This hiking route is quite different than the usual ones. First of all you can’t find it in any travel guide since we took an old path that until recently was closed by wild vegetation. Second and most important for me, it is very close to the village I live, so it feels like home! And last but not least the route is a 330 meters descent through olive trees, on a hillside so steep that makes you wonder how did they managed to even plant those trees, let alone to cultivate them.
I am talking about the northeast coast of the island of Crete, in Greece. On this part of the island there are 8 villages with similar topography that are known all together by the name the northern villages. Seven of them are on the mountain above the coastline at an altitude of 300 – 400 meters and one on the sea level that used to be the port and commerce center for all the others. So from every village there was a path for people and donkeys that was essential for the economy of the whole area. On Sunday we followed the path from the village of Myrsini to Mochlos with one detour for some archeological sightseeing!
This path was in use for hundreds of years until the sixties when a new road was opened. The bulldozers brought to light significant evidence that the area is inhabited for thousands of years but the state’s priorities wasn’t on archeological research so the findings were limited around the road. As we were passing through the dirty road we saw the remaining of a 4.000 years old arched grave, the oldest that has been found in eastern Crete. A few meters down the road I found in a field part of an ancient cup. A lot of pieces are scattered around the trees! The little church of the Ascension on the top of a nearby hill is built on ancient ruins. It is more than obvious that an ancient city was once here but for now it remains hidden under the olive trees roots.
At this point we headed east although our final destination was at west. The reason was the tower and the church of St. Antonios. This location is continuously inhabited at least since the 14th century. The three floor building is a Venetian tower house, probably the residence of a noble family. It is built on a location that provides long-range view of land and sea while it is not visible from passing by ships. The fortifications and the large warehouse on the ground floor offered security to the residents against low scale attacks. The building suffered severe fractures during the Greek revolution against the Ottomans and restored during the nineties.
After the tour of the building we all sat under a carob tree and a dear friend that is an archeologist gave us all the info that I have shared with you till now. A few meters behind the tree lies the spring that supplied fresh water the residents from the 14th century till a few years ago. Unfortunately today is completely dry. Shortly after this break we continued our hike towards the beach and from there all the way west, till the village of Mochlos.
This is a 'Showcase Sunday' post, originally written in 2018. If you are not familiar with the #showcasesunday, it is an idea of @nonameslefttouse meant to revive old posts. I re-edited all the pictures since I wasn't happy with the old version so you can even make a comparison to my editing skills :)
You may find the original post here.
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That part of the ancient cup looks handy.
Not really but it gives a feeling of continuance :)
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