“I survived El Alamein, I will not get it from a virus”

Triple shift It was worth it with the above. Even four and five. As much as … The first happened one night. Then I was forced to shake the universe to find his mobile phone number. I finally found it. I finally fell from block to block. I finally gave up. And finally I discovered that it is constant. So accidental From the legendary Matoula Koutropoulou. Kolonaki’s be fine with this wild female

… And so, on the other hand, I heard his hoarse but crystal clear voice: “I have thrown away my cell phone, I’m not in technology“I have nothing to do with it.” And then he asked me one more time, “Who are you?” I told. “It just came to our notice then Danish name. But now I can’t, take it tomorrow morning. “

I took it back. This time he was more responsive. But again in a hurry: “I have to go to the bank. Better come and tell us closely. Come to Faliro. ”

I explained that it is better to avoid live contacts. Both for him and for me. “It just caught our eye then. I ran away from the crown.

However, I have complied with all measures. I wash, I soap, I keep my distance. What do you want now? Do we talk on the phone? But my story is long. “

Its history is long. The events of his life are great and endless. Your resume is great. And his memories, since the complete list of acquaintances, erotic, friendly and cosmopolitan, does not fit in the entire newspaper. Not even in the next genre next Sunday.
THE Zachos Hadjifotiou, the living legend. One of the few. Perhaps unique. If I were a British citizen, I would have been honored lord and knight title. From the hand of Queen Elizabeth. He is the biggest. For three years. Zachos Hadjifotiou, the epitome of the aristocracy, bon viveur (in English) or bon vivant (in French). The party in modern Greek. Of pleasures. Of emotions La dolce vita. Too bad Federico Fellini had not met him. Three years older than Zahos.

Zachos Hadjifotiou, Great and unstoppable conqueror of the heart. Lover of beauty. Of elegance. Tasteful. And a unique and fanatical patron of secular life. Not only in Athens, but in all lengths and widths from all the legendary corners of Europe.

There was no party for party, reception for reception, living room for living room, bar-restaurant that not have Zachos Hadjifotiou as an honest person. His name, synonymous with what is necessary, the must. Without Zahou, it will rain a lot. The ladies of every good society laughed. The knights looked at him with a look of envy and jealousy. All the seamstresses bowed to her elegant and rich wardrobe. The paparazzi adored it. Newspapers, as well as magazines, required his signature.

Zachos Hadjifotiou, the called “Iachos”. The famous and popular signature of the “Postman”. Even today, every Saturday in “Estia”. All the secular columns, all these popular side pages have a name, mainly a patronymic of origin: Zachos Hadjifotiou. With a colossal difference from the corresponding secular columns of yesterday and today. Zachos knew this first hand. He was the protagonist of every great company. Sometimes real. Sometimes imperial. Many times the center of interest alive. Zachos played a game. Zachos, the informant. That Could I tell you ni and sigma what exactly is going on in his villa and in the poor lady’s bed?. Zachos knew that. And when we say everything, we mean everything! From the front in El Alamein and Rimini to the Civil War against the communists. From politics, chimneys and where everyone’s hats go to the shrines of the shrines. He enriched all of this and then wrote it. Not all of those. Because even if you open your mouth, all the secrets, sins, vices and many other spicy and delicious things could be transferred as theatrical boulevards, but also as film comedies.

From Syros and Plaka to El Alamein

According to his richest biography, the family roots of Psara, where in 1824 they escaped. Then they took refuge in Syros and finally settled in Plaka, where Zachos emerged on September 28, 1923. From school to school because he is rebellious, until he was 17 years old, when he received a diploma from Experimental High School. With only 17 escapes, with the help of the British, in Egypt, he enlisted and ended on the fronts of El Alamein, Rimini and elsewhere. With medals He then arrives, with his brigade, at the “December” war zone for the expulsion of a small EAM pocket in Ardittos. No casualties. Then in his father’s business, the textile industry and trade. Then in the publications. Then “Postman” and “Kathimerini” under the pseudonym “Iachos”. And then, the most popular TV show “Five Minutes of Zachos Hadjifotiou”. Meanwhile, a lot of incidents, moments, names. Acquaintances, marriages, loves, divorces, separations, etc. Any cosmic stone you collected at that time would fall on its name.

“Iachos, the secretary of the god Dionysus”!

– How do you feel now in the crown era? “It just caught our eye then. At this age I am not afraid of it. However, I take my own measures. I wash, I wash, I keep my distance.”

– They say that now, due to the impending tourist absence, Mykonos will return to the era of Zachos Hadjifotios. “I bought three houses there, which they then forced me to sell.”

– In everyone’s consciousness, it seems that you have discovered Mykonos. Something like Christopher Columbus of Mykonos … “I don’t know if I found out, but I have to tell you that I visited the island for the first time when I was 17. Shortly before the war. It was the summer of ’40 and together with beautiful girls from Kifissia we met in Mykonos.”

– What pretty girls? “Eleni Vlachou, Melina Mercouri, Lola and others”.

– And how did you come to choose Mykonos? “A mutual friend, Eleni Tzavela, a pianist, had preceded us. She spoke in the best words. Even in winter it was paradise.”

– In recent years you have avoided going to Mykonos. “Of course. In recent years the island has mutated. It is unrecognizable. That was the time for good company. Now there are riots, murders, there are drugs and I don’t know what else. When we went, the island had no electricity. Only light bulbs And only someone who had bought generators. Then, imagine, when we saw boats and parents with children and wagons arriving from the boat, we would go and chase them away, saying, “This place is not for you, so it is better to go to Aegina.” .

Before I could ask him, he told me. “And these beautiful girls were studying. I have been going to Mykonos for 40 years. Standing there, and not just in summers. But for the last 15 years I have been avoiding visiting her. Now in Mykonos they don’t speak Greek. Now my friends are also dead. “

– From a very young age on the front line of World War II. “I must tell you that I am not hitting, I went and I am kind. So I was a young man of my time. But it was not just secular. I spent eight months in Egypt, participating in Tobruk, El Alamein, Rimini. As soon as the war broke out, I went to Turkey, and from there the British took me and transported me to Egypt. I was only 17 years old. “

The five important dolls

– Many women in your life. “Married five times”.

– Five? But how; The Church does not allow it. “Three religious and two political marriages. When the law allowing civil marriage was passed. In addition, I was elected five times as a municipal councilor in the municipality of Athens and for a decade I was a deputy mayor.”

– Do you remind me of weddings? “The first in the war, when I was very young, with Simon de Graz, the general’s daughter. From whom I soon divorced. I was also married to Princess Irina of Romania.”

In turn, the five crowns of Zaho are: first, Simone de Grez. Danae Sossidi from the Kyros family of “Estia” continues as the second. Then Irene from Romania but a French citizen, working for Dior. The fourth crown with Jenny Karezi. The guests are said to have been about five hundred, but in the ceremony and its surroundings, about five thousand arrived and were filled. The 1962 event. Fifth and final is Katerina Papadimitriou, former Miss Hellas, with a wedding ceremony and reception in Mykonos.

– Which of all these girlfriends is the most important? Who completely conquered your heart? “Everything was important. Each with their own gifts.”

– And Jenny Karezi? How long together “I think four years” (the biography mentions about two, from 1962 to 1964).

– How was Jenny Karezi? “Jenny at the theater and the movies and another at home. Exemplary wife. She was cooking.”

Many conquests out of wedlock

– Only five women in your life? “It just caught our eye then. There were many, many that I didn’t marry.”

– So many; Can you tell me some of them? “It just came to our attention then. However, there were many. I had a marital relationship. When I was free and available. Of course I had relationships with women, what would I have with men? Don’t even think about it. But why You just ask me about my love life? Don’t you know how I wrote 34 books? How I discovered “Postman”, how I wrote a column with the nickname “Iachos”, how I was also the director of “Postman” during the time of Christos Lambrakis, How did I collaborate with “Kathimerini”? Imagine Lambrakis saying he became a millionaire working with me. Even photographer Lakis Giakoumis, who took photos for my column, managed to collect 6,000 drachmas for each photo. That’s 60,000 a week, since at least ten photo snapshots were published in the column. “

Before I could open my mouth, I heard him say. “At the meeting, that rude, bald and ignorant meeting, look at what they call it, that, with the butts.”

– Who are you talking about, Ioannidis? “No, the other bald man.”

– Stylianos Pattakos? “He. Pattakos arrested me and I found him in his office because I was one of the three who helped Eleni Vlachou escape from Athens to London.”

“I was rich and correct”

– Mainly you were dating rightists. “But I was rich and correct. Not like others who represent the poor and the left.”

Somewhere there, he quickly said goodbye to me: “I have to go to the bank. Take it at eight o’clock at night, when I’ll be back for the ophthalmologist. “

The third and last dose the same night at eight. “It just caught our eye then. Tell me.”

– I have a question. Why so many weddings? Weren’t one, two, even three enough? “The weird thing about me was that everyone wanted to marry me. And it’s weird because I was not the best child nor so open. I’m not saying. Always with my gifts. But not to waste. The first marriage when I was only 18 years old and the last, the fifth, with Katerina Papadimitriou in Mykonos about 25 years ago. “

– You also have a daughter, the only son you have had after so many marriages. “Yes, Manita, whom I made with Danae Kyrou, then Sosidis. After my divorce from Danae, Manita left with her mother and settled in Argentina with her next husband, Sossidis. I had been seeing her for two years. I have acquired Manita’s grandchildren and great-grandchildren. “

– What is the difference in the relationships between yours and the current one? “It just caught our eye then. As easily as divorces. I remember when I got divorced, my priest used to say, ‘You again, my child?’

– And your own divorces? “I was always married at the height of my love. At its peak. And when love ended, it always ends one day, then I left. When many” clouds “begin to accumulate. What can I do to sit down? Should I help my wife in the kitchen, cooking and cleaning?

– And with Jenny Karezi, what exactly happened? “Jenny and I broke up because we hardly saw each other.” Their hours are different, mine is different. When I got home to sleep, she got up to go to the movies in the morning. We lived in the same house but we were not there. We were just in the hallway. “

– Always for love? “Always. I loved all the ones I have. Always for love, not for money. I had girlfriends from the richest families in Europe. Among them is the princess of Spain. More from England and France, less from Greece. And always nice Well proportioned. Let’s say Danae was so beautiful that the then Prime Minister Spyros Markezinis sent her to New York with three other people, as beautiful as Diki Simonou, to parade with many supporters for the anniversary of March 25. “

Karamanlis and the tailor in Milan

– You are considered one of the few elegantly dressed Greeks. “Since I was a child, I learned how to dress very well. After all, my father was very wealthy. From 1908 he kept warehouses for fabric wholesaler. One of his warehouses was near Kapnikarea. We had the fabrics in the house. Tailor does not cost anything, then, to understand, the poor “returned” his suit to make it look new.

– Were the suits made by a specific tailor? “Many years ago I was designed in Milan by a great tailor, to see what they called it, I forget it now. Even Konstantinos Karamanlis sewed their suits there. It was sent and recommended by Nasos Botsis from” Apogevmatini “. Later I bought suits, tuxedos and jackets from large boutiques abroad. One of the privileges of people who had money and could travel to Europe. “

– And your glasses with this iconic large frame, are they from Yves Saint Laurent? “No, but they get these skeletons from France.”

– What has haunted you after so many years and so many endless experiences? “The danger! The danger in war, when you see the enemy coming at you with a naked swordsman. Even now I have a sign of pneumonia, when I fell I fell on the wet sand.”

– The war, then, when you were so young. “Not even 20. One of the first to enter Rimini. In my house I have a large sign that refers to the Rimini tradition of the mayor of the city. How many were we? Not even 15 soldiers. I think 12. And I say many We are the first What should I remember first? The German-born snipers who managed to kill ants from a thousand meters? The war. This has been etched in my memory. The brigades were made up of children, islanders, Chios, Lesbos and Samos. These are not forgotten. I have written them in two or three of my books. In one of them, entitled “Caminos de guerra. I no longer think it is printed. Many are looking for it, but cannot find it.”

– And apart from the war, emotions? “The relationship with my grandchildren and great-grandchildren”.

Before I can ask him, I hear him talk about politics, leftists, and communists. “In 2000, I was forced to sell five houses, three of them in Mykonos and one in Kifissia. What can I do; should I let those who ruled us eat them? The left, the communists?

– The Communist Costas Simitis? Sounds outrageous. I go down and do you mean in 2015 with Alexis Tsipras as Prime Minister? “No, I mean in 2000. What Tsipras, the one who hasn’t even baptized his children?”

– So, you’re talking about the Costas Simitis period. “It just caught our eye then. Simitis is a leftist, not a communist. I wasn’t going to give it to these thieves. At the time, I was imprisoned in the movements in the Middle East. And then when Greece was fighting the Germans, those leftists and communists revolted. “

– What is your opinion on Kyriakos? “I have known him since he was a baby. I was a friend of the Mitsotakis family. His father was a boy. The only one of the politicians who fought against the Germans. He was imprisoned and sentenced to death. Leave Marika, the poor woman who sick “.

We would have dissolved

– And Kyriakos? “If it wasn’t for Kyriakos, now we would have broken up with the Koronians. Kyriakos is a national hero. Does he manage to sleep? Nah! And at one in the morning he is talking somewhere, he is doing something. Greece is without him . Νεκροταφείο κανονικό. Ο Κυριάκος είναι κανόνι ».

Κάπου εκεί η κουβέντα είχε εξαντληθεί. Και μου είπε: “Εχεις μπόλικο υλικό, τι άλλο θέλεις;”. Μετά σταμάτησε για κλάσματα δευτερολέπτου και με ρώτησε: «Μπας και είσαι αριστερός; Κομμουνιστής; ». Αμέσως τον καθησύχασα: «Μην ανησυχείτε, δεν πρόκειται να αλλάξω τίποτα απ ‘όσα μου έχετε πει. Θα τηρήσω τα λόγια σας με ακρίβεια ».

Ηταν περίπου 10 το βράδυ. Επρεπε να βάλει κάτι στο στομάχι του για βραδινό. Και έπρεπε να πέσει στο κρεβάτι. Η ζωή του ωκεανός από εμπειρίες. Εγώ απλώς βούτηξα και μερικές σταγόνες γεύτηκα. Διαφωνείς – συμφωνείς, ο Ζάχος μια κατηγορία από μόνος του. Και το είδος του έχει κλείσει τον κύκλο του. Οριστικά και αμετάκλητα!

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