Tag: Crete

Into the vast olive grove of Amari in Rethymnon and near the small village Saint Paraskevi, there is a two-aisled stone chapel dedicated to the Transfiguration and to Saint Raphael. Twice a year, on the 6th of August and on the third day of Easter, worshipers from the nearby villages visit it in order to enliven it. It took them seven years to build it by themselves, offering their work and many building materials. It is being kept very clean and they take care of it more than they do with their own homes.

In Crete’s "economy of the mountains", sheep shearing and wool production for weaving has played an important role ever since the Minoan era. This can easily be seen on signs at the palace of Knossos. Breeders used to wait till summer to shear their sheep and obtain the precious wool, which was used to make the family’s clothes, coverlets and their daughters trousseau’s.

"How stupid can those who govern us be? They've ruined this country. It pains me to say it but unfortunately that's the truth. We are importing most of our products from other countries, while the local produce remains unsold. Even in Loutro of Sfakia, a very small village only accessible by boat, imports its honey from Argentina".

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Frangocastello is a small, sparsely populated settlement at the south of Chania county and home to an impressive Frankish castle. The White Mountains are behind it and the Libyan Sea lies at its feet. The beaches are vast and give the impression of being tropical. From time to time, locals report strange optical phenomena, such as seeing riders moving along the side of the castle. Some say these are reflections from the African coast and others believe they are just optical illusion caused by humidity.

Costis Fountoulakis started learning the art of saddling a horse near Georgis Tsachakis in Saint Galin, who had 5-6 employees back then. But during the German Occupation, when the Englishmen started bombing the Germans at the port, his mother was afraid that her boys would be killed and took them to Apodoulou village, in the inland of the region Amari, in order to save them. That is where saddler Nicholas Rizikianos had his shop, and Costis Fountoulakis immediately started to work there as an intern.

A picturesque village at the south of Rethymnon county in Crete, usually preferred by young tourists. Its residents are very hospitable and are always ready to offer visitors local delicacies. The weather is always good and sometimes in the summer a hot African wind comes in from the Libyan Sea. During those hot days, Agia Galini turns into an exotic place of eerie beauty.

Amari is at the south of Rethymnon county, on the western slope of Ida Mountain, and it consists of twelve villages belonging to the municipality of Kourites. This municipality took its name from the legend of Kourites, who, in order to protect newborn Zeus from his father Cronus, clanked their shields so hard that the baby's cry couldn't be heard. The inhabitants are much in love with the earth, the trees and their very old traditions. They also easily open their hearts and their doors to strangers.

Manolis Rasoulis used to travel a lot to explore the world and write music. We are close friends and fellow travellers in some journeys and found out we have a common artisitc purpose. He had his pen and I had my camera to express the world and people's lives. We met for the last time a few days before he died, when he was reciting a prologue during a music event for Manos Hadjidakis at the haunt of "Ianos" bookshop. "When one loses limits one must take measures" he said among other things to the audience, referring to the economic crisis that's plaguing our country.

When you knock on someone's door in Crete a smiling face comes into sight saying: "Welcome, have some raki". Offering raki is like an invitation to a more intimate approach and communication among people. Especially people who take part to the production “ritual” of the drink reach high levels of comradeship.

In 1823 an 11year-old girl named Kallitsa, was kidnapped by the Turks in the village Apodoulou which is in Amari of Rethymnon and she was sent as a slave to Alexandria of Egypt. There, she was bought by an English archaeologist who took her with him to England in order to use her as a household servant. The story of Kallitsa is breathtaking and depicts the ability of the Greeks to survive.

"I have written fifteen books and four more containing articles I wrote and were published in newspapers. I don't try to publish all of them because I couldn't sell more than twenty or thirty. I am satisfied with giving a photocopy to my children and some friends".

A century ago, Kallikrates, a mountainous village in the Sfakia province, used to have 500 residents; today only seven people live there - the members of the breeder Manolis Manouselis's family. The only child of the village is his little son who goes to school in the nearby village called Myriokefalos.

Traditional Cretans often go around their business as if they were posing or trying to enhance their masculinity through their roots. That's why they wear "stivania" (leather Cretan boots), turbans and black shirts, which are considered tokens of their Cretan character.

Ever since he was a child, lyre player Manolis Diamantakis, from Fourfouras village of Amari, Rethymnon, had an inclination to music. The only problem was that he had neither a lyre nor a bow. In the beginning, he made a makeshift lyre out of pear tree wood, with strings made of leather straps. He used horsetail hairs for the bow and struggled to play.

If you stop to ask for directions formation when passing through a village of Amari, you will definitely be invited to drink a glass of "raki" (local strong alcoholic drink). Georgis Sarris, from Kouroutes village, is a blacksmith. His shop is on the public road and when a traveler stops to ask him something, Georgis always insists of treating him to something from the nearby coffeehouse. The café owner has placed a bench on the sidewalk, where the blacksmith and his friends sit and gaze at the tops of Ida mountain, which is there, right in front of them.