{"id":2549,"date":"2025-01-02T10:51:15","date_gmt":"2025-01-02T08:51:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pelionnaturalsoap.gr\/our-story\/"},"modified":"2025-01-22T16:31:38","modified_gmt":"2025-01-22T14:31:38","slug":"our-history","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/pelionnaturalsoap.gr\/en\/our-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Our History"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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The Family History of Nikolaos Dovas<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Life Journey from Greece to Egypt and the Return to Greece<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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1890<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Our family story, which began with our involvement in hospitality and tourism and later evolved into soap making, traces its roots back to Alexandria and Marsa Matruh in Egypt and extends to the present day in Greece, in Platanias of South Pelion. It all started around 1890 when our great-grandfather Nikolaos Dovas, after the Pelion uprising against the Ottomans, left his hometown Argalasti of Pelion at a very young age along with other young men for Egypt in search of work, hoping for a better and safer life.<\/p>\n

In Egypt, Greeks thrived, and through their hard work and perseverance, they built admirable living conditions and remarkable achievements that people still aspire to today. Their entrepreneurial spirit focused on making the most of Egypt\u2019s prime regions and products, both inland and along its Mediterranean coastline.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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1895<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Thus, after our ancestors settled in Alexandria, finding security within the strong Greek community and the spiritual warmth of the Patriarchate of Alexandria, they took root and prospered, working in various occupations. From there, our grandfather Nikos Dovas, along with our grandmother Victoria, moved with their family to Marsa Matruh, the ancient Ammonia. They had two children: our father, Giannis, and our aunt, Aikaterini. The name “Ammonia” comes from Ammon-Ra (Ammon-Zeus for the Greeks).<\/p>\n

Marsa Matruh was, at that time, the most beautiful tourist resort and the safest natural harbor. It was called the “Egyptian Riviera” and was considered the “pearl of the Mediterranean.” After 1930, many Greek hotels began to be built there, serving the elite tourists of northern Egypt until around 1960-65. It is no coincidence that the famous Queen of Egypt, Cleopatra III (160-101 BC), chose this place for her renowned sea baths, and German General Rommel later set up his headquarters and hideout there due to its strategic location. Marsa Matruh was 300 km from Alexandria and only a 1.5-hour drive from the famous Siwa Oasis.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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1947<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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In that enchanting bay of Marsa Matruh, the Dovas family decided to lay the foundations and build a beautiful seaside hotel, the HOTEL ZEPHIR, after World War II.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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1950-1965<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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In Marsa Matruh, this small town, the art of soap making also flourished, with the most renowned factory being \u201cThe Sahara Soap Factory,\u201d which supplied all of northern Egypt with soaps. Grandmother Victoria worked at this factory, and later, after mastering the craft, she began making soap at her hotel. She produced two types of soap: hot process soap and cold process soap. The hot process soap was made from leftover oils and cooking oils from the hotel\u2019s kitchen and was used for cleaning the kitchen and washing the hotel linens. Essentially, she practiced what we would now call recycling of waste. For her time, our grandmother showed remarkable ecological awareness and sensitivity toward the environment.<\/p>\n

The cold process soap was made from pure oils, mainly olive oil, palm oil, and coconut oil for natural lather, and it was used by her family for personal hygiene and by the hotel guests. All the expertise our grandmother gained in the craft of soap making, she brought back to Greece and passed on to us, forming the foundation of our soap production.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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1960<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Unfortunately, with the rise of socialism and the ascent of President Nasser in Egypt, the prosperous era of the Greek diaspora in Egypt began to decline due to the forced and violent nationalization of Greek-owned properties. In 1960, a few years before the family returned to Greece, Giannis Dovas and Evanthia Dovas had twin children, Nikos and Vasiliki.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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1965<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Finally, in 1965, they made the decision to leave. The most vibrant and economically thriving segment of the Greek diaspora was lost. Some returned to their homeland, Greece, while others emigrated to northern Europe, Australia, America, South Africa, and elsewhere across the globe. The conditions for settling in Greece were extremely difficult, as people had to start from scratch to build a new life. Abandoned by everyone, especially by the Greek government, and left to God’s mercy, they struggled with their own strength and cleverness to preserve whatever they had left.<\/p>\n

Our grandmother Victoria Dova would hide 2-3 gold coins inside the soap bars she made or in fried meatballs, without anyone in the family knowing. At that time, smuggling gold, valuables, and foreign currency was severely punished. The ships carrying the Greek diaspora from Egypt would unload at the port of Piraeus, where people would often remain for days, homeless at first, until someone they knew could host them.<\/p>\n

Eventually, with God’s help, our family settled in Platanias, South Pelion, where our mother Evanthia Dova\u2019s family originated from.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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1966<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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There, our father Giannis Dovas, together with our mother Evanthia, built the first tourist guesthouse in South Pelion in 1965-66, under the name “Villa of Roses,” laying the foundation for the tourism development of the entire region. This hotel experienced moments of glory and continues its creative and prosperous journey as the “Hotel of Roses,” managed by the owner Nikos Dovas, along with his wife Gianna Vasdeki-Dova and their children, Giannis and Thomas.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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1993-2025<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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We, the third generation of the family, have been continuing the art of hospitality at our hotel since 1993. We have organized a delicious and healthy cuisine, using mainly local and fresh products, while reviving old local recipes to create a unique culinary experience. At the same time, we offer a fascinating ecotourism program for our guests with remarkable activities. These include nature walks, hiking trips, and visits to historical and archaeological sites, as well as showcasing natural resources such as the thermal springs, the mythical caves of Thetis, and the process of making our natural handmade organic soap, Pelion Natural Soap.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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OUR JOURNEY INTO SOAP MAKING<\/i><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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This final activity, the soap-making craft we inherited from our grandmother Victoria in Egypt and later in Greece, has evolved into a new professional venture under the name Pelion Natural Soap. We produce natural handmade soap certified as an organic product \u2013 cosmetic (eco-bio cosmetic).<\/p>\n

Our soaps are made using the cold saponification process, a method that surpasses the hot process with proven advantages.<\/p>\n

With the cold process, the glycerin and water produced during saponification are retained, not removed, making them the ideal moisturizing elements for the skin. Combined with superfatted organic olive oil of the highest quality and natural extracts from medicinal aromatic plants and herbs<\/b> such as chamomile, laurel oil, rosemary, lavender, myrrh, rose, nourishing goat milk, and divine donkey milk, they create exceptional products for the modern, stressed individual.<\/p>\n

We believe that these pure ingredients, combined with our patented cold soap-making method, represent a growing resistance \u2013 from both producers and consumers \u2013 against the excessive use of harmful chemicals in both cosmetics and our diets.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Choose Nature<\/i>, Wherever You Are<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Today, our soaps are available in Greece at organic product stores, pharmacies, and Hondos Center<\/strong>, as well as internationally<\/strong> at select cosmetic retailers.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLIST OF STORES<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Family History of Nikolaos Dovas Life Journey from Greece to Egypt and the Return to Greece 1890 Our family story, which began with our involvement in hospitality and tourism and later evolved into soap making, traces its roots back to Alexandria and Marsa Matruh in Egypt and extends to the present day in Greece, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"%%post_title%% %%sep%% %%sitetitle%%","_seopress_titles_desc":"Discover the story behind Pelion Natural Soap \u2013 a journey of passion, tradition, and natural ingredients from Pelion, Greece. Handmade soaps crafted with care for a pure skincare experience.","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2549","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pelionnaturalsoap.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2549","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pelionnaturalsoap.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pelionnaturalsoap.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pelionnaturalsoap.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pelionnaturalsoap.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2549"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/pelionnaturalsoap.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2549\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2784,"href":"https:\/\/pelionnaturalsoap.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2549\/revisions\/2784"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pelionnaturalsoap.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2549"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}