou

The Seych Sou or Kedrinos Lofos ( Greek Σέιχ Σου, Κεδρηνός λόφος ) is a peri-urban forest of Thessaloniki , which is located at the south and south-western slopes of Chortiatis until after Eptapyrgio (Επταπύργιο (Θεσσαλονίκη)) - Asvestochori extends (Ασβεστοχώρι). It forms the “ green lung ” of the city and serves as a local recreation area.

Surname

The name means "water of the Sheikh" (νερό του Σεΐχη) and comes from the source that rises near a Muslim tomb ( Türbe , Greek Τουρμπές ), the remains of which are still in the Chilia Dentra area (Χίλια Δέντρα). The name Kedrinos Lofos (Kedrinos Hill) was given to the forest in honor of the Byzantine historian Georgios Kedrenos ( Greek Γεώργιος Κεδρηνός ), who had described the then dense forest, after a proposal by the Thessalonian poet Georgios Vafopoulos to the city council.

history

In the 18th and 19th centuries, the area was originally an oak forest . Later the forest was gradually cleared and only reforested from 1929 under the direction of P. Kontos (Π. Kοντός) and Ch. Georgopoulos (X. Γεωργόπουλος). Over 5 million trees were planted over a period of 60 years.

In the 1960s, the area was the site of several crimes, including two murder attacks linked to Aristides Pagratides . Even the executed death penalty did not let suspicion of his innocence rest for a long time.

On Sunday, July 6, 1997 at 3:35 pm, the fire department received a call about a fire breaking out at Seych Sou. This forest fire led to the largest disaster in Seych Sou to date, with the destruction of 1664 hectares (out of a total of 2979 hectares) of forest, about 56% of the total area.

Panoramic view of Thessaloniki from the Kranos (Κράνος) of the Seych Sou

flora

In the Seych Sou, 277 plant species were counted in inventories, including protected species such as Chelidonochorto ( Digitalis lanata ; χελιδονόχορτο). Most of the forest, around 75% of the area, consists of pine trees today . There are also significant stocks of cypress trees (Κυπαρίσσι). In the northern and northeastern parts there are even larger stocks of Kermes oak (Πουρνάρι) and plane trees thrive along the streams .

Web links

• Homepage of the Organization for Planning and Environmental Protection of Thessaloniki (Οργανισμού Ρυθμιστικού Σχεδίου και Προστασίας Περιβάλλοντος Θεσσαλονίκης).
• Hellenic Resources Network-hri.org, information from newspapers and other sources on the 1997 fire
• Forest administration homepage

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Treatise on Seych Sou , at the University of Thessaloniki (Greek)
2. ↑ Article about the forest , on dasarxeio.com (Greek)
3. ↑ Interview of the then director of civil protection in the Central Macedonia region
4. ↑ Χλωρίδα-Βλάστηση (flora and vegetation - Greek) . ΟΡΘΕ. Archived from the original on November 13, 2010. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved May 13, 2015. 

Coordinates: 40 ° 37 ′ 30.4 ″  N , 23 ° 0 ′ 35.3 ″  E