Tag: Crete

"I asked which the most southern place in Europe is and they told me about south Crete. I was looking for a nice place to live, where it would be warm and sunny all year. I was dreaming of a home away from the city, which would be near a natural spring and surrounded by trees. The first house I found had no electricity, only a fireplace in the corner. I had to light a fire every morning in order to make a coffee, but later I bought a camping gaz from the village's store".

Kyriakos Litinas is a priest at Saint Paraskevi's church in Amari, a province of Rethymnon. He is very likable among his fellow villagers and a family man, who struggles as much as his people to make do. The village residents are few and it is hard to say if they can even fill a small church. Calliope Kanakakis has been the village chanter for many years. This role is usually assigned to a man with a deep voice, but there was nobody, so Calliope took over.

At the small square's café of the village Agiannis (Saint Ioannis) in Amari of Rethymnon we met Zacharias Dandoulakis, a pensioner, who used to shelter Antonis Brilakis, the unforgettable left party's fighter, during the dictatorship. Even though their political beliefs were totally different, he was hiding him for 17 months and he finally helped him to escape by plane and go abroad, with a different name and passport.