Zarko (Greek: Ζάρκο, also: ''Zarkos'') is a village in the
Farkadona municipality,
Trikala regional unit,
Greece. Zarko had a population of 1,247 in 2011. Zarko is located on the edge of the
Thessalian Plain, 5 km east of Farkadona proper, and 25 km west of
Larissa
Larissa (; el, Λάρισα, , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 144,651 according to the 2011 census. It is also capital of the Larissa regiona ...
.
Population
History
Zarko's initial name was ''Fayttos'' (Φαϋττός), however still it is not clear at which exactly point the name changed to ''Zarko''. The name Fayttos reflects the ancient town of
Phayttos that was located within the bounds of the town. There is also much speculation regarding the source of the name Zarko. Some people say that many
roe deer (zarkadia, Greek: ζαρκάδια) used to live around the area, while others believe that this is actually the name (Zarko) of a
Serbian leader who ruled the area in the 14th century.
The fact is that it all started thousands of years ago as
archaeological
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
excavations in the wider area brought up buildings of a prehistoric settlement, probably of around 6500-5800 BC.
During the Turkish occupation years Zarko was one of the main centres of the wider
Thessaly area. It had more than 5000 inhabitants and there was a
Greek, a
Turkish
Turkish may refer to:
*a Turkic language spoken by the Turks
* of or about Turkey
** Turkish language
*** Turkish alphabet
** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
*** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey
*** Turkish communities and mi ...
and a
Jewish area. Zarko's people were mainly working in the fields producing cotton and they were quite capable of producing fabrics of the highest quality; in the late 19th century the 'Zarkina pania' (cotton fabrics of Zarko) were well known in the area.
Along with most of
Thessaly, Zarko
joined Greece in 1881. Nowadays you can still see the Turkish and the Greek forts that were built in the 19th century in order to define the borders between the two countries.
In the mid 1950s Zarko was the very first village in the area to start modernising the traditional way of
agriculture. It introduced the first ‘fabric made water-pipes’ that were used in order to water the cotton fields, as well as bringing in the area the first
tractors.
A special note needs to be done regarding the 12th century St. John’s
monastery which is located around 2 kilometres north of Zarkos. Deserted for many years it is now reconstructed and occupied with nuns.
External links
Zarko or Zarkos on GTP Travel Pages
See also
*
List of settlements in the Trikala regional unit
References
{{Farkadona
Populated places in Trikala (regional unit)