Isaak-Solomou annual motorcycle ride will this year take in Greece

The 25^th annual motorcycle procession to honour the memory of Tasos Isaak and Solomos Solomou, who were killed by Turkish forces in the Dherynia buffer zone in August 1996, will pass through Greece from July 1-11, the Isaak-Solomou Memorial Initiative said on Monday.

This year’s procession has been titled Memory Runs Again and its aim is to emphasise the importance of a shared struggle between Greece and Cyprus, a written announcement said.

It will also seek to commemorate 200 years since the Greek War of Independence by visiting sites that will stir up “memory and historical consciousness”.

Participating bikers will tour through Greece to “walk paths of historical continuity, guided by the struggle of memory against oblivion, and carrying the insistence and justice that led to the sacrifices of Tasos Isaak and Solomos Solomou”.

The ride will begin on July 1, passing through landmarks across mainland Greece to honour the memory of not only Isaak and Solomou, but others who are seen as national heroes – from EOKA’s Grigoris Afxentiou to Theodoros Kolokotronis of the Greek War of Independence.

The bikers will travel through mainland Greece, visiting sites of historical significance such as the villages of Mesolongi and Palamidi, Sparta, Piraeus and Athens, also stopping in Crete, the announcement said.

“Memory will run again from Thrace to Kyrenia, from Macedonia to Acheon Akti, for Tasos, for Solomos, for history, liberty and justice”.