EΘΝΙΚΟΣ ΔΡΥΜΟΣ ΣΑΜΑΡΙΑΣ αγγλικα 1Α · Technical Chamber of Greece-West...

1

EΘΝΙΚΟΣ ΔΡΥΜΟΣ ΣΑΜΑΡΙΑΣ αγγλικα 1Α

2

EΘΝΙΚΟΣ ΔΡΥΜΟΣ ΣΑΜΑΡΙΑΣ αγγλικα 1B

HELLENIC REPUBLIC EUROPEAN UNION

EROF

CO-FUNDED BY THE EUROPEAN UNION

MINISTRY OF THE ENVIRONMENT

3

s h e l t e r f o r l i f e d e n o f f r e e d o m

GORGETHE

SAMARIAOF

4

Republication or reproduction of this work in whole or in part in any way, as well as its translation, adaptation or use in any way for any reproduction of a work of literature or art is forbidden in accordance with Law 2121/1993 and the Berne and Paris Inter-national Conventions, as ratified by law 100/1995. In addition, the reproduction of the layout, cover and general appearance of the book, through photocopies, electronic or any other means is forbidden, in accordance with article 51 of Law 2121/1993.

ISBN: 978-960-98552-2-8

© Copyright 2008SAMARIA NATIONAL PARK MANAGEMENT BODY PREFECTURAL ADMINISTRATION OF CHANIA

5

SAMARIA NATIONAL PARK MANAGEMENT BODY PREFECTURAL ADMINISTRATION OF CHANIA

CHANIA 2008

s h e l t e r f o r l i f e d e n o f f r e e d o m

GORGETHE

SAMARIAOF

6

EDITOR: Emmy Papavasileiou, Department of Culture, Sport and Youth, Prefectural Administration of ChaniaEDITORIAL COMMITTEE:Emmy PapavasileiouHariklia KargiolakiAthanasia ZotouArgyro Chaniotaki-SmyrlakiCONTRIBUTORS:PART I: The natural environmentHariklia Kargiolaki, Director of Chania Forestry Service, Vice President of the Samaria National Park Management Body, DPhil Forestry (Oxford University)Paraskevi Nousia, Chania Forestry Service, MSc ForestryAntonis Barnias, Samaria National Park Management Body, MSc ForestryHelen Karpathaki, Chania Forestry Service, Economist, Graduate of the National Centre for Public Administration and Local Government Irene Vlazaki, Architect NTUA, Landscape architectAthanasia Zotou, Philologist, MSc Philosophy, Head of the Department of Culture, Sport and Youth, Prefectural Administration of Chania PART ΙΙ: The Manmade EnvironmentVanna Niniou-Kindeli, Archaeologist, 25th Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical AntiquitiesKaterina Tzanetaki, Archaeologist, 25th Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical AntiquitiesMichalis Andrianakis, Archaeologist, Director of the 28th Ephorate of Byzantine AntiquitiesAimilia Kladou-Bletsa, Architectural engineerArgyro Chaniotaki-Smyrlaki, Graduate in Social Sciences, D.É.A. in International and European Studies, Université Lille 2. Emmy Papavasileiou, Civil engineer, D.É.A. Géographie de l’ Aménagement, Paris X (Nanterre) PART ΙΙΙ: Protection and Management of Samaria National ParkHariklia KargiolakiORAL HISTORIES: Eftychis Marakakis, Kostoula Marakaki, Eleni Kokolaki, Ioannis Kaloyerakis, Filitsa Mantaka, Mathios Stavroudakis, Giorgos Tzatzimakis, Athena Y. Tzatzimaki, Aristea Koundouraki, Evangelia T. Stavroudaki.SELECTION OF RIZITIKA AND MANTINADES: Stamatis Apostolakis, Teacher, Folklorist

TEXT EDITING (Greek): Giorgos Loupasis, Philologist, Athanasia Zotou ENGLISH TRANSLATION: Despina ChristodoulouCOPY EDITING (english edition): Caroline CooperMAP DESIGN: Irene VlazakiMAP DRAWING AND G. MANOUSAKIS LITERARY TEXT,COVER DESIGN: Sophia Vlazaki, Painter and iconographer PHOTOGRAPHS: Manolis Manousakas, Vasilis Kotrotsos, Anastasios Sakoulis, Giorgos Ekkekakis, Kostas Gyparis, Kaloyerakis family, Sophia Pratsoli, Eftychis Marakakis, Irene and Sophia Vlazaki, Theano, Fotini and Angela Boraki, Alkis Pentarakis, Manolis Manolioudakis, Theano Boraki-Mavridaki, Christos Aretakis, Alkibiades Geskou, Lykourgos Manousakis, Apostolos Trichas, Ilias Iliades, Stefanos Alexandrou, Vanna Niniou-Kindeli, Katerinia Tzanakaki, Michalis Andrianakis, Aimilia Kladou-Bletsa, F. Angeliki-Fantaki, Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania (MAICh), Greek Mountaineering Club of Chania, Aeroclub of Chania, 25th Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquitie, 28th Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities, Hellenic Post Philately Section, Forestry Service, M.Toubis SA.FINANCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT: Kostas Tyrovolas, Anastasios Diamantakis, Athanasia Zotou, Emmy Papavasileiou - Chania Prefectural AdministrationAntonis Barnias, Elpida Peroulaki - Samaria National Park Management BodySECRETARIAL SUPPORT: Despina Kapadoukaki, Maria Psaroudaki, Maria Karvoulaki - Chania Prefectural AdministrationTEXT FORMATITING BIBLIOGRAPHY: Roula OikonomakiBOOK DESIGN: Evi DamiriPRINTING - PRODUCTION: M. Toubis SA.PUBLICATION: Samaria National Park Management Body and Chania Prefectural Administration, co-funded by the European Union

PAPER USED FOR THE BOOK AND COVER: Environmentaly friendly paper certified by the FSC Council

Publication profile

7

We protect what we love,

we love what we understand.

Jacques-Yves Cousteau

8

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10PROLOGUE BY THE PREFECT OF CHANIA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12PROLOGUE BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE SAMARIA NATIONAL PARK MANAGEMENT BODY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13INTRODUCTORY NOTES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

IntroductionChania: Land of gorges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Part ΙTHE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

INTRODUCTIONThe Gorge of Samaria: A profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Greece’s most important gorge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23Size and location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

CHAPTER 1. GEOLOGY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251. Madares, or the Lefka Ori . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252. The creation of the mountains, many years ago…. . . . . . . . . . . . . 263. Rocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294. Creation of the gorges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325. The springs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

CHAPTER 2. BIODIVERSITY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

1. The Landscape. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36The landscape of Samaria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36The landscape of Samaria from the perspective of the architectural landscape. . . 40

2. The Ecosystems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 413. The flora of the Gorge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Trees of the Gorge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44Flowers of the Gorge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45Medicinal and aromatic plants of the Gorge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46Endemic, rare and threatened plants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

4. The fauna of the Lefka Ori and Gorge of Samaria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52Invertebrates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52Amphibians and reptiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52Birds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53Mammals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

CHAPTER 3. AGRIMI: THE WILD GOAT OF CRETE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 591. The agrimi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Origin and evolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60Mating and reproduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60Biotope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61Population and dangers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

2. The agrimi in myth, prehistory and history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 623. Protection of the agrimi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Early attempts at protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63Post-war international and Greek interest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64Drastic protection measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64The honour protocol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64The question of the EDA parliamentarians. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65Foundation of the Samaria National Park as a measure for protecting the agrimi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Part ΙΙ THE MANMADE ENVIRONMENT

INTRODUCTIONHumans and Samaria: A unique relationship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

CHAPTER 1. THE EARLIEST TRACES OF A HUMAN PRESENCEIN THE GORGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

1. From the Prehistoric era until the Roman years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73The city of Kaino. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73The ancient sanctuary of Samaria Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74Ancient Tarra (Ayia Roumeli). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

2. From the Early christian period until Venetian rule . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80The churches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

3. Through the yearas of Turkish rule (1645-1898) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89Turkish fortresses (kules) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

CHAPTER 2. PERMANENT HABITATION IN MODERN TIMES . . . . . 931. Towns and villages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

Samaria. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94Ayia Roumeli . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Contents

9

2. Habitation: Structural details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1023. The population . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1064. Access and passage through the Gorge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1085. Samaria gorge: Toponyms and microtoponyms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Toponyms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111Microtoponyms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

6. Occupations of the people . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1147. Social life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1218. The last families of Samaria. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

CHAPTER 3. THE ROLE OF SAMARIA GORGE IN HISTORY . . . . . 1291. Venetian rule (1204-1669) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1292. Turkish rule (1669-1898) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

The Revolution of Daskaloyiannis (1770) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130The Revolution of 1821 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131The Revolution of 1866 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

3. After the union of Crete with Greece (1913) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135The 1938 movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135Samaria during the Second World War . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136Occupation and Resistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136The Civil War . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

CHAPTER 4. THE GORGE AND THE WILD GOAT IN LITERATURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141

1. Folk poetry: Rizitika and Mantinades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1412. The wild goat in poetry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1423. The Gorge in prose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148

CHAPTER 5. THE GORGE AS A NATURE ANDTOURISM DESTINATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

1. Samaria Gorge: A tourism attraction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161 2. Extracts from traveller’s accounts from the 15th to the 21st centuries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1693. Tourism as an organised activity in the Gorge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180

Early studies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180Contemporary tourism development in the region of the National Park and Ayia Roumeli . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184

Part ΙΙΙPROTECTION AND MANAGEMENT OF SAMARIA NATIONAL PARK

INTRODUCTIONThe declaration of Samaria as a National Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193

CHAPTER 1. INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION OF SAMARIA. . . . 195

CHAPTER 2. MANAGEMENT OF SAMARIA NATIONAL PARK UNTIL TODAY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197

1. Existing dangers and ways of dealing with them . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1972. Recreational services for visitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2003. Environmental education services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2014. Protecting biodiversity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2025. The most impostant protected species (plants and animals) of Samaria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2036. Studies and works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204

CHAPTER 3. THE SAMARIA NATIONAL PARK MANAGEMENT BODY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206

1. Responsibilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2062. The situation today . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2073. Prospects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208

APPENDICES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209RULE AND REGULATIONS OF THE SAMARIA NATIONAL PARK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211

SOURCES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2131. BOOKS AND ARTICLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2132. STUDIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2153. SERVICE ARCHIVES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215

10

The Prefect and Prefectural Administration of Chania, the President and the Board of Directors of the Samaria National Park Management Board, and the Editorial Team of this volume would like to thank publicly all those contributors and citizens whose voluntary offerings made this publication possible.

More specifically, we warmly thank: Argyro Chaniotaki-Smyrlaki of the Editorial Team for her voluntary participation in the Team’s work, all the authors and, in particular, philologist Giorgos Loupasis for editing the Greek texts.

We would also like to thank Aimilia Kladou-Bletsa, Dimitris Nikolakakis, Ar-gyro Kokovli, Marakakis, Theano Mavridaki, Yiannis Kaloyerakis and Yiannis Strongylakis for their invaluable contribution in locating bibliographical sources and rare photographs.

For their oral histories: Eftychis Marakakis, whose profound knowledge of the region provided the basis for the following research, and the older residents of Samaria Yiannis D. Kaloyerakis, Kostoula Marakaki, Eleni Kokolaki and Aristea Koundouraki, for their invaluable interviews. For this same reason, we would like to thank Mathios Stavroudakis, President of the Municipal District of Ayia Rou-meli, Giorgos and Athena Tzatzimakis, and Evangelia T. Stavroudaki, residents of Ayia Roumeli. In addition, Filitsa Mantaka, for her invaluable contribution.

For research in the archives of Ayia Roumeli Primary School, we thank the teacher Evangelia M. Stavroudaki, as well as the young pupils Michalis Smyr-lakis and Nikos Kotrotsos for their contribution in tracking down information.

Kiki Karathanasi-Manousaki, for generously giving us the rights to reprint the chapter “The passage through the Gorge” from the work of her unforgettable late husband Giorgis Manousakis, The Travelogue of Sfakia, as well as the first edition of his unpublished poem “The snowy mountains”. All the authors, contemporary and earlier, literary and otherwise, from whose writings we have taken extracts, which contextualise and enrich, in an accompanying commentary, the main text. Giorgos Ekkekakis and Kostas Gyparis for providing us with rare material from their personal archives.

Acknowledgements

11

Manolis Manousakas; Vasilis Kotrotsos; Anastasios Sakoulis; Alkibiades Gesko; Vasilis Hadjivarsanis; the Damoulis Kaloyerakis family; Theano, Fotini and An-gela Boraki; Theano Boraki-Mavridaki; Sophia Pratsoli; Eftychis Marakakis, Alkis Pentarakis, Manolis Manolioudakis, Christos Aretakis, Michalis Andri-anakis; Lykourgos Manousakis, as well as Vanna Niniou-Kindeli and Katerinia Tzanakaki for providing us with photographs from their personal collections. The Greek Mountaineering Club of Chania, the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania (MAICh), the 25th Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities, the 28th Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities, the KYDON channel, the Aeroclub of Chania and the Angelakis-Fantakis photography studio for permission to use photographs from their archives, as well as the Eleftherios K. Venizelos Nation-al Research Foundation for permission to photograph the painting Gingilos by Dimitris Kokotsis. Loula Ganadaki, Kiki Karthanasai, Iphigenia Agrafioti, Geor-gia Tzatzimaki, Niki Markaki and Artemesia Skoumbaki from the Port Authority and Magda Vlachomitrou from the Statistical Service. Aphrodite Maravelaki from the Chania GNTO office, Gina Kalligeri and Parisati Tsouktouridou of Hellenic Post, and Michalis Marketakis from the Technical Services Department, Panayi-otis Kaloyerakis from the Social Welfare Department for their help in locating information and printed matter. Petros Lyberakis and Evangelia M. Stavroudaki for the creative reading of the texts and their comments.

We also would like to thank warmly the staff at the Chania Public Library, the Technical Chamber of Greece-West Crete Division Library, the Library of the Hellenic Parliament, and the Vikelia Municipal Library of Heraklion.

Finally, we would especially like to thank Irene and Sophia Vlazaki, for their ex-cellent work in designing the map and in illustrating The A-Z of Samaria, Despina Christodoulou for successfully translating this book into English, and the staff at Μichalis Toubis SA for producing an excellent and professional publication.

Chania, August 2008

12

The Prefecture of Chania has the great fortune of possessing an especially rich natural heritage, which, along with its cultural and intellectual wealth, is the most valuable thing we can bequeath to our children. We know that we must protect it. Even so, we cannot claim that we have done all that we should have. The Lefka Ori – the White Mountains – and Samaria Gorge have a special place in the nature of Chania.

The creation of the National Park Management Body is an important step in the right direction. Its successful opera-tion is a venture that must be supported and achieved. It is for this reason that the Prefecture of Chania aims to sup-port the Management Body, providing it with its staff and administrative framework, so that it can take its first steps and capitalise upon the funds made available through EU programmes.

Within the framework of the Programme Contract, and on behalf of the Management Body, the Prefectural Admin-istration of Chania is currently implementing the following projects, funded by the “Environment” Operational Pro-gramme (EPPER) of the Ministry of the Environment, Physical Planning and Public Works:

■ “Daily fire risk assessment study for the Lefka Ori”■ “Study to observe the population and ecological needs of the Cretan wild goat in the Lefka Ori, with ensu-

ing management proposals” ■ Study and installation of permanent sample plots in the Lefka Ori for documenting changes in biodiversity

(flora and fauna)”, and■ The publication of two books so that the broader public, Greek and foreign, can learn about the Samaria

Gorge. These are a small book with the title The A-Z of Samaria and the present volume, The Gorge of Sa-maria: Shelter for Life – Den of Freedom.

Responsibility for creating this book lies with the Department of Culture, Sport and Youth, whilst the responsibility for all the tender competitions fell to the Programming Department. Many of our fellow citizens worked voluntarily in order to gather the information and produce this book, in addition to the Prefecture staff and other regional services, and their contribution has enriched the final result. Within the pages of these two books the “Farangas”, the Gorge, is showcased differently in each. The Gorge of Chania and the world, the past and the present, in its local and interna-tional dimensions, through its timelessness.

The purpose of this book is to get to know Samaria Gorge, its natural environment, the unique forms of wildlife that it is home to, its multi-faceted relationship with humans and their history, and its contribution to culture. Our purpose is to know the Gorge, so that we can protect it.

We hope that, in the future, Samaria National Park will become as we all dream it. A place where people and nature meet, typified by respect and love, mutual acceptance and harmonious co-existence.

The Prefect of ChaniaGrigoris Arhontakis

Prologue of the Prefect of Chania

13

Ρrologue President of the Samaria National Management Body

Today, more than ever, the need to save our natural environment has become urgent. This requires, on the one hand, the active and sincere participation of all of us, and on the other, the specialised scientific understanding of the problems of sensitive ecosystems, which will help us to combine the biodiversity, wealth, harmony and beauty of nature with modern technology, so as to achieve the sustainable development of our place’s heritage. Only in this way can we avoid causing irreparable damage and hand on to our children an environ-ment healthier than the one which we inherited.

It is upon these principles that this book, by the Samaria National Park Management Body, is based, a book which can provide a starting point for research by specialists, as well as a delightful and educational tour of the Gorge for readers and visitors.

The persistent, three-year collective effort to establish the Management Body now offers the world community its first publication, and we hope that other scientific studies will soon follow.

Morally, we feel justified in our choices.

The President Antonis Vas. Galanis

Agronomist


14

The Editorial Team1 responsible for the publication of this volume dedicated to the Gorge of Samaria, published as part of the EU “Environment” Operational Pro-gramme (EPPER), had the following significant challenges to overcome.

1. Defining the subject. The first thought was to focus on the Samaria National Park, specifically on the section that has already been established, i.e. its central core, in-dependent of the plans that exist for the future extension of the Park to cover the whole area of the Lefka Ori. The weakness of this definition, however, is that it does not include Ayia Roumeli, which is not only an integral part of the nature of Samaria Gorge, as it linked to its exit onto the sea, but is a vital element of a unified human geography.

For this reason, the GORGE OF SAMARIA was selected as the subject (and title) of this book, as this term is not binding, as is the administrative term of “National Park”. The subtitle “shelter for life – den of freedom” seeks to impart life in its biological meaning, which finds a refuge in Samaria, as well as the presence of humans on a spiritual and cultural quest.

2. The wide range and complexity of the subject. In addition to the basic search for sources relating to Samaria (from ancient texts to modern studies), the Gorge covers countless fields of specialist knowledge, making it impossible for a single author to write the whole book. We thus invited scholars who have conducted research on the region to write sections relating to their specialities, so as to ensure the quality and accuracy of the book. This resulted in a slight disparity in style – which we have at-tempted to minimise – as well as in terminology, which we have attempted to make more accessible to a wider audience with explanations and commentary.

The Chania Forestry Service had scientific responsibility for the sections on the natu-ral environment of Samaria, its protection and management (Parts I and III), whilst the sections on the manmade environment (Part II) and editing of the book were undertaken by the Department of Culture, Sport and Youth of the Chania Prefectural Administration.

Introductory notes

1 The Editorial Team was established by the Working Group of the Chania Prefectural Administration, the Chania Forestry Service, and the National Park Management Body. The Working Group which is responsible for imple-menting various actions relating to the National park, within the framework of the Contract Programme for col-laboration.

EΘΝΙΚΟΣ ΔΡΥΜΟΣ ΣΑΜΑΡΙΑΣ αγγλικα 2Β

15

3. The lack of research or studies in certain areas (whilst in others, such as development issues, technical infrastruc-ture, etc. there was sufficient). Thus, in certain chapters on the natural environment, data relating to the whole of the Lefka Ori is used, as studies have not yet been carried out exclusively on the Gorge. In many chapters of Part II (Manmade Environment) oral histories collected from the region’s last inhabitants have been used, given the lack of historical and anthropological studies. Another difficulty was created by the discrepancy and even contradiction between official data, data collected in studies and reality (e.g. population censuses), which may lead to the wrong conclusions. The same is the case for the details provided by works already published on the Gorge. We simply note these discrepancies, as well as the unverified information.

The texts on areas that have not been researched scientifically were written by staff of the Chania Prefectural Ad-ministration’s Department of Culture, as well as volunteers and external collaborators, with less stress on sources, so that readers can come to their own conclusions. The language of the sources – texts from earlier centuries – has been preserved, with the syntax and spelling of the original author. In addition, inaccurate information given in travellers’ accounts has not been corrected, so as to preserve the authenticity of the text.

Within the limited and limiting frameworks of time, administration and procedure, efforts were made so that any weaknesses and lacunae be negligible. This book is not the conclusion of systematic research and study, nor does it seek to provide a full documentation of all data connected to the Gorge. This does not mean, however, that it is simply a presentation of material, without its own identity and viewpoint.

The purpose of this book is to provide the wider public, Greek and non-Greek, with detailed information on all those features that make the Samaria Gorge unique, because when we come to know it we shall love it and protect it – that is the motto of this volume. In order to raise the awareness of the younger generations and “hasty” readers, we have also produced a briefer illustrated book, The A-Z of Samaria. The illustrations make it accessible and enjoyable even to the youngest readers. The paper used in the two books is ecological, as a book about the Gorge must, first of all, be environmentally-friendly.

This publication would not have been possible without the contribution of a large number of people, who offered their assistance voluntarily and helped us in many ways. We thank them warmly.

The Editorial Team will feel that it has accomplished its task if this book provides stimulation for further research and studies and, above all, work of quality. Through these, the Prefecture of Chania, its authorities and citizens shall show that they are aware of the importance of the Gorge for the Prefecture, and the necessity of respecting and protecting it. The Gorge of Samaria can show us the way to restore our damaged relationship with nature and the natural environment.

Chania, July 2008

The Editorial TeamEmmy Papavasileiou

Hariklia KargiolakiAthanasia Zotou

Argyro Chaniotaki-Smyrlaki

16

Sunset in the Gorge of Samaria (Chania Forestry Service archives)

17

INTRODUCTION

19

C H A N I A , L A N D O F G O R G E S

Satellite photographs of the earth, Europe,

Crete and Chania (taken from the internet)

The Prefecture of Chania has been characterised by many, justifiably, as the “land of gorges”, given that dozens intersect it. Small and large, they have marked the surface of the earth in a north to south orientation. In some places they are deep and precipitous, whereas elsewhere they are already eroding, simply forming a pass or a stream between low-lying rocks.

The gorges of Crete have always provided a refuge in which various animals as well as plants find protection and food. They were and are oases where water is usually available, located far from the pressures exerted by a constant human presence. As such, some of Crete’s most important forests have survived in the gorges, whilst birds and several other animals build their nests in safety, in the steep rocks. Rare birds of prey at the top of the food chain nest here, even if their domains stretch over much larger areas.

The difficulties in communications and the consequent isolation led to the emergence of several endemic plants and animals in the Gorge. Some even managed to survive and evolve in extreme conditions, with little space and almost a complete lack of water. These are the so-called “chasmophytes”, plants which grow in the small cracks of usually verti-cal rocks. Most of these species are valuable varieties, especially hardy plants, several of which do not grow anywhere else in the world.

The gorges also have a significant cultural value. Chapels, ancient temples, oracles and sanctuaries all located at the same site are yet more evidence for human presence. The gorges of Chania have played an important role during major moments of local history.

Each of the gorges of Samaria has its own particularities: in some forests dominate, in others water or climbing plants that hang from trees, whilst elsewhere the image pre-sented for the visitor is of precipitous, almost naked, rocks. The gorge of Ayia Irene, the Sfakiano, those of Imvros, Aradaina, Eliyias, Trypiti, Klados, Diktamos, Therisos, Seri-karios, Sasalos, Prasse, Kapnis, Ilingas, Asfendos, Kallikratis, Borianon and Katholikos, are just some of the many gorges of Chania. But none has the fame, the glamour and the grandeur of one, the “faranga” of Samaria!

Text:Hariklia Kargiolaki

20

Part ΙMountain peaks in the Gorge (photo: V. Kotrotsos)

21

THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

22

Fig 1: Portes, engraving by Antonio Schranz, 1837 (from Τravels in Crete by R. Pashley)

23

I N T R O D U C T I O N

T H E G O R G E O F S A M A R I A :A P R O F I L E

Greece’s most important gorge

“There is one farangas! All the others are farangia!” proclaims Sfakianos – and of course he means the Gorge, the “farangas”, of Samaria, whose uniqueness has been recognised not only in Greece but around the world. The glamour of Sa-maria has spread within and beyond the country’s borders. It has been declared a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve (1981) – a recognition granted internationally for sites which innovate and demonstrate approaches to conservation and sustainable development. It is also the only area in Greece to have received the Diploma of Protected Areas from the Council of Europe (1979). Both above distinctions are initially awarded after an on-the-spot inspection, with further inspections of the correct management of the region at regular intervals.

Samaria’s international distinctions include the title of Biogenetic Reserve (from the Council of Europe), an area protected by the Barcelona Convention, as well as an Important Bird Area of Greece. As such, at present, it is the region of Greece with the most and most important international distinctions and titles.

Samaria was declared a National Park in 1962. Moreover, it has been awarded the National Diploma for nature protection (1971), declared a place of especial natural beauty (1973), a Wildlife Refuge and belongs to the EU’s Natura 2000 network of protected areas. The Samaria National Park Management Body was created in the past few years (2002).

Size and location

The area of the National Park is today 48.480 square kilometres, and covers a spe-cially protected area, i.e. the core. The law establishing the Samaria National Park Management Body defines a larger area, which the Body is to manage. This larger area shall be defined with the conclusion of a Special Environmental Study (SES) for the National Park, evaluating a broader zone than the currently existing one and making proposals on its expansion.


Fig. 2: Directions board at the entranceto Samaria (photo I. Vlazaki)

PA

RT

Ι |

TH

E N

AT

UR

AL

EN

VI

RO

NM

EN

T

24

It shall also propose distinguishing zones based on different levels of protection, in such a way so that the Gorge, along with the most important area of the Lefka Ori, will belong to the core area of full protection, whilst in the areas where humans have developed settlements and the natural environment works in collaboration with the continuous human presence, the zones shall include a gradual “lifting” of protection, and their inclusion into an area of model development activities, always with respect for nature and its components.

The Gorge of Samaria is located in the Lefka Ori mountain range, whilst the route along the borders of the National Park is 12,800 metres long. The distance from the south entrance to the coastal village of Ayia Roumeli is a further 3,200 metres. For the first kilometres beyond Xyloskalo (north entrance), the path through the Gorge is particularly steep, continuing either parallel to or crossing the river several times, until coming to the old village of Samaria, set in a pine and cypress tree forest. After Samaria village follows the most imposing section of the route, passing through the almost vertical, extremely tall rocks. These narrow passes are called Portes (“doors”), and are a characteristic feature of gorges. At Samaria, the Portes or Sideroportes (“iron doors”) are located 11.5 km from Xyloskalo. They are only 3 metres wide, whilst the sheer vertical cliffs on both sides reach up to around 100 metres.

Fig. 3: Omalos mountain range (Aeroclub of Chania)

25

C H A P T E R 1

G E O L O G Y

1. Madares, or The Lefka Ori

The Gorge of Samaria is one of the gorges that cross the Lefka Ori from the north, terminating at the sea and forming a distinct landscape in southwest Crete. Thanks to the particular conditions that prevail in these gorges, special climatic and soil microenvironments are created. The profound relief of the land and the continu-ous changes in the landscape result in a variety of ecosystems, which attract global interest from both nature lovers and scientists. The Gorge of Samaria is a refuge for people and other organisms that seek protection in its seclusion.

SNOWY MOUNTAINS

The peaks of Madarashine pure white.

They towered up to the sky, the snowthey made into a mirrorso that the sun can seein their whitenessits face

Giorgis Manousakis (unpublished, undated)


This poem was found amongst the poet’s papers, undated, and has been donated for publication here by his widow.

Fig. 4: The Lefka Ori (Aeroclub of Chania)


PA

RT

Ι |

TH

E N

AT

UR

AL

EN

VI

RO

NM

EN

T

26

The Madares,1 or Lefka Ori, is a mountain range in the Prefecture of Chania, with a west to east orientation, ending in the Libyan Sea and covering almost 40% of the Prefecture’s total area. They cover the whole of the Province of Samaria, and parts of the Provinces of Selinos, Apokoronos and Kydonia. It is the most impos-ing mountain range in size and area in Crete, with many tall peaks and gorges. The areas with an altitude of over 800 m cover an area of almost 591.40 sq km (14% of which has an altitude of over 2000 m). The greatest height in the Lefka Ori is 2,453 m, and this is the peak of Pachnes, located near the centre of the range.

The peaks appear white throughout almost all seasons of the year, and for this reason were named the Lefka Ori, i.e. the White Mountains. In the winter they are pure white from the snow, whilst in other seasons they again appear white due to the greyish-white rock that sticks out amongst the vegetation along the horizon. The Lefka Ori mountain range is characterised by exceptional contrasts and land-scapes with unique characteristics. Forests, caves, gorges, streams, the almost bare Alpine zone above the forest and the crops near the small villages, bond together to form a unique whole. The wider region is more mountainous and infertile than the rest of Crete, with shallow, poor, rocky and steep land. Numerous mountain peaks spread out over the north, whilst in the south the range, with exceptionally steep gradients, descends and plunges into the Libyan Sea. The most important charac-teristic of the region’s relief is the many gorges that cross mainly the south side of the Lefka Ori, with a north-south orientation. The gorges of Ayia Irene, Trypiti, Klados, Samaria, Eliyias, Aradaina, Kavis, Sfakiano, Imvros, Kapnis, etc. are just some of those which you will find in the wider region of East Selinos and Sfakia.

1 Madares, or the Lefka Ori. The word derives from the ancient adjective “madaros” (<μαδώ): bare, treeless place, s.v. G. Babiniotis, Lexicon of Modern Greek, Athens 2002, Kentro Lexikologias, 2nd edition.

2 Ο. Rackham and J. Moody, The making of the Cretan Landscape (Manchester, 1997), p. 15.

Limestone: sedimentary rock com-posed primarily of calcite. The de-positing of calcium carbonate can be chemical or biogenous, from the accumulation and compacting of the skeletal remains of various animal or plant organisms after their death.Dolomite: sedimentary rock com-posed primarily of the mineral dolo-mite. It is formed when one part of the calcium of calcium carbonate is replaced by magnesium. Flysch: this term does not refer to any specific rock but is used to indi-cate a marine sedimentary phase. It is characterised by coarse sediments comprised of alternating marls, limestone, conglomerates and psammites. Psammite: sedimentary rock formed by sand diagenesis.Diagenesis: a process during which a loose deposit becomes compact with the help of pressure from the overlying layers and the natural compacting material.

2. The creation of the mountains, many years ago...

If we were to turn back 225-140 million years, to the era which scientists call the Mesozoic period, Greece, including Crete, formed a section of the bed of an ocean known as the Tethys Sea. When they died, the organisms that lived in this sea with fossil rudists and a limestone skeleton formed a sediment on the bed which grad-ually metamorphosed into rocks, such as the limestone and dolomite that today form the Lefka Ori.2 160 million years ago, the ocean began quickly to deepen due to the separation of the African and Eurasian tectonic plates. This resulted in the formation of the most typical rock of the group that dominates in the mountain range and within the Samaria Gorge – plattenkalk limestone.


CH

AP

TE

R Ι |

GE

OL

OG

Y

27

Table 1: Time chart of the geological history of Crete until human habitation (designed by A. Barnias)

PHANEROZOIC PERIOD

ENVIRONMENT HUMANS

CE

NO

ZO

IC P

ER

IOD

QUARTERNARY PERIOD

1.81 million years ago

Holocene12,000 years ago until today

Νeolithic Age 7000-4800 B.C.

Quarternary (Early and Late Infusion)

First permanent settlements of inhabitants. They begin to grow wheat. Goats, sheep, oxen and pigs are imported.

Mesolithic period in continental Greece. Hunters and fishers visit the island.

Pleistocene

Late 128,000-12,000 years ago

Last ice age, 60,000 to 13,000 years ago. Glaciers in the Cretan mountains over 18,000 years ago.

Late Palaeolithic cultures in continental Greece. Discovery of Crete.

Middle 700,000-128,000 years ago

Ice ages alternating with mid-Pleistocene eras. A particular fauna has already settled in this area.

Early 1.81 - 0.7 million years ago

Crete begins to acquire something approximating to his present coastline.

TRIASSIC PERIOD23 million years ago – 1.81 million years

ago

Pleiocene6.3 million – 1.81 million years ago

The Mediterranean is transformed into dry land approximately 5 million years ago, during which it subsides again in part and becomes a salt lake around 5.5 million years ago.

Miocene 23 – 6.3 million years ago

Marls, psammites and Niocene conglomerates

New subsidence of parts of Crete 1.2 million years ago. Evolution of endemic plants.

PALEOGENE PERIOD

66 million years ago – 23 million years

ago

Plattenkalk limestone

The first large mammals appear. Birds and mammals evolve. The continents start to acquire their present form. Rise of the Cretan mountain ranges from the sea 30 million years ago.

ME

SO

ZO

IC

PE

RIO

D

CRETACEOUS PERIOD

145 million years ago – 66 million years

ago

Plattenkalk limestone

Crystallised limestone

Dolomite

Mountains begin to be formed and rise from the sea.

PA

RT

Ι |

TH

E N

AT

UR

AL

EN

VI

RO

NM

EN

T

28

Fig. 5: The Gorge of Samaria (photo: V. Kotrotsos)

CH

AP

TE

R Ι |

GE

OL

OG

Y

29

3 Op. cit., p. 19.

The ocean bed gradually rose at the end of the so-called Cretaceous period (70 million years ago), ending in around the Miocene period (25-10 million years ago). After their rise from the ocean bed, Crete, the Cyclades and mainland Greece formed a unified mainland mass, the Aigaias, for millions of years. Towards the end of the Micoene period, the continent broke up and parts of it sunk. On Crete, only its tallest mountain peaks remained above sea level. This sinking continued through the Pliocene period (3-4 million years ago). At the end of the Pliocene and beginning of the Pleistocene period (2 million years ago), greater upheavals and movements resulted in the tension and the uplift and subsiding of sections of the earth’s crust, creating trenches which resulted in the complete separation of Crete from the rest of Greece.

The great forces active during the geological periods and until today have resulted in the uplift of some areas, the subsiding of others and the creation of numer-ous cracks.3 The mountain massifs and seas were created by tectonic movements, whilst the erosion and weathering of the rocks, as well as the human influence over the centuries, have created Crete’s finely detailed morphology.

3. Rocks

The core of the mountain range is comprised primarily of limestone (marble, lime-stone and dolomites). Limestone in the plattenkalk form dominates, whilst above it, at certain points along the mountain range, there are very small layers of flysch. In addition to the plattenkalk limestone of the Lefka Ori, there are also recrystal-lised limestone on Trypali and schists of the phyllite-quartzite group.

■ Plattenkalk limestone is the dominant rock in the mountain range, forming the ridge of the whole island. It was used for many years on the island as a building material.

■ Another characteristic rock is the stromatolite dolomite, a band of dark rock with strips of iron deposits, created by organisms within the stroma-tolites who live on water and without oxygen. Sections of these rocks are to be found inside the Samaria Gorge, particularly in the upper and west part, forming the boulders in the stream bed.

■ At the peak of Gingilos, yellowish schist with a thin layer of psammite cov-ers the stromatolite dolomite.

Plattenkalk limestone has a char-acteristic blue-green colour, with white strips or pieces of flint, which, according to researchers (Manolis Manoutsoglou, personal communi-cation) are sponges that lived on the seabed when it was still relatively low. The fossils of these sponges are today found embedded in the rocks! Plattenkalk limestone was created from these fossils at great depths and came to the surface after tec-tonic plate movements millions of years ago.

Trypali limestone: characteristic white limestone (marble) at the peak of the Lefka Ori which covers the plattenkalk or the agglomerated limestone with holes encountered from Lakkoi as far as Omalos.

Stromatolite, which absorbs the dis-solved oxides of iron and which free oxygen into the atmosphere, played a decisive role in the initial appearance of oxygen in the earth’s atmosphere two billion years ago! The first oxygen of the earth from organisms that have now become boulders at Samaria.

PA

RT

Ι |

TH

E N

AT

UR

AL

EN

VI

RO

NM

EN

T

30

The route through Samaria Gorge starts from the rocks of Trypali at Xyloskalo, at the lower rocks of the plattenkalk limestone group. In ad-dition to the platenkalk limestones, we encounter the schists of Gingi-los and the stromatolite dolomite at the end of the steps. The rocks from about the halfway point of the Gorge until the exit at Ayia Roumeli are made up only of plattenkalk limestone.4

4 Har. Y. Fasoulas, “The Geology of the Lefka Ori” in Fourogatos, 54, July 2004.

Figs. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10: Geological formations in Samaria Gorge (Chania Forestry Service Archive)

CH

AP

TE

R Ι |

GE

OL

OG

Y

31

PA

RT

Ι |

TH

E N

AT

UR

AL

EN

VI

RO

NM

EN

T

32

4. Creation of the gorges

Gorges are usually considered to have resulted from erosion. Large volumes of water eroded the rocks of the seabed and narrow streams are cre-ated when the eroded material is swept away. We do not know if this theory holds for Crete, as the volume of water does not appear to have been so great, and are thus unable to explain the existence of large numbers of gorges, one next to the other, such as those found in southern Crete near Sfakia. The secret of their formation has not been decodi-fied. A number of process led to the creation of these gorges.5 After the rocks were formed within the sea, they were compressed, folded and uplifted, creating mountain ranges. It is believed that when the island was uplifted, the pressure exercised caused the rocks to break in many places, form-ing cracks. The water followed, cutting through the rocks. In the mid Pleistocene period, during which the sea level rose, the water in the streams did not cut through but deposited material on the gorge banks, creating raised areas, such as around Samaria village and at the exit of the Gorge. It ap-pears that at the end of the last mid-Pleistocene era, the outflowing water deposited stones starting at Portes and reaching as far as the coast. During the last uplifting of the land (fall of the sea level) the water was forced to cut through the depos-its again and to form a smaller gorge, around six metres deep and one metre wide, as can clearly be seen past the kiosk at the Gorge exit.6

5 Rackham and Moody, pp. 36-8. 6 See Fasoulas.

Fig. 11: Geological formations in Samaria Gorge (photo: V. Kotrotsos)

33

5. The springs

The Lefka Ori, the main rock of which is limestone, represent a typical karst landscape, with characteristic formations of sinkholes or dolines (funnel-shaped de-pressions that terminate below the earth as cracks and springs). They are the largest water collector in the Pre-fecture of Chania and supply the underground water table with the water needs for a large part of the Pre-

fecture. It is calculated that precipitation levels (rain) exceed 3,000 mm a year in the highest areas. The melting of the snow is delayed in the mountains, and at great altitudes there is often snow until mid-June. The waters from rain and melting snow are driven underground either towards the south coasts, where they appear in the form of underwater springs, or to the north coasts, where they appear in the form of freshwater springs (Ayia, Stylos, Armenoi, etc.). The tran-sient concentration of water in dolines and mountain ranges creates seasonal ponds, which are areas of particular ecological value and thus protected. The seasonal action of mountain streams (as they are transformed into streams) adds aesthetic value and diversity to the mountain landscape. The Gorge of Samaria is crossed by an unnamed river that appears and briefly disappears, to suddenly gush further down once more. The river is fed by scattered sources located in its drainage basin and which are known by various names:7

■ Lenoseli, on the east side of Gingilos.■ Lousopo, west of Volakia peak.■ Potistira, approximately 900 m north of the Gorge.■ Miatouli and Vroula, sources which in the past supplied the upper village

of Samaria with water.■ Perdika, Keroutsiko and Kefalovrysia, from where the community of Ayia

Roumeli draws its water supply even today.

The karst landscape is the result of the slightly acid rain, which creates cracks or openings in the limestone, forming springs, underwater channels and caves.

Fig. 12: River in the Samaria Gorge (photo: V. Kotrotsos)

Fig. 13: Waterfall in the Gorge of Samaria (Chania

Forestry Service archive)

7 E. Manoutsoglou, E. Spyridonos, D. Mariolakos, K. Tzanakaki, H. Kargiolaki, T. Markopoulos and I. Mariola-kos, “The springs of the ancient city of Tarra, located in the Lefka Ori (Samaria Gorge) National Park, Crete,” in The undying water, November 1999, pp. 18-21.

35

C H A P T E R 2

B I O D I V E R S I T Y

After the summit and signing of the Rio Convention8 in 1992 the term “biodiver-sity” ceased being simply a title used in the biological sciences: it entered political discourse and became widely used. We can distinguish four different levels of bio-diversity, each with a different meaning, although in practice they are all integral parts of a unified whole.

■ The first level is that of “genetic biodiversity”. Genetic biodiversity sig-nifies the range of inherited factors of a particular species. The greater this range, the greater the chances of survival of a species in relation to external difficulties and pressures, such as epidemics, climatic adversi-ties, lack of food, etc.

■ The second level of biodiversity is that of “species diversity”, flora and fauna (plants and animals). This biodiversity is expressed through the number of different plant and animal species found in a specific area.

■ The third level of biodiversity is known as ecosystem or plant com-munity diversity, indicating the ecosystems that are found in a spe-cific area.

■ The fourth level is that of landscape diversity, indicating the number or range of types of landscape to be found in an area or country. Arti-ficial as well as natural landscapes also make up the composition of a landscape, such as crops and human settlements..

Despite distinguishing biodiversity into various levels, its protection must be ap-proached in a uniform fashion. Protection of each level depends upon the protec-tion of the previous or following level. It must be emphasised that biodiversity on all its levels, about which so much is said but so little done, is vital for the rational and sustainable management of natural resources, and, as such, for the survival of humanity.

8 The Rio Treaty, or Convention on Biological Diversity was adopted at the United Nations Earth Summit in Rio in 1992, and is a watershed for global environmental policy. It was incorporated into Greek legislation with Law 2204/94/Government Gazette 59/A.

Crete is one of the most important regions globally for its rich biodiver-sity.* When researching its organ-isms, we find that its geographical position at the crossroads of three continents is reflected in its species. Most species, flora in particular, are found in the rest of Europe, whilst we also encounter Asian and Afri-can species, indicating the island’s association with and isolation from the three continents during earlier geological periods. Its geological evolution after breaking away and the existence of large mountain chains which are isolated by being surrounded by lowlands and the sea, as well as the presence of a wide range of climate conditions, particu-larly microclimates, contribute to a rich biodiversity. The biodiversity of Crete does not compare with those in parts of Central Europe, where the ice age during earlier geological periods allowed only few species of survive.

Text:Hariklia Kargiolaki Paraskevi NousiaHelen Karpathaki

* N.J. Turland, L. Chilton, and JR Press, Flora of the Cretan Area: Annotated Checklist and Atlas, London 1993, HMSO.

Fig 14: Panoramic view of Samaria Gorge (M. Toubis SA)

PA

RT

Ι |

TH

E N

AT

UR

AL

EN

VI

RO

NM

EN

T

36

1. The landscape

Terms

Landscape is understood as either a natural ele-ment or a symbolic entity. It is an exceptionally complex and multi-levelled concept of major sig-nificance and social recognition, which acts as a bearer of multiple concepts, symbolisms, emotional associations and history. Landscape has been defined in many ways, according to the various points of view. This is partly due to its diverse natural and symbolic/conceptual aspects, al-though it cannot be divided into characteristic features, but must be considered as a complex whole which is far greater than the sum of its parts (holism).9 One par-ticular feature of the landscape is that it constitutes a dynamic entity, the content of which is transformed in time and space, whilst each person can understand the landscape in a different way, according to their state of mind at different moments in time. Landscape’s natural, cultural/social and visual aspects do not only coexist and combine as though links in a chain, but are fully homogenised, creating an indivisible whole, which influences and is influenced, shapes and is shaped.

9 M. Antrop, “Background concepts for integrated landscape analysis”, in Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 77, 2000, pp. 17-28.10 Update of the Special Environmental Study of the Lefka Ori, Phase I, Contractor: OIKOM-Meletitiki Perivalontos Ltd, Crete Region, Department of the Envi-

ronment and Public Planning, Athens 2008, p. 47.

The Council of Europe, in The European Landscape Convention, defines this multi-faceted concept as *“an area, as perceived by people, whose character is the result of the action and interaction of natural and/or human factors.”. This generalised defi-nition covers the landscape of Samaria and the Lefka Ori to a very great degree.

Text:Antonis Barnias

* Council of Europe, “The European Landscape Convention”, in the Formal and Explanatory Report, Strasbourg 2000.

The landscape of Samaria

The broader area of Samaria constitutes a clearly established and spatially defined territory. Within this area one encounters a diversity of landscape features with particular characteristics of ecological and cultural value, some of which are:10

In Greek legislation the corre-sponding term is outlined in article 2, paragraph 16 on Law 1650/1986 on the protection of the environ-ment: Landscape: Every dynamic total of organic and non-organic environmental factors and elements which on their own or by interacting within a specific space create a visual experience.

The European Landscape Convention (also known as the Florence Convention) was signed on 20/10/2000 and came into force on 1/3/2004. Greece has so far signed the Convention but not ratified it.*

* For more information see www.coe.int

■ The Gorge.■ The village in the centre of the Gorge, with the old

crops of the people.■ The chapels, which are often found on the same

site as ancient temples.

■ The castle above Samaria, at the Gorge exit.■ The ruins of the ancient city of Tarra.■ The Gorge’s special biodiversity.

Both the Gorge and the broader Samaria region are powerful symbols. The occasional passer by through the Samaria landscape can powerfully comprehend its wild forms. He or she is consumed by a sense of freedom, feels awe in front of the coexistence of such an inhospitable landscape with the presence of humans, senses the dominance of nature over man, and comprehends his or her inability to control the forces of nature. The local population feels a powerful

37

sense of pride, strengthening the sense of the landscape which is deeply rooted within them, and constantly hammering out their character within the presence of such an imposing landscape.

Just as people’s characters are the result of social, cultural, intellectual, psychologi-cal, aesthetic and economic factors, and this synthesis provides a comprehensible image of their personalities, so the landscape of Samaria is the comprehensible sum of factors and values, which are attributed to it by people.11

Fig. 15: 1st kilometre on the footpath of the Samaria National Park

(photo: V. Kotrotsos)

11 E.A. Maria and A. Barnias, “A Comparative Approach of the Meaning of Landscape and its Legal Aspects in the European Landscape Convention”, in Proc. of the International Conference ‘Protection and Restoration of the Environment VIII´, Chania – Crete – Greece July 3-7, 2006.


CH

AP

TE

R 2

| B

IO

DI

VE

RS

IT

Y

PA

RT

Ι |

TH

E N

AT

UR

AL

EN

VI

RO

NM

EN

T

38

The most important characteristic, however, of the landscape of Samaria is the intense interaction between humans and nature. This relationship exists both in today’s presence of humans as observers/walkers and in the historical imprint that the inhabitants of Samaria have left on this space. The traditional habitations of village, oil press, vines, preserved chapels declare the powerful relationship that the inhabitants of Samaria had with this place and with what it provided them. This relationship contains an understanding that may constitute an early expression of the much-discussed concept of sustainability: in contrast with today’s meaning, the inhabitants of Samaria built their lives around the core of “nature” thus shap-ing, organising and satisfying their needs on the basis of that which the place of-fered. With respect for nature’s offerings, humans excluded any form of excessive exploitation, as they had early on realised that preserving the physiognomy of the landscape, either functionally or visually, was the key to their survival. Fig. 17: Samaria Gorge


Fig. 16: Mountain ridge in Samaria (photo E. Pratsolis)


39

Fig. 19: A little before Portes (photo S. Vlazaki)Fig. 18: Balcony in the Gorge of Samaria (photo V. Kotsotsos)

CH

AP

TE

R 2

| B

IO

DI

VE

RS

IT

Y

PA

RT

Ι |

TH

E N

AT

UR

AL

EN

VI

RO

NM

EN

T

40

The landscape of Samaria from the perspective of the architectural landscape

Reading the landscape of Samaria from the perspective of the architectural land-scape and with the help of a morphological and environmental analysis will result in uncovering its uniqueness, identifying the valuable elements that comprise it, and, more generally, the creation and attribution of its identity. It also helps, how-ever, in identifying vulnerable areas that require protection (areas with a high concentration of tourists, areas of fire risk, etc.; fig. 20), as well as those worthy of showcasing and further development (abandoned crops, protected species of flora and fauna, natural formations, etc.). The creation of units and the defini-tion of individual landscapes contribute to this analysis, with criteria arising from the natural relief, the cultural heritage, old uses of land, as well as visual studies (documenting the visitor’s visual perspective from a particular spot or collection of spots, such as a route; fig. 21).

Fig. 20: Physical relief orientation map of areas exposed to adverse winds.

Fig. 21: Visual studies from pre-existing points on the main route where the areas deemed suitable for being showcased are identified within the boundaries of the Gorge, yet which are not visible (the non-visible areas are indicated in white and the points in red). The “closure” of the Gorge unity (the closed visual perspective) can also be observed, with its limits correlating with the mountain peaks that surround it.

Another important parameter is humans and the way in which they understand the landscape. As soon as the walker starts the descent into the Gorge of Samaria, the sense of time changes dramatically. The environment, along with nature’s elements, are his “rivals”, constantly pressuring him to proceed faster, so as to be able to free himself from the promise he gave when he decided to cross the gorge. And this happens even when conditions permit a more relaxed “descent” (without too many people, without time constraints and with sufficient lighting). The crossing of the Gorge itself as an exclusive goal is at the root of these feelings. A study of certain new visual points and routes of various difficulties and interests (which will not necessarily cross the whole length of the Gorge) can organise the pace of the descent and ascent of the Gorge, and create in the walker a greater feeling of security and familiarity with the imposing landscape that surrounds him. The realisation of the above and any other goals for the showcasing and protection of the Gorge demands methods of intervening which will act most of all with respect for the landscape, with the use of tools offered by a collaboration of landscape architecture with other sciences.

Text:Irene Vlazaki

41

Ecosystem* is a term used “to de-scribe a discrete unit that consists of living and non-living parts, inter-acting to form a stable system.” It is, therefore, a natural unit that is com-prised of living organisms (plants and animals) and the non-living envi-ronment within which they live (light, water, air, etc.). An ecosystem can be a forest, a lake, etc.

2. The Ecosystems

The particular relief of the Gorge and its altitude gradation create natural environ-ments, each of which has its own environmental characteristics, i.e. its own non-living environment. These, in combination with the effect of human activities, some of which continue to be practiced until today, contribute to the creation of an especially rich mosaic of ecosystems. Of the characteristic ecosystems encoun-tered in the Gorge, there are some in particular which give the overall tone to the vegetation and are the ones that the visitor shall clearly remember when he looks back on his descent into the gorge.

Looking onto the Gorge from Xyloskalo, we can see that the dark green colour of the cypress tree (Cupressus sempervirens) forest dominates. These trees are found at an altitude of approximately 500-1400 metres and, as we descend, merge with forests of Turkish pine (Pinus brutia), which at some points form unadulterated clusters. The ecosystems lo-cated along the first kilometres are, due to the steep slopes, less disturbed than those located near Samaria village, where hu-man influence is clear. Isolated olive trees as well as olive groves can be seen from Ayios Nikola-os downwards. Vines and other cultivations can be found in the characteristic terraces, creating a special environment near the village. On the footpath, we shall even encounter holm and other oaks (Quercus spp.), which form clusters at points of the Gorge, sometimes along with Cretan maple (Acer sempervirens, 900-1200 m altitude).

Unexploited caves at points along the Gorge create superb ecosystems with typical organ-isms, some of which are unique and endemic. Looking at the peaks opposite the footpath at

Text:Hariklia KargiolakiParaskevi NousiaHelen Karpathaki

* M. Allaby, Oxford Dictionary of Ecology, 1994, Oxford University Press, p. 136.

Fig. 22: Samaria ecosystems (T. Borakia-Mavridakis collection)

CH

AP

TE

R 2

| B

IO

DI

VE

RS

IT

Y

PA

RT

Ι |

TH

E N

AT

UR

AL

EN

VI

RO

NM

EN

T

42

an altitude of 1300-2400 m, we see the now Alpine plain, as environmental condi-tions become just about bearable for the organisms. The vegetation here is partic-ular, the forest has ended, and mountain desert conditions prevail. Few organisms are able to survive in these clear areas, and these are now unique and endemic! The extreme environment in combination with over-grazing, has resulted in the adaptation and evolution of resistant organisms, endemic and often unique to the region. Thorny bushes, plants with dense leaves and thick hair, or plants which grow literally stuck to the earth, looking as though they are crawling, exist here.

Yet another characteristic ecosystem in the Gorge is the relatively stable limestone debris or scree (deposits of loose broken rocks, groups of rocks that rolled together) (fig. 10). We en-counter the scree next to us as we go down the footpath, and also see it opposite the entrances to Xyloskalo and Lenoseli, where it glistens with the characteristic colour of limestone.

Brushwood also appears on the surface of the sea, up to 1100 m. Most are comprised of vari-ous aromatic plants, and the slightest touch to most of the plants alongside the footpath releas-es aromas of various strengths and types.

The water, which appears from one point on-wards, creates the conditions for characteristic riverside vegetation, such as plane trees (Plata-nus orientalis), chaste trees (Vitex agnus castus) and oleanders (Nerium oleander). These give the landscape its characteristic colour, indicat-ing the existence of water.

Finally, particular plant organisms manage to survive on the vertical slopes of the Gorge, cre-ating certain ecosystems of exceptionally resil-ient organisms, the “chasmophytes”.

Fig. 23: Cypress tree (Cupressus sempervirens var. horizontalis) in the Gorge (photo: V. Kotrotsos)

43

3. The flora of the Gorge

The importance of the Lefka Ori for the biodiversity of Greece and the world has been recognised internationally.12 The region’s flora is characterised not only by the wide range of plant species, but also by the presence of many endemic species. The isolation offered by the Gorge has contributed to the creation of such forms. There are no precise numbers for the plant species of the Gorge, as a full catalogue has not yet been compiled given the particular conditions of the area (inaccessi-ble, adverse weather conditions, etc.).

The latest studies make mention of 17213 endemic Greek taxa (= classification units, i.e. species and sub-species) in the region of the Lefka Ori. More specifi-cally, 23 are found only in the Lefka Ori, 96 are endemic to Crete, 12 are endemic to Crete and Karpathos and, finally, 172 are endemic to Greece. Of these, 15 are stenotype endemic species exclusive to the area in which they grow, and which have found refuge, survived, and evolved only here, not existing anywhere else in the world! Many of these endemic species are rare and believed to be endangered, and for this reason are protected by national and international regulations.

12 Α. Strid, “Phytogeographical Aspects of the Greek Mountain Flora”, in Frag Floristica Geobot Suppl. 2, 1993, p. 411-33. 13 OIKOM Update, p. 47.

Endemism*: The situation in which a species or other taxo-nomic group is restricted to a particular geographic region, owing to factors such as isolation or response to soil or climatic conditions.” Such a species (plant or animal) is called an endemic species of that region. Species found exclusively in one relatively small area are known as stenotope endemic species.

Fig. 24: Cluster of Turkish pines (Pinus brutia) in the Gorge



* Allaby, p. 141.

CH

AP

TE

R 2

| B

IO

DI

VE

RS

IT

Y

PA

RT

Ι |

TH

E N

AT

UR

AL

EN

VI

RO

NM

EN

T

44

Trees of the Gorge

CypressThe cypress tree of Samaria is not the thin, tall cypress which we often encoun-ter in the rest of Greece. The Cretan variety has outspread branches, which are almost vertical (Cupressus sempervirens var. horizontalis). At Ayios Nikolaos we can find one of the most imposing clusters of cypresses, with giant, ancient trees. It is said that in 1989 one of these was 35 m tall, with a circumference of 7.11 m and a diameter of 2.3 m, whilst the rings of another indicated that it was at least 500 years old.14 Since antiquity, the wood of the cypress tree has been used in shipbuilding, and it is even said that the columns of the palace at Knossos were made from the cypress.

Pine In Samaria, just as in the rest of Crete, a type of Turkish pine (Pinus brutia) grows that is different from the pine found in the rest of Greece. It forms forests ei-ther purely of pine or along with the cypress tree. Turkish pine tree forests were usually traditionally lumbered for woodwork and firewood. They were also often used for extracting resin by cutting into the bark and collecting the resin in spe-cially placed containers. The signs of old resin collection are apparent even today. The temperature conditions for wood in the Gorge, in combination with the un-touched surface of the earth, means that many dry pine needles containing resin gather on the ground, significantly increasing the fire risk during summer.

Kermes oakThe Kermes oak (Quercus coccifera) varies in form analogous to the environment in which it grows. It can crawl on the ground in conditions of intense grazing, or grow into a magnificent tree. The Kermes oak is a tree that can tolerate difficult conditions, even growing in rock cracks. It can be found at various locations in Samaria, such as Prinari.

Cretan maple The Cretan maple (Acer sempervirens) grows at very tall locations (800-1700 m) in the Gorge, and reaches the boundaries of the forest, whilst it is also found in clusters on its own or with the cypress and Kermes oak trees. Due to long-term grazing, Cretan maples have a bushy shape, whilst their height reaches up to five metres and their crown is either umbrella-shaped or spherical. Rare endemic spe-cies can be found under the Cretan maple, the so-called understory.

14 Rackham and Moody, p. 84.

Εικ. 26: Turkish pine (Pinus brutia) in the Gorge (Chania Forestry Service)

Fig. 25: Cretan maple (Acer sempervirens)in the Gorge (Chania Forestry Service)

45

CarobThe carob (Ceratonia siliqua) is a legume tree that is self-sowed or planted. There are carobs near the village of Samaria. In the old days, the seeds were collected and used as animal feed, and in difficult eras even eaten by the people, who would make flour from it.

Lentisk The lentisk (Pistacia lentiscus) is usually a bush, but it can also evolve into a small tree. It produces an unpleasant tasting resin and grows at middle and low alti-tudes. It is considered a medicinal plant.

Myrtle The myrtle (Myrtus communis) is a plant encountered at various points in the Gorge. Its medicinal qualities have been known since antiquity. Dioscurides used it for illnesses of the bladder, and for spider and scorpion bites.

Flowers of the Gorge

Samaria, and especially the clearings such as that at Ayios Nikolaos, is home to many species of wild flowers, creating a feast of colours for most seasons of the year:

■ the Cretan white peony (Paeonia clusii), beautiful, with brilliant white, petals, yellow stems and a red pestle, linking its name to the ancient divine physician, Paeonias,

■ the imposing dark purple, almost black, drakontia (Drancunculus spp.) with its characteristic unpleasant smell, an invitation to pollinating insects,

■ pinky-purple marjoram (Origanum microphyllum) with its wonderful aroma and medicinal qualities,

■ red, purple and white anemones (Anemone sp.), ■ white asphodels (Asphodelus sp.), ■ yellow agarathus (Phlomis fruticosa), ■ endemic pink ebony (Ebenus cretica), which hangs from the sheer slopes of the

Gorge (its flowers are used to fill pillows), ■ the also endemic purple Petromarula pinnata, which we find in the rock cracks,■ irises in the spring, ■ the snow crocus (Crocus sieberi) of the mountain, which appears with the snow,

giving a sense of life under its white sheet,■ the orchid (Cephalanthera cucullata), found near Ayios Nikolaos, one of the pro-

tected species of Samaria,

and many others which live in harmony with the rest of the flora and fauna.

Fig. 28: Endemic mauve Petromarula pinnata in the Gorge (MAICh)

Fig. 27: Cephalanthera cucullata in the Gorge (MAICh)

CH

AP

TE

R 2

| B

IO

DI

VE

RS

IT

Y

PA

RT

Ι |

TH

E N

AT

UR

AL

EN

VI

RO

NM

EN

T

46

Medicinal and aromatic plants of the Gorge

It is difficult to distinguish this category from the previous one, given that all the aromatic plants are beautiful flowers. A walk in Samaria is accompanied by fragrances and aromas. Thyme, savory, ladania, oregano and marjoram remind us of their presence, especially when their glands, which contain volatile essential oils, are crushed (by our steps, as we trample on the bushes, or when we take them in our hands). The essential oils give us special aromas and tastes as seasonings in food, and also have medicinal qualities. Most aromatic herbs belong to the mentha or mint (Labiatae) family, whilst one theory says that its essential oils provide a resistance mechanism so that the plants can survive over-grazing. They are valuable plants for beekeeping.

Fig. 29: Oleander (Nerium oleander) in the Gorge (Chania Forestry Service)

■ Sage (Salvia fruticosa and Salvia pomifera), a honey plant, the dried leaves of which are used to make the “Greek tea” which is served in all coffee houses. Attention, however: this warming, stimulating and restorative drink should be avoided by people with hypertension or an excitable character.

■ Malotera or Mountain Tea (Sideritis syriaca subsp. syriaca). Found at the entrance to the Gorge. A stimulating, palliative, restorative, peptic drink, good for the blood vessels.

■ Thyme (Corridothymus capitatus), which grows from the sea up to the Alpine zone and is used for toothache, coughs, bronchitis, hair loss and as a deodorant. The honey of bees who harvest its pollen is considered one of the most select varieties.

■ Pink savory (Satureja thymbra), the drink of which improves hearing difficulties and heals the larynx, whilst it is used as a spice in cooking, with significant antioxidant properties. Used greatly by the Romans.

■ Marjoram (Origanum microphyllum) is good for headaches, neuroses, hemiplegia, dizziness, epilepsy, memory loss, colds and anorexia. Lo-cals combine it with malotera to make a traditional tea.

■ The ladania or angisaros (Cistus communis) is the plant that pro-duces the ladano, a type of resin that is used today still in perfumery and soap making. The ancients used it as incense and in various oint-ments. Dioscurides mentions that ladano was collected on the feet and beards of goats, where it “sits” as they graze, and is kneaded to take its final form. Today it is collected on leather strips that are passed over the ladania plant (especially in the region of Sisses in Rethymno).

Theophrastus, father of Botany, wrote in the 4th

century BC: Dittany is a plant that grows only in Crete… it is rare as the place where it is produced is small and the goats graze on it because they like it. It is also said that the story with the arrow is true, that if those struck by an arrow eat it they eject the arrow.

Theophrastus, On Plants, 9, 16, 1.

47

Other plants ascribed as medicinal from the time of Dioscurides, the greatest doctor of antiquity, are the carob (Ceratonia siliqua), lentisk (Pistacia lentiscus), agarathus (Phlomis triloba), chaste tree (Vitex agnus castus) and the oleander (Nerium oleander).

The “great centaurean” of Cheiron, teacher of Asclepius and tutor of Achilles, was used as a great medicine for wounds. In the Gorge there is an endemic centaurea (Centaurea redempta).

The most celebrated of Cretan herbs, dittany or erontas (Origanum dictamnus), has not been located on the Samaria footpath. It perhaps exists in one of the gorg-es that contribute to the central one, and has not been located as the area is inac-cessible. It has small, round leaves with a hairy surface, a particular aroma and bunches with pink buds.

Fig. 30: Malotera (Sideritis syriaca) in the Gorge (MAICh)

Fig. 31: Pink savory (Satureja thymbra) in the Gorge (MAICh)

Fig. 32: Dittany (Origanum dictamnus) (M. Toubis SA archive)

CH

AP

TE

R 2

| B

IO

DI

VE

RS

IT

Y

PA

RT

Ι |

TH

E N

AT

UR

AL

EN

VI

RO

NM

EN

T

48

15 H. Fournaraki, P. Gotsiou and P. Galani, “Flora, fauna, endemic, endangered, rare and protected species,” in the OIKOM Update, pp. 83-99.

Endemic, rare andthreatened plants

In the Lefka Ori National Park15 and specifically the Samaria Gorge, the visitor can encounter rare and threat-ened plants of the Greek flora, such as orchids Cephalanthera cucullata (threatened), most impressive when they blossom toward the end of May near Ayios Nikolaos, and the Orchis prisca (vulnerable) near Xyloskalo, which blooms earlier. There are also

the impressive cliff plants, the Cam-panula laciniata (rare), endemic to the islands of the South Aegean and Crete, the Helichrysum heldreichii (vulnerable), endemic only to the gorges south of the Lefka Ori, as is the species Eryngium ternatum. The Sesleria doerfleri and the Euphorbia sultan-hassei, which we encounter after Samaria village, are rare species, known only from the gorges of West Crete. The Samaria National Park plays host to a total of 12 endangered

species, according to the Red Book of Endangered Plants of Greece. The visitor can encounter some of these species on the route from Xyloskalo to Gingilo, such as the Bupleurum kakiskalae, Onobrychis sphaciotica and Centaurea baldacii. The first is protected by Greek and international law, and in the area where it grows you shall see special information boards put up by the Chania Forestry Service on the microreserve set up for the protection of the plant.

49

Fig. 33: Campanula laciniata (MAICh)

Fig. 34: Bupleurum kakiskalae in the Samaria National Park Park

(photo: A. Sakoulis)

Fig. 35: Mullein of Sfakia (Euphorbia sultan-hassei)

(MAICh)

Fig. 36: Helichrysum heldreichii in the Gorge (MAICh)


CH

AP

TE

R 2

| B

IO

DI

VE

RS

IT

Y

PA

RT

Ι |

TH

E N

AT

UR

AL

EN

VI

RO

NM

EN

T

50


51

In the wider region of Omalos and a few metres from the entrance to the National Park (garden of the Samaria National Park Information Centre at Xyloskalo), the walker will come across one of the world’s rarest trees,16 the Zelkova abelicea, which is considered to be a living fossil. It can take the form of a large tree with a rough and grainy bark, which resembles the elm. It produces plenty of sucker growth. Because of the flexibility of its branches, even this exceptionally rare tree is used to make traditional walking sticks (katsounes). This tree is under threat from over-grazing as well as the manufacture of these walking sticks, which are sold illegally to tourists. Such walking sticks should definitely not be purchased. Traditional walking sticks are also made from olive tree17 and holm oak wood, which are just as impressive and usable.

There are many other endemic plants in the Samaria Gorge, such as the Ebenus cretica, Inula candida subsp. candida, Centaurea argentea subsp. macrothysana, Securigera globosa, Ricotia cretica, Galium fruticosum and Verbascum spinosum.

The great value of preserving all these endemic organisms lies in the fact that they comprise a unique gene pool. If they are lost then this is forever, without the possibility of bringing them back, as they are products of the long-term evolution of organisms which have perhaps been lost good. The majority have evolved so as to be able to survive in very idiosyncratic and difficult environments. Research into their products and their survival meth-ods may be the key to discovering new natural products and methods, cru-cial in fighting current and future diseases. This is a natural resource that we do not have the right to lose. The creation and management of the Na-tional Park must contribute to their protection and preservation!!!

Fig. 37: Oregano (Drancunculus vulgare) (photo: H. Kargiolaki)

Fig. 38: Paeonia (Paeonia clusii) (www.natura.pblogs.gr)

Fig. 39: Cretan ebony (Ebenus cretica) (MAICh)

16 Rackham and Moody, p. 96-8.17 Ch. Fournaraki et al., pp. 83-99.

Fig. 40: Abelicea (Zelkova abelicea) (Chania Forestry Service archive)

Fig. 41: Ricotia cretica (MAICh)

Fig. 42: Galium fruticosum (MAICh)

Fig. 43: Verbascum spinosum (MAICh)

CH

AP

TE

R 2

| B

IO

DI

VE

RS

IT

Y

PA

RT

Ι |

TH

E N

AT

UR

AL

EN

VI

RO

NM

EN

T

52

4. The fauna of the Lefka Ori and Gorge of Samaria

The animals and birds of the Lefka Ori and the Samaria Gorge, the subject of this chapter, consist of the non-domesticated wild fauna which lives in the region. Isolated islands, such as Crete, present a particular form of zoological evolution,18 in which we distinguish the presence of strange animals and the complete ab-sence of other species. Crete has never had indigenous wild cattle, wild boars and other wild animals, such as the wolf or fox, whilst the most aggressive animal is the wildcat.

Fig. 44: Butterfly in Samaria(photo: A. Sakoulis)

Fig. 45: Dragonfly in the Lefka Ori(photo: A. Sakoulis)

18 Rackham and Moody, pp. 63-73.19 OIKOM Update, p. 100.


Paraskevi NousiaHelen Karpathaki

Invertebrates

Studies looking exclusively at the Gorge have not been conducted, and so we shall discuss the more general situation in the Lefka Ori. The most important characteristic of the invertebrates19 is the high levels of endemism apparent in Crete in general and the Lefka Ori in particular. The higher we get, so the number of species declines (800m:150, 1200m:119, 1600m:94, 2000m:59).

■ Terrestrial molluscs present an increased level of endemism which reaches almost 33% of the species in the southwest are of the Lefka Ori. The moun-tains of Crete are refuges for terrestrial snails.

■ Arthropods are another group encountered in the Lefka Ori. Some of these, the beetle for example, have a particularly high level of endemism approach-ing 40% of their species. Analyses of beetles and terrestrial molluscs show that Crete is isolated from other parts of the South Aegean.

■ Three species of scorpion have been found in the Lefka Ori, specifically Cretan (Euscorpius carpathicus, Mesobuthus gibbosus and Iurus dufoureius). Although scorpions prefer dry land and warm conditions, in the Lefka Ori they can be found at altitudes as high as 2000 m. Moreover, although there are around 244 species of spider on the island, only 102 species have been recognised in the Lefka Ori.

■ As for orthoptera (grasshoppers, crickets, etc.), 25 species have been iden-tified in the Samaria National Park and surrounding region, of which the Eupholidoptera cretica, E. latens and E. pallipes are endemic to the Lefka Ori. Three further species are endemic to Crete.

Amphibians and reptiles

Three species of amphibians and 11 species of reptiles have been documented in the Lefka Ori. The three species of amphibians are common to continental Greece. The relatively low number of species is due to the infrequency of surface water in the Lefka Ori.

53

Birds

There are 199 bird species in the Lefka Ori, whose environmental needs can be satisfied by the local habitats. The majority of these (108 species, primarily waders, forest birds and species that live in meadows) pass through here every spring and autumn during their annual migration, as Crete is located on the migration routes of birds crossing the Mediterranean along a broad front and hosts the types of habi-tat that these species require (wetlands, forests, meadows).

Only 67 species nest in the Lefka Ori and West Crete (49 permanently and 18 as summer visitors), whilst another 24 species hibernate here. A number of birds of prey are included in the reproducing species (bearded vulture, grif-fon vulture, common buzzard, golden eagle, Bonelli’s eagle, common kestrel, peregrine falcon) as are species that nest in rocks (owl, swift, crag martin, blue rock thrush, black-eared wheatear, chough). There are also many species which survive upon sparse bushes and rocky slopes (chukar, quail, crested lark, wood lark, tawny pipit, Alpine accen-tor, black redstart, common stonechat, northern wheatear, rufous-tailed rock thrush, warbler, sombre tit, woodchat shrike, corvidae, goldfinch, linnet, corn bunting).

The 11 species of reptile are common throughout Greece. Species diversity on Crete is greater for the Mediterranean house gecko (the three European species are here), less for lizards and snakes (there are only three species of each) and very small for turtles (one species of sea turtle but no land turtles). This is most probably related to island biogeography (the isolation of Crete has prevented new species from settling here) and the large number of rock formations, which are ideal for geckos.

Island biogeography: an ecological term relating to the development of particular organisms (animals and plants) in isolated areas, such as islands, gorges and moun-tain peaks. The relative lack of communica-tion due to island biogeography leads to the development of particular organisms, such as endemic ones.

Fig. 46: Balkan green lizard (Lacerta trillineata) in the Lefka Ori (photo: A. Sakoulis).

Habitat: the place where an organ-ism lives. The organism is adapted to the particular environmental con-ditions that exist in its habitat, e.g. a lake, a bog, etc.

Fig. 47: Common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus Α) (photo: A. Sakoulis)

CH

AP

TE

R 2

| B

IO

DI

VE

RS

IT

Y

PA

RT

Ι |

TH

E N

AT

UR

AL

EN

VI

RO

NM

EN

T

54

It is the only creature in the world to feed almost entirely on bones (70-90%). The shepherds on Crete call it Kokkala (bones), as they have long observed it break-ing bones by throwing them from a great height onto steep, rocky slopes, going after the pieces in a spiralling descent. This process is repeated until the bones have been completely broken, and the bearded vulture then eats the bones start-ing from the marrow. It swallows the small bones whole and its stomach, which contains powerful gastric fluids, digests them easily. This dietary habit seems pe-culiar, but from the moment when the problem of the digestion of the bones has been resolved, these are a very nutritious food, easily stored and over which the bird has no competitors.

The bearded vulture was common in Greece, and lived throughout almost all the islands and mainland. Today, the species survives in Crete alone. In the Prefecture of Chania, there are two of the three reproducing pairs of Greece.

The three largest birds of the Lefka OriBearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus)The bearded vulture is one of the rarest birds of prey in Europe, and an exclusive inhabitant of the mountain ecosys-tems, with unusual behavioural features. It is a species of vulture more reminiscent of a giant falcon, with a wingspan reaching up to 2.80 m and with a large rhomboid tail. It nests between December and January in small caves found on tall cliffs, where it lays two eggs, although only one baby vulture survives, which flies from the nest in June.

The breast and stomach of the adult are usually orange, due to the “makeup” effect on its wings from the iron oxide it picks up as it rubs against the limestone rock, a habit that has not yet been unravelled.

Fig. 48: Bearded vulture (watercolour by Vasilis Hadjivarsanis)

Griffon Vulture (Gyps fulvus)This is the most common type of vulture in Europe. In Greece, there are fewer than 400 pairs of Griffon Vultures remaining, most of which we encounter in Crete. A It is large and heavy bird of prey, with a wingspan of 2.60 m and a body length of 97-104 cm. When it roosts, its bald head can be seen with a ruff short wing covert at the base of the neck. It is through the collar wings that we can distinguish if the bird is an adult (short, white wings) or chick (long, brown wings).

During flight, the griffon vulture can be distinguished prima-rily through its short tail and broad wings. Griffon vultures usually fly around in large, wild circles, exploiting the warm air streams, to achieve height, and then glide with their wings sta-tionary (passive flight), thus covering large distances. The grif-fon vulture feeds upon dead medium- and large-sized animals. It prefers the soft parts of the dead animal, with a particular

55

Fig. 49: Griffon Vulture (Gyps fulvus) (photo: A. Sakoulis)

Fig. 50: Bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) (www. nigeldennis.com)

Fig. 51: Bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) (www.ebd.csic.es)

CH

AP

TE

R 2

| B

IO

DI

VE

RS

IT

Y

PA

RT

Ι |

TH

E N

AT

UR

AL

EN

VI

RO

NM

EN

T

56

Mammals

As for mammals, 32 species have been identified in the Lefka Ori.20 In total, 11 species of bats have been documented in the region, whilst on the criteria of the existing habitats, four further species (serotine, Geoffroy’s bat, greater mouse-eared bad, whiskered) may live in the wider region of mountain West Crete. Most species of bat have been documented in areas with plenty of trees, independent of the tree (Turkish pine, cypress, oaks, cultivated olives). These positions are within the boundaries of the upland villages, where they coexist with olive groves and buildings. The most common species is the European free-tailed bat, followed by bats of the Pipistrellus genus, whilst the three species of horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus spp.) are more rare.

Fig. 52: Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) (www.sdgfp.info)

Chiropteran: bat

preference for the innards. Its sharp vision, skill at flying and, above all, its behaviour as a flock enable it to locate bodies before they start to rot, something particularly beneficial in warm climates where dead animals can be sources of pollution. A flock of 60-80 griffon vultures can consume a sheep carcass in five to ten minutes, or a large hoofed animal (cow, horse, etc.) in three to four hours. The area in which they search for food usually extends to a radius of 30-40 km, but it can also reach up to 200-300 km.

20 OIKOM Update, p. 106.

Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetus) (Common name: Vichila)The most powerful bird of prey in Greece, with a wingspan of 1.85-2.20 m and a body length of 75-90 cm. When it flies, its golden-yellow neck and long tail can be seen. The adult bird has a characteristic golden head and nape. Its body and wings have a dark colour underneath, whilst the wings are lighter coloured on top. There are also light-coloured strips on its tail. Golden eagle chicks have a black head and nape, a dark body with white “stains” on the wings, and a white zone around the tail.

The golden eagle flies around much like the griffon vulture, but it flies faster and in small circles, whilst its wings, if observed from the front, form a V-shape. For its size, it is a particularly mobile bird of prey, able to pounce on the ground at great speed. It usually hunts in pairs. The golden eagle’s flights in the pre-reproductive season are characteristic, when they establish the boundaries of their territory. The birds fly p to a great height and then swoop down, with their feathers bunched up.

The diet of a golden eagle consists of birds and medium-sized mammals, such as wood pigeons, wild pigeons, choughs, partridges, hares and even turtles, which it seeks in the mountain slopes, forest clearings and uncovered, open stretches. When it cannot find live, wild food, it feeds upon small sheep and goats and on dead animals.

57

Although Crete has been cut off from neighbouring continents since the Lower Pliocene (five million years ago), it has only one endemic mammal species, the Cretan lesser white-toothed shrew. This is perhaps due to human settlement and the species that people brought with them either by choice (domestic species, such as the nanny goat) or involuntarily (e.g. rodents). Of the mammal species in the Lefka Ori, seven subspecies are endemic to Crete: the hedgehog (Erinaceus concolor nesiotes), weasel (Mustela nivalis galinthias), beech marten (Martes foina bunites), Eurasian badger (Meles meles arcalus), Cretan wildcat (Felis silvestris cretensis), dormouse and wild goat. The subspecies of Crete are smaller than those of continental Europe, with the exception of the weasel and the Cretan wildcat, which are larger than their European sub-species counterparts.

It appears that the spiny mouse was transported involuntarily by man to Crete (hidden in animal feed transported by ship). There are indications that the di-versity observed amongst the spiny mice of Crete is not a result of on-the-spot selection, but that it reflects the genetic diversity of the populations from which the individual mice were transported to the island.

The agrimi or wild goat, the proudest animal of the Gorge, shall not be discussed analytically in this chapter, given that a chapter is dedicated to it (Chapter 3).

Cretan wildcat (Felis silvestris cretensis)The Cretan wildcat is a mysterious creature,21 which humans cannot easily set eyes upon. Shepherds and hunters talk of it, and nights in the Samaria Gorge are “en-livened” by its cries. In 1996, Italian researchers working with the Natural History Museum of Crete succeeded in capturing a live Cretan wildcat for the first time. The wildcat (not an ancestor of the domestic cat) is indigenous throughout the whole of continental Europe. The earliest known cat remains on Crete, perhaps domesticated, come from a disturbed archaeological layer at Knossos, with finds from the Bronze Age and the Roman period. Cats appear on Minoan wall paint-ings and seal stones, along with azure monkeys, lions and other exotic animals

The presence of the Cretan wildcat in the Lefka Ori 22 was confirmed by a dead cat found in 1997, living within a habitat of Kermes oak forest and Mediterranean shrub mixed with sparse trees at an altitude of 900-1200 m. The Cretan subspe-cies (F. s. cretensis) is larger than those of neighbouring regions (F. s. silvestris, F. s. libyca). It is present only at great heights, because, as it seems, it requires particu-larly large (approximately 4.2 sq. km) and untouched territories.

Fig. 53: Mustela nivalis galinthias (photo: A. Sakoulis)

Εικ. 54: Cretan wildcat (Felis silvestris cretensis)

(photo: A. Trichas, Crete Natural History Museum)

21 Rackham and Moody, p. 64.22 OIKOM Update, p. 120.

CH

AP

TE

R 2

| B

IO

DI

VE

RS

IT

Y

59

Origin and evolution

The agrimi belongs to the taxa of even-toed ungulates, animals with an equal number of digits (hooves). Even-toed ungulates first ap-peared in the Mediterranean region during the Palaeocene era, a geological period dating to 55 million years ago.

Five different subspecies are found in nature, with a different natural spread:24

■ Capra aegagrus ssp. cretica (Crete).■ Capra aegagrus ssp. aegagrus (Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan,

Georgia, Iran, Russia, Turkey).■ Capra aegagrus ssp. blythi (Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Turkmenistan).■ Capra aegagrus ssp. chialtanensis (Pakistan).■ Capra aegagrus ssp. tourcmenica (Iran, Turkmenistan).

There are, however, scientists who do not recognise the species Capra aega-grus and consider it synonymous with the Capra hircus, which describes the domestic goat.

C H A P T E R 3

A G R I M I : T H E W I L D G O AT O F C R E T E

23 Aigagros (wild goat): aix, aigos (goat) + agros (wild), s. v. Babiniotis dictionary.24 Dr Petros Lyberakis, biologist, Natural History Museum of Crete.

The name “kri kri” is often incorrectly used for the agrimi. In the early 1950s a Cretan, Eftychis Protopapadakis, gave a gift of an agrimi to the then president of the United States Harry Truman. He even took it him-self to Washington. Because he would call it by saying “come, my kri-kraki”, the Ameri-cans, combining his words with his Cretan origins, called this particular argimi “kri kri”.

Antonis Plymakis, 2001

A. Plymakis, The agrimi of Crete. Capra Aegagrus Cretica, Chania 2001, p. 205.

Fig. 55: Agrimi (Capra aegagrus cretica) in Samaria (photo: A. Sakoulis)

Fig. 56: Agrimi (Capra aegagrus cretica) (drawing by S. Vlazaki)

1. The agrimi

“Agrimi” is the common name for the male wild goat 23 in Crete, whilst the name “sanada” is used for the female. It is the largest wild mammal on the island. The greatness it emits, its gallantry, its ability to observe without being seen, its speed and impressive horns, are characteristics which have become loved by the island’s inhabitants, making it the symbol of Crete, of the free Cretan soul.


PA

RT

Ι |

TH

E N

AT

UR

AL

EN

VI

RO

NM

EN

T

60

Scientists have expressed various views as to the origin of the agrimi. Some be-lieve that they originate from semi-domesticated goats who were returned to the wild early in the prehistoric era. In contrast, others believe that the agrimi and the goat evolved side-by-side as different species, with a common ancestor who is now extinct. The two species continue, however, to be genetically close, demon-strating their hybrid relationship. Recent genetic analyses lead to the conclusion that the agrimi most likely originates from nanny goats which humans brought to Crete in the Neolithic period, around 9,000 years ago.25

Features

Agrimia are distinguished noticeably on gender lines. First of all, the males are much larger than the females. All have horns, from which the animal’s age can easily be calculated as distinct annual rings are formed. The males have larger horns (up to 90 cm), which curve backwards. They also have the characteristic beard, which rarely appears on the females. Their hair is brownish-red during the summer, whilst in the winter it thickens and turns a brownish-black. On elderly male agrimia it turns white. They have a black line down their backs, stretching from the nape to the upper part of the tail, whilst their shoulders are crossed with another line that reaches as far as the stomach. Black designs also appear on the front part of their legs.

Excluding the period of reproduction, male and female agrimia live apart. Only the young males follow the flocks of females or elderly males. The male flocks are larger in number than the female ones. The elderly males live alone or with two or three others, rarely in larger groups. The wild goat usually lives ten to fifteen years.

Mating and reproduction

Agrimia mate in late October to early November. The male agrimia are mature enough to reproduce at ages four to five, and the females at two to three. The ma-ture males battle each other for the females of their choice, and the victor forms a “harem” of two or more females. They give birth to one, rarely two, kids between April and May. Only a few hours after their birth, the kids can follow their mother around and do not leave her side till around six months. Care for the growth and protection of the kids is undertaken by the females, who are distinguished for their tenderness, dedication and self-sacrifice towards their young.

Fig. 58: Little agrimi chewing. Summer. Summer hair. (photo: A. Geskou)

Fig. 57: An agrimi (Capra aegagrus cretica) (www.flickr.com)

25 OIKOM Update, p.107.

61

Biotope

Until the early 20th century, the agrimi lived in three mountain complexes of Crete (Lefka Ori, Psiloritis and Dikte). Today, it is limited to the Lefka Ori, although there is some evidence for rare appearances in Psiloritis. The natural biotope of the agrimi is mountain areas, particularly brushwood and rocky caves. It prefers regions near coniferous forests (cypress and pine), great slopes (over 30%) and lots of rocks (30%). It eats mainly upon ground flora and tender bush vegetation, although in periods where they are lacking it eats most of the plants in its biotope except the thorny and poisonous ones.

Fig. 59: Agrimi and young female during the period of reproduction.

Winter hari (photo: A. Geskou)

Fig. 60: Male agrimi at Samaria. Automn (photo A. Geskou)


CH

AP

TE

R 3

| A

GR

IM

I:

TH

E W

IL

D G

OA

T O

F C

RE

TE

PA

RT

Ι |

TH

E N

AT

UR

AL

EN

VI

RO

NM

EN

T

62

Population and dangers

Intensive hunting during the first five decades of the 20th century (with the in-troduction and spread of firearms) and the changes in the biotope due to human intervention are the main causes for the decline in the agrimi population and its disappearance from some parts of Crete. Already from 1913 it was found only in the Lefka Ori.

The population in 1952 was estimated (perhaps too strictly) at 100. An increase in population was observed once Samaria was proclaimed a National Park. Today their population is estimated at 500 to 4000 animals, although this is not based on demographic statistics. The great divergence in estimates underlines that the precise number of animals that exist in the Samaria National Park and the broader area of the Lefka Ori (Forest Research Institute, 1996) is not known, and no sys-tematic study has ever been conducted. The study announced by the Prefectural Administration of Chania, after a Programme Contract with the Samaria National Park Management Body, is an attempt to cover this lacuna.

The greatest threats to the agrimi population are:26

■ Death, shootings, illegal hunting■ Hybridism with domestic goats■ Fragmentation of their habitats with the construction of roads■ Inbreeding (as a result of the small population)

2. Τhe agrimi in myth, prehistory and history

Myth holds that Rea, in order to save Crete-born Zeus from the mania of his father Cronus, hid him in Psiloritis, where he was reared by a wild nanny goat, Amaltheia. She was the wild goat worshipped in Minoan Crete. People would represent her with feathers and associated her with fertility goddesses.

The first traces of the wild goat appear around the Bronze Age. Representations of the agrimi abound on Minoan pots, whilst later in the Hellenistic years either the whole body of the animal or just its head was stamped on coins from the cities of Elyros and Hyrtakina, ancient cities of southwest Crete. The coins of ancient Tarra (Ayia Roumeli), gold and silver, bore the head of a wild goat on one side. The Cretan agrimi can also be seen on 4th-century BC coins from Praesos. This image has been adopted as the emblem of the Greek Society for Nature Protec-tion. The coins of Tylissos had the image of a hunter on one side with the head of


Ethereal, inapproachable, untouchable, immobile. The wild goat who measures the chasm and is measured by the wind, who displays his wealth in his meagre and difficult to find food, who flirts with the absolute, the immobile and the precipitous. Who is visited and found, occasionally, only by the shots of the hunter. Is he indigenous or ethereal? He has always confused us. Truly arrow-like, a moving wild herb that scatters its aromas into the ethers. An animal of the sky, but also a rock that all the more escapes. A dream, a rifle, a trace that mists. The wild goat! Who goes and comes to the blossom of oregano, to the invisible bleat and to dittany. Present and fleeing, silent, mobile, flighty, light of the peaks.

Y. Kokkinakos, 2008

Y. Kokkinakos, “The monias (second reading),” in Chaniotika Nea, 26/01/2008.

Fig. 62: Divinity and Cretan goat, clay seal from the Minoan settlement in Chania town, ca 1450 BC (archive of the 25th Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities)

Text:Athanasia Zotou

Fig. 61: Rushing goat at the edge of the Park (photo A. Geskou)


63

an agrimi in his right hand and a bow and arrow in his left.27 The plethora and variety of finds demonstrates the very close relationship between humans and the agrimi.

3. Protection of the agrimi

Many personal testimonies, such as that of Aubyn Trevor–Battye, prove that agrimi hunting was done freely at the beginning of the previous century, a natural act for the inhabitants of Samaria. The same was true for game hunters. Yet, this almost led to the extinction of the species, as the numbers of agrimia declined greatly.

27 Plymakis, The agrimi of Crete, p. 147.28 A.H. Makridakis, Samaria. The Kingdom of the Cretan agrimi, Chania Hunters Association: Athens, 1961, p. 32.

[S]o now I gazed up into the moun-tains expecting to see them on some ledge of rock. But seeing nothing, I asked the men, “Where are the agrimia?” And they showed me the point where the woman stood with the goats. I realized at once that the two little kids she was feeding on leaves were none other than the young of the so-called Cretan ibex. A tame black common goat was standing with them, but a glance was sufficient to show they were not hers … The woman said her husband had shot the mother in March, so the kids were now only three months old … [A]fter a long discussion I made a bid for the kids which overcame her resistance, and she consoled herself, saying “Ah, well, he will get me some more next spring.” The kids were mine! The bargain struck included the old nanny-goat, with the undertaking that the shepherd would come to Canea with me, be-ing responsible for the safe journey of the animals to that town …It was dark. I stopped all talking lest voices should alarm the kids; only the shepherd’s voice sounded continuously, calling “Ela, éla,” into the night. He could not see the kids, he only knew when they were by the goat’s side by feeling with his hands.

A. Trevor–Battye, Camping in Crete, with Notes upon the Animal and Plant Life of the Island, London 1913, pp. 226-227, 230.

Early attempts at protection

It is a noteworthy fact that the first people to get in-volved with protection of the Cretan wild goat were the members of the Chania Hunters Association. In 1928, the Association: “Received from the shepherds of Sfa-kia, in exchange for payment, small agrimia which for many years it raised at the Souda Garden Farm with its own funds and in collaboration with the Forestry Service. It subsequently transferred them to the islet of Ayioi Theodoroi, also known as Thodorou, where it founded the first and largest Cretan wild goat farm in Crete.28 This initial action was followed by other organisations, local and foreign, as well as by private individuals. The efforts of Theodoros Viglis who, al-though he lived in Athens, attempted with all his abili-ties to mobilise Cretans around the issue of protecting the agrimi are especially touching.

On 23 April 1935, at the festival of Ai-Giorgis Samaria, Viglis proposed to the worshippers that they should swear on the icon of St George that they would not touch another agrimi for the next four years and that they should notify the police if anyone violated this principle. The vow was faithfully kept to until the dif-ficult days of the Second World War.

Text:Athanasia Zotou

Fig. 63: Thodoris Viglis with his little agrimi (from The agrimi of Crete, A. Plymakis)

CH

AP

TE

R 3

| A

GR

IM

I:

TH

E W

IL

D G

OA

T O

F C

RE

TE

64

Post-war international and Greek interest

After the war, international interest for the protection of the Cretan wild goat was revived: “…in the issue for the 6-1-1953 of the Ayios Nikolaos of Lasithi newspaper it is noted in the headline: ‘Foreigners show great interest in the Cretan agrimi,’ wherein is discussed the work of Farmar [Hugo Farmar, British scholar] as part of the missions of animal organisations from Britain and America to study how the agrimi can be protected… Organisations from the United States took part in efforts to protect the agrimi in this period … [as well as] the international society for the preservation of nature [and] the British Fauna Preservation Society…”.29 In the March 1954 issue of To Vouno, published by the Athens Mountaineering Club, it was announced that the Forestry Directorate of the General Ad-ministration of Crete had decided in May 1953 to appoint a guard at the Lefka Ori to protect the wild goats. This was an act of goodwill on the part of the authority, although lacking for various reasons. “If the Cretans do not become serious about protecting this unique species of wild goat themselves, then there are not many hopes for its survival,” the article’s author noted.30

29 Plymakis, The agrimi of Crete, p. 113. 30 Op. cit., p. 113.31 Op. cit., p. 115.

Drastic protection measures

In the September 1956 issue, however, in an article with the title “Lively move-ment recently on Crete for the protection of the wild goat,” mention is made of the activities of the Prosecutor of the Crete Court of Appeal, specifically the Deputy Prosecutor Georgios Yiannakopoulos, who published [in 1955-1956] a series of circulars, orders, and guidelines for authorities, associations, local schools, etc. on the protection of the agrimi.”31 This article also discusses the meeting held on the initiative of the Chania Prefecture and the Deputy Prosecutor on 15 September 1956 on the same subject, as well as the awareness campaign amongst the inhabit-ants of the Sfakia villages. Special leaflets on the wild goat and its protection were also published in 1957 by the Chania Union of Naturist Mountain Climbers.

The honour protocol

The above actions were accompanied on 27 July 1957 by the signing of an honour protocol by the inhabitants of Ayia Roumeli. In this document, the Ayioroume-liotes publicly declared that protection of the wild goat was for them a matter of honour. This agreement was the forerunner of a wider-ranging protocol signed on 7 April 1960 by the inhabitants of the villages of Ayia Roumeli and Samaria, Sfakia. We include an extract from this protocol, as published in Antonis Ply-makis’s valuable book on the agrimi, as an example of a written/unwritten law: “WE GIVE OUR WORD OF HONOUR that not only will we not hunt this ani-mal but, on the contrary, we will protect it, and we shall report anyone who at-

Fig. 64: Maria S. Vigli with her child and little agrimi (from A. Plymakis, The agrimi of Crete)

65

tempts to kill it to the relevant local authority. In closing, our signatures seal the word we have given.”32 This was followed by 31 signatures.

The question of the EDA parliamentarians

Even before the signing of the above protocol, efforts to protect the wild goat had already reached the Greek parliament. On 4 March 1960, the junior minister for Agriculture D. Thanopoulos, in response to a question from the EDA (United Democratic Left) parliamen-tarians I. Kontoudakis, K. Hiotakis and G. Pa-pageorgiou regarding protection of the Cretan

wild goat, and following a special study and report of the Chania Forest Ranger A. Bletas, concluded: “The Service would not object to the declaration of this region (Samaria Gorge, etc.), where the wild goat lives, as a National Park, in application of Law 856/1937. The matter is not, however, so simple… as it is connected to other, more serious social issues.”33 These issues concerned the inhabitants of the region and their use of the land.

The foundation of the Samaria National Park as a means of protecting the agrimi

Almost three years later, on 6 November 1962, Paul, King of the Hellenes, signed Royal Decree no. 781 “On the foundation of a National Park in the Lefka Ori of the island of Crete”34. The Cretan wild goat was thus the primary reason for the creation of the National Park. The creation of the National Park gave the Cretan argimi its place back, far from illegal hunters and the danger of interbreeding with the common goat, where it can live securely.

32 Op. cit., pp. 117-8.33 Papers of the Parliamentary Debates, Period V, Assembly II, 64th Meeting, 15th March 1960, Athens 1961, pp.

277-8. 34 Government Gazette (Issue 1), 1962, p. 1709.

Fig. 66: Agrimi on the islet of Thodoros, at the Cretan wild goat farm

(Chania Forestry Service archive)

The most effective measure, however, for the saving of the Cretan wild goat, known as the “agrimi”, is the founda-tion of a National Park in the Gorge of Samaria, regarding which we submit-ted a report last year. In that year, a spe-cialist section leader was sent to gather details for conducting a broader study on the above matter. So far, however, nothing has been announced, and this evidently because the matter stumbles on the issue of locating money for ex-propriations, in the region of around four million drachmas.

A. Bletas, Chania Forest Ranger, 1961

A. Bletas, Year Book of the Chania Forestry Serv-ice for the administrative year 1961, Chapter 8 (Thera). Fig. 65: Postcard from the Hellenic Post,

1970. Year of Nature (Hellenic Post Philately Society)

66

Part ΙΙSamaria village, 2008 (photo: E. Marakakis)

67

THE MANMADE ENVIRONMENT

PA

RT

ΙΙ

| T

HE

MA

NM

AD

E E

NV

IR

ON

ME

NT

68

Fig. 1: Man and nature (Mountaineering Club of Chania archive)

69


H U M A N S A N D S A M A R I A : A S P E C I A L R E L AT I O N S H I P

The great tectonic activity and geological transformations that created Crete, its mountains, coasts and gorges are lost in the mists of time. For millions of years, the island was not inhabited by humans, only by prehistoric animals and plants. Crete did not have an autochthonous population. It is assumed that the earliest visitors were hunters and fishers, who discovered the island in the Mesolithic pe-riod (ca 10,000 BC). The first people settled on the island permanently later, in the Neolithic period, bringing domesticated animals and new crops with them. Towards the end of the Neolithic, they also brought the olive tree with them, now closely associated with the Cretan landscape. Since then, the environment was shaped not only by the forces of nature but also by human activity. Despite the fact that humans had only inhabited the island for a brief period, they played a decisive role in shaping it.

Humans and Samaria have a special relationship. The Samaria Gorge, despite its wild nature, is not an unapproachable, unsurpassable gorge. It is the only gorge in Chania to have been systematically inhabited.35 The village of Samaria was created at its heart, and that of Ayia Roumeli at its exit. Within this closely intertwined relationship, the natural environment of Samaria has had a decisive influence in many ways on the lives of the people and the shaping of their culture. In turn, hu-mans, through their activities in various historical periods, have left, and continue to leave, their traces upon it – from antiquity until today. These bonds changed in the final years of the 20th century due to two important events: the declaration of the Gorge as a National Park, which prohibits permanent residence within the Gorge (not, however, at Ayia Roumeli), and by the dramatic growth of tourism. The full protection of the Gorge from human activities has preserved the natural environment, but it has had other consequences, such as being estranged from the inhabitants of Samaria (whilst the bonds with Ayia Roumeli are still alive) and the transformation of their relationship with the place. The growth of tourism has raised the region’s economic indicators, but it has also changed the experiences of

Text:Emmy Papavasileiou

To the tectonic forces that shaped the topography, the Pleistocene fau-na that shaped the vegetation, the Cretan people who shaped the land-scape. Each without the others would have resulted in a dramatically different Crete.

Oliver Rackham and Jennifer Moody, 2004

Rackham and Moody, intro pages, p. XII.

It is easier to process statistics than to attempt to understand life.

Guy Burgel, 1965

G. Burgel, POBIA, Étude Géographique d’un Village Crétois, 1965, Centre des Sciences So-ciales d’Athènes.

35 A further village, at the exit of Trypiti gorge (to the west of Samaria), was abandoned most probably in the 17th century (see Rackham and Moody, p. 127).

PA

RT

ΙΙ

| T

HE

MA

NM

AD

E E

NV

IR

ON

ME

NT

70

visitors as masses now descend, burdening the landscape and downgrading the habitat and environment of Ayia Roumeli. It is interesting that, although impor-tant studies have been conducted for a more logical and environmentally-friendly form of development, these have not been applied.

Yet, the Gorge does not belong only to the small geographical unit of Sfakia prov-ince. Not only is it of great important for the world’s natural heritage, as a refuge for rare and endangered wild life, it has played an important role on a broader stage in many areas:

1. It has influenced the local culture in terms of mythological, religious and folk-lore narratives as well as of values. The free and ascetic life of the wild goat, with which Samaria is identified, has acquired an emblematic significance and person-ifies gallantry and love of freedom, values that represent the Prefecture of Chania and Crete in general.

2. It has played an important, even leading, role in the earlier and modern history of Crete, and of Greece as a whole, providing refuge, a safe passage and a base for revolutionary activities. It is not clear that many of the historical events that defined the course of the island would have had the same result were it not for the Samaria Gorge.

3. It is an internationally recognised “sight”, with a reputation from antiquity until our days. It is the Samaria Gorge that puts Crete onto international envi-ronmental maps.

4. As a tourist attraction over the past decades, it has contributed significantly not only to the growth of the economy of Sfakia but of the whole prefecture. It is the most popular sight on the island after Chania old town.

5. It is a living example of a harmonious relationship throughout the centuries between humans and nature. Humans have lived within and around the Gorge, developing an almost self-sufficient economy with activities that have resulted in the natural protection of the park and sustainable development.

For all the above reasons, it is worth systematically studying Samaria’s contribu-tion to all fields by interdisciplinary groups of specialists, and developing a new outlook for the relationship of the people of this place with their “faranga”.

The search for information to use in this publication highlighted the problems of the lack of archaeological, geographical, anthropological and other studies, which would have given us a more satisfying image of this particular human presence in the Gorge. In this way, the wealth of the manmade environment, which has not received the same kind of protection as the natural, would have been made clear. For this publication, greater emphasis has been given to the historical dimen-

71

sion of the development of these phenomena and in presenting as many sources as possible which would help compile a more satisfying image of life during the period when people had a close relationship with the Gorge, as over forty years have already passed since its last inhabitant abandoned it. This is why so much evidence comes from the oral histories of the old inhabitants of Samaria and Ayia Roumeli, as well as from works generously produced by people who, voluntarily and through a love of the place, have attempted to save whatever can be from oblivion. The agrimi was once able to unite the inhabitants of Samaria and Ayia Roumeli with an honour protocol for its protection. The Samaria National Park warrants being the reason for a new honour protocol, to be given by the younger generations for a new relationship with the Gorge and with the natural environ-ment in general.

Fig. 2: A harmonious relationship (photo: C. Aretaki)

INT

RO

DU

CT

ION

| H

UM

AN

S A

ND

SA

MA

RI

A:

A S

PE

CI

AL

RE

LA

TI

ON

SH

IP

72

Fig. 3: The village of Lower Samaria (photo C. Aretaki)

73

C H A P T E R 1

T H E E A R L I E S T T R A C E S O F A H U M A N P R E S E N C E I N T H E G O R G E

36 R. Pashley, Travels in Crete, vol. ΙΙ, London 1837, pp. 267-70.

1. From the Prehistoric era untl the Roman years

The securest evidence for the first settlement of humans on Crete dates to the Neolithic period (6100-3500/2900 BC), and is connected with the organised development of pastoralism and agriculture.

The first presence of man on the Lefka Ori, the mountain range that also hosts Samaria, is certified by the inter-esting rock paintings found at Skordylakia, near the village of Asfendo in Sfakia, although these have not been definitively dated.

This was followed by the Bronze Age (3500/2900-1100 BC), which is associated with the important, brilliant Minoan civilisation, the traces of which have been located and uncovered all over Crete. Fatal developments, most likely natu-ral, ushered in the so-called Dark Ages, otherwise known as the Geometric Period (1000-680 BC), when the popula-tion shrank and many settlements disappeared.

From the evidence uncovered so far during archaeological excavations in the sanctuary, the first traces of human ac-tivity within the Gorge date to the 6th century BC (archaic period), with an unbroken continuity until the 3rd century AD (Roman period). At the exit of the Gorge, where the ancient city of Tarra stood, the ancient finds date from as early as the 8th century BC, whilst the life of the city continued throughout all the following periods (archaic, classical, Hellenistic, Roman).

Britomartis, who is also called Dik-tynna, the myths relate, was born at Kaino in Crete of Zeus and Karme [8], the daughter of Euboulos who was the son of Demeter…

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca historica 5, 76

Text and photographs:Vanna Niniou-Kindeli

The city of Kaino

Diodorus Siculus, the 1st-century BC historian who has given us much valuable information on ancient Crete (Book V, 76, 3-6), cites the city of Kaino as the birthplace of the goddess Britomartis, believed to be an earlier incarnation of Artemis, although without noting the city’s precise location.The 19th-century British traveller R. Pashley locates Kaino in the interior of Samaria Gorge,36 and gives two possibilities as to its precise location: the hill Ellenes and the spot of Ayios Nikolaos. Kaino was not one of the large cities of Crete, nor did it mint its own coins, something which would have indicated its political autonomy.


PA

RT

ΙΙ

| T

HE

MA

NM

AD

E E

NV

IR

ON

ME

NT

74

The earliest finds so far belong to the 6th century BC, although it is not impossible that further research will uncover evidence of even earlier worship.

BRITOMARTIS DIKTYNNAWorship of Diktynna dates to the Mi-noan period, as one of the myths from West Crete links the Cretan nymph Britomartis with Minos, who, charmed by her beauty, pursued her persistently. She, despondent, fell from the rocks into the sea, where fishermen gathered her in their nets, their “diktya”. Thus was created the goddess Diktynna and the Diktynnaion sanctuary at today’s Cape Spatha, which until the Roman period belonged to Kydonia. The prehistoric deity Diktynna is identified with the clas-sical deity Artemis, and has the features of the Minoan Potnia Theron (Mistress of the Animals), whom she succeeded.

Fig. 4: From the excavations at the sanctuary, 1991 (photo: V. Niniou-Kindeli)

It was instead most likely a small city, which belonged administratively to one of the large city-states of the broader region. A site with building remains uncovered on the hill in the central section of the Gorge could well be Kaino. According to Diodorus Siculus, at least one more sanctuary of the goddess Britomartis should be sought for in this area. Pashley mentions a temple of Apollo at Kaino. The two siblings, Apollo and Artemis, were worshipped at the same sanctuary. Worship of both these gods is also associated in mythology with Tarra, as shall be discussed further below.

The ancient sanctuary in Samaria National Park

In 1990, during work by the Forestry Service on the central footpath that crosses the Park and at the spot of Ayios Nikolaos, antiquities were found were the first time. This was followed in 1991 by brief archaeological survey by the 25th Ephorate of Antiquities with the assistance of the Forestry Service.

Part of an open-air sanctuary was found, a type of sanctuary in which the form of the physical environment played a decisive role it its creation. The rituals took place in the open, and the existence of a temple was not essential. This type of temple had been especially popular in Crete from as early as the Minoan period,


CH

AP

TE

R Ι |

TH

E E

AR

LI

ES

T T

RA

CE

S O

F A

HU

MA

N P

RE

SE

NC

E I

N T

HE

GO

RG

E

75

when conducting rituals within nature was a central tenet of the religion. They recall the need of the simple folk to appeal to the powers of nature relating either to fertility and the “magical” alternating of the seasons, or with the danger and fear of the destructive earthquake, which comes from the bowels of the earth. In this way, open-air rituals, with fiery sacrifices and the dedication of votives form a ritual worship, which has a direct relationship with nature and, at the same time, with approaching the “divine”. The sanctuary of Samaria, which functioned for many centuries, was founded as part of this tradition, on the bank of the river covered with tall cypress trees.

The largest number of votives uncovered during the excavations date from the Roman period (1st c. BC – 4th c. AD): bronze coins, cups, used clay lamps with relief representations – indicating that the ritual perhaps took place at night.

Worship was centred around the large rock with a natural cavity/depression on its lower surface. An “anderon” (terrace) was subsequently built for it from undressed and semi-dressed stone, for depositing votives, such as clay vessels and clay idols in the form of human figurines. A small circular hearth, roughly made, was found next to the rock, within which were the remains of burnt sacrificial animals (ashes and a few bones, mainly from sheep and goats). Amongst the votives, the bronze and iron tips of arrows and spears prevail, the small size of which indicates that they had been made exclusively for votive use, a phenomenon also seen in sanctu-aries of Apollo in the Peloponnese. It is also very possible that there was a temple, or at least a larger sanctuary, dedicated to the two gods in the wider locale.

Fig. 5: The open-air sanctuary(photo: V. Niniou-Kindeli)

Fig. 6: Bronze idol of a ram (photo: S. Alexandrou)

Fig. 7: Bronze votive weapons found in the sanctuary (photo: S. Alexandrou)

PA

RT

ΙΙ

| T

HE

MA

NM

AD

E E

NV

IR

ON

ME

NT

76

Ancient Tarra (Ayia Roumeli)

In ancient times, a small but autonomous city with the name of Tarra was located at the exit of the Samaria National Park, in the direction of the Libyan Sea and to the east and west of the mouth of the river that crosses it.

Its geographical position was known from the Stadiasmos of the Great Sea37 (6th c. AD), wherein we read that Tarra was located between Poikilasio and Phoenix (today’s Loutro), lying at a distance of six “stadia” from each.

The earliest description of the ancient settlement is perhaps that of the first trav-eller to the area in the Middle Ages, the Franciscan monk Buondelmonti, who visited southwest Crete in 1415. The image he saw as soon as reached the coast of today’s Ayia Roumeli was particularly impressive: monumental buildings, wells, ruins of marble temples, pieces of statues and idols. Much later, in 1837, the Eng-lish traveller R. Pashley identified the site as that of ancient Tarra, although he found no trace of Buondelmonti’s ruins.Fig. 8: Site of ancient Tarra

(photo: E. Papavasileiou)

Text:Katerina Tzanakaki

CH

AP

TE

R Ι |

TH

E E

AR

LI

ES

T T

RA

CE

S O

F A

HU

MA

N P

RE

SE

NC

E I

N T

HE

GO

RG

E

77

In the written tradition the city is presented as a Dorian religious centre, with many temples and votives, the main worship being that of Apollo Tarraios. It is even mentioned that a colony of the same name was founded in the Caucasus: City of Tarra … of Crete, wherein Apollo Tarraios is honoured. There is also another city of Tarra by the Caucasus, a colony of Cretans.38

Tarra was situated within a charming but at the same time inhospitable natural environment. Although it had access to the sea, it was essentially cut off and with-out easy access to the hinterland, a fact which cultivated its autonomy. The city was obliged to face the many dangers exclusively on its own resources. It thus had good fortifications to protect it from the frequent pirate raids, whilst living condi-tions were eased by the supply of plentiful water from the Samaria forest during most months of the year.

Communication between the city and the outside world was secured via the sea. It may have functioned as a stop-off in the network of maritime routes used by com-

mercial ships sailing to and from North Africa. It is not impossible that it also had some port facilities that may have been destroyed after the great earthquakes that pounded the eastern Mediterranean during late antiq-uity, in particular that of AD 365. This is when the earth suddenly rose

by four metres along the whole of Sfakia coast, thus forming today’s impressive beach of Ayia Roumeli. The Ephorate of Underwater

Antiquities does not exclude the possibility of the existence of an ancient shipwreck in Ayia Roumeli bay.

Tarra, as the archaeological evidence shows, was founded in the early archaic period, most likely at the end of the 8th cen-tury BC. We know that in the early 7th century BC, Tarra had

contacts with the cities of Messara and later with parts of the eastern Aegean, Rhodes, Corinth, Attica, etc. Also impor-tant were its relations with cities in North Africa, already from the 6th century BC, such as Teucheira in Cyrenaica (today’s Tocra in Libya) and Alexandria in Egypt. The city minted its own coins in the Hellenistic period, which bore the bee on one side and the head of the Cretan wild goat

on the other.

THE ROMANCE OF APOLLO AND AKAKALLISApollo fell in love with the nymph Akakallis at Tarra, and from their union at the house of Karmanoras were born the founders of Elyros, Phylakides and Philandros

Pausanias X, 16.5. See Papahadjis op. cit.

Fig. 9: Trefoil oenochoe (wine jug) used on a ritual fire, late 3rd BC (photo: I. Iliades)

APOLLO IS PURIFIED AT TARRA BY THE PRIEST KARMANARAS Tarra is closely connected with Artemis and Apollo. Pausanias says that they sought refuge at the house of the priest Karmanoras in Tarra, a legendary puri-fier and celebrated man of religion in the late prehistoric period, so as to be purified after the death of Pythos. The catharsis of Apollo Tarraios is the rea-son why catharsis and lustrations were performed at the Tarra sanctuary.

Pausanias II, 7, n. 3. See N. Papahadjis, Pau-sanias’ Tour of Greece, Ekdotiki Athinon, 1974 (in Greek). .

A NIGHT FILLED WITH LOVE…According to one mythological tradition, the god Apollo, captivated by the beau-tiful nymph, lost himself in her embrace and did not wake up in time to yoke the horses onto the sun’s chariot and thus begin his long journey around the world, from east to west. Thus, without light, the earth began to shudder, the rivers froze, and people and gods did not know what to do, until the enamoured god woke up. The sun again began to rise, after a might that had lasted as long as many days and nights together…

N. Psilakis, Cretan Mythology, Karmanor: Heraklion, 1996, pp. 310-12 (in Greek).

37 An undated guide to the Mediterranean coasts. See Rackham and Moody, p. 18738 S. Grammaticus (Byzantius), Ethnika (epitome), Berlin-Reimer 1849, publ. A. Mei-

neke, pp. 604-5.

PA

RT

ΙΙ

| T

HE

MA

NM

AD

E E

NV

IR

ON

ME

NT

78

These representations are seemingly connected with the main occupations of the local inhabitants. In the same period, Tarra was part of the “Mountain Com-monwealth”, a federation of Cretan towns formed most likely in the late 3rd century BC at the south-west edge of the island. The participants along with Tarra were Elyros, Hyrtakina, Lissos, Phoenix and

Poikilasio. The name of Tarra is mentioned in the Treaty drawn up by Cretan cit-ies with Euemenes II of Pergamon in 183 BC. In the same era, they sent “theoroi” (members of an official delegation) to Delphi.

39 Corning Museum of Glass located in Corning, New York State, and focusing on the development of glass artistry.

Fig. 10: Silver and bronze coins of Tarra. On one side is the head of a wild goat with the letters T A R, and on the other side a bee (Ioannis Svoronos, Numismatique de la Crète Αncienne, Macon 1890)

LUCIUS, OR LUCILLUSThe grammarian Lucius, or Lucillus (ca AD 100) was from Tarra. He wrote a three-volume col-lection of sayings that he had collected on his journeys, a commentary on Apollonius Rhodius, a grammatical work (Technika) and a work on Thessaloniki.* He is discussed by Stephanus Byzantius.**

* P. Kroh, Lexicon der antiken autoren, Stuttgart, 1972, s.v. Lucius.** Grammaticus, p. 604.

Only two small-scale excavations have been conducted at Ayia Roumeli, which however provided some very important information on ancient Tarra. In 1959 the American archaeologist G.D. Weinberg, in her efforts to locate an ancient glass vessel workshop, excavated to the east of the river bed, with support from the Corning Museum of Glass.39 The results were not anticipated. The many glass fragments collected and studied date primarily to the Roman period (1st-2nd c. AD). Yet, they are not workshop waste, the existence of which would have been clear evidence for an organised glass workshop in the locale. Weinberg finally un-covered the ruins of an ancient settlement, some fortress works, and surveyed the graves, primarily those of the classical and Hellenistic periods. From beneath the church of the Panayia to the west of the river, she brought to light some impressive foundations which may have belonged to an ancient temple.

The second archaeological excavation, an emergency one, was conducted in the summer of 1970 by Dr G. Tzedakis, an archaeologist from the local ephorate,

when the old village of Ayia Roumeli had to be moved when it was destroyed by a flood at Gialos, on the west bank of the river. A large section

of the main cemetery of the ancient city was discovered, which was surrounded, in the south at least, by a stone surround wall. The lack of time, however, meant that the boundaries of the ancient cemetery were not located. A

Fig. 11: Compass with a stopper, which perhaps contained the carbonised almonds found close to it (photo: S. Alexandrou)

CHRYSOTHEMISTarra was also associated with Chrysothemis, the son of Karmanoras, who was an encomiast of Apollo and victor at the musical con-tests of Delphi.

Psilakis, p. 326.

CH

AP

TE

R Ι |

TH

E E

AR

LI

ES

T T

RA

CE

S O

F A

HU

MA

N P

RE

SE

NC

E I

N T

HE

GO

RG

E

79

significant number of clay finds, vessels and idols were found, however, dating, from the archaic, classical, Hellenistic and Roman peri-ods, demonstrating the continuous use of the cemetery from the early 7th century BC until the Roman period.

The abandonment of the city and its gradual shrinking should be dated to the late Roman period (4th c. AD). This was largely due to the catastrophic consequences of the earthquake of AD 365 and the dramatic changes it brought to most cities in western Crete on a social, com-mercial and economic level. This hypothesis is strengthened by the fact that nothing that can be dated with certainty to this period was uncovered during the excavations of 1959 and 1970. A few centuries later, in the sixth century AD, an Early Christian basilica with mosaic floors was built to the west of the river. 40

Of particular interest is the informa-tion provided regarding the city’s burial customs. Traces of fire were found near the cist graves, which con-tained vessels and fruit remains. This custom is associated with memorial services in honour of the dead.

Fig. 12: Clay votive from an Attic workshop of the classical period (archive of the 25th Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities)

40 Bibliography: V. Niniou-Kindeli and K. Tzanakaki, “Pottery with local fea-tures from the region of the Mountain Commonwealth”, in the VI Academic Meeting on the Hellenistic Period (Volos, 17-23 April 2000), Athens 2004, pp. 341-56.M. Stefanakis, “Polyrrhenia, Oreioi and Kandanos. A numis-matic relationship of the second half of the 3rd century AD”, in Proceedings of the VII International Cretology Conference (Heraklion 1996), Heraklion 2000, A 3, pp. 249-61.K. Tzanakaki, “Ceramic groups from the cemetery of ancient Tarra,” V Academic meeting on Hellenistic Ceramics (Chania, 6-13 April 1997), Athens 2000, pp. 17-24.K. Tzanakaki, “Ayia Roumeli 1970 (Tarra): the ancient tombs,” Crete in the Geometric and Archaic periods, International Col-loquium (Athens, 27-29 January 2006), German Archaeologi-cal Institute (forthcoming). G. Tzedakis, Archaiologiko Deltio 26, 1971, Β2, 511 (in Greek). G.D. Weinberg, “Excavations at Tarrha (1959)”, Hesperia 29, 1960, pp. 90-108.

Fig. 13: Silver jewellery, a ring and hair clasp from the classical and Hellenistic periods (archive of the 25th Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities)

Fig. 11A: Exaleiptron, early 3rd c. BC (photo: S. Alexandrou)

PA

RT

ΙΙ

| T

HE

MA

NM

AD

E E

NV

IR

ON

ME

NT

80

2. From the Early Christian period until Venetian rule

Introduction

In the Roman period, Crete was a unified province along with Cyrenaica (today’s Lib-ya), with Gortyna as its capital. This appears to explain why the south coast under-went particular growth during the High Roman and Early Christian periods. From as early as the Hellenistic period, specific geographical units with common econom-ic and political characteristics had become distinguishable, such as the “Mountain Commonwealth”, which included towns in today’s Provinces of Selinos and Sfakia. These historical units, approximately covering the area of the five Provinces of today’s Prefecture of Chania, became more formalised in the Early Christian period with the foundation of Episcopal dioceses. In the mountain region of Sfakia was the “Diocese of Phoiniki, or Aradeni”, as it is known to us from the sources. The location of this diocese in two different towns – mountain Aradena and coastal Phoinika – indicates that life in Sfakia in the Early Christian period was organised in much the same way as it was up until only a few decades ago: in the winter months they would live by the sea, whilst in the summer months they would move to the mountain settlements, near the vast grazing areas of the Lefka Ori.

The southern coasts flourished greatly during the 6th century AD, although this does not appear to have lasted for long, as a lengthy period of total desertion followed, which must have been caused by the frequent Arabic naval raids. This can be seen in the ruins of a large number of Early Christian basilicas, which gradually became di-lapidated due to abandonment. During this period, the Cretan population moved to the safer hinterland where most of the agricultural settlements that exist even today were created. A spark of life can again be noticed in the 14th century, as evidenced by the erection of small, single-aisled churches over the sanctuaries of the basilicas. It is not clear if this spark was associated with the resettlement of the coasts, or whether it was simply a display of respect for the old places of worship. This happened also at Tarra (Ayia Roumeli) in the 15th century, where a small single-aisled church dedi-cated to the Panayia, the Virgin, was built over the sanctuary of a ruined basilica.

In around 1030 the Cretan monk Ioannis Xenos – founder of the Monastery of the Panayia at Myriokefala and other monasteries and churches in West Crete – came searching for serenity to the site of Opiso Aiyalous, a short distance to the east of Ayia Roumeli, as his will testifies. Here, along the absolutely deserted beach, he built Ayi-os Pavlos, a small cross-in-square church with a dome that still stands today, along the shore of the Libyan Sea, and where he also lived for a while. Our next snippet of information comes from a series of forged documents, which are nonetheless based upon specific authentic Byzantine texts. From these we learn that the region of Sfakia, Apokoronos and part of Selinos had been granted by the emperor Alexios Komnenos

Text:Michalis Andrianakis

Fig. 14: Metropolitan coin from the Venetian period – a sesino stamped with a lion, dating to 1595-1605 during the era of doge Marino Grimani. Found in the region of Samaria (photo: E. Marakakis, identified by K. Gyparis of the Hellenic Numismatic Society)

CH

AP

TE

R Ι |

TH

E E

AR

LI

ES

T T

RA

CE

S O

F A

HU

MA

N P

RE

SE

NC

E I

N T

HE

GO

RG

E

81

to the aristocratic Skordylis family. The Skordylis family was one of the twelve fam-ilies that had been posted to Crete from Constantinople, creating a powerful feudal system which was especially active during the years of Venetian rule. These docu-ments claim that the possessions of the Skordylis family extended over three prov-inces, lying outside the perimeter of the sanctuary of an Early Christian basilica.

During the Venetian period Sfakia enjoyed a form of autonomy, thanks to the insubordinate character of the Sfakians and the difficulty in controlling this inac-cessible mountain region. On maps of the era the phrase Sfaciotti popoli belicossi (“Sfakians, military peoples”) was usually inscribed over the Lefka Ori. It seems the settlements of Samaria and Ayia Roumeli already existed, as they are men-tioned in the sources, whilst the small churches of Hosia Maria and the Panayia were built in the ruins of earlier basilicas in the 14th and 15th centuries.

No satisfactory signs of settlement in the Samaria Gorge during the Early Chris-tian period have so far been identified. Nonetheless, there is no reason to be-lieve that life here stopped or that something had changed in relation to the past. Indeed, the coastal town of Tarra situated at the exit to the Gorge continued to flourish.

Fig. 15: Ayios Antonios on Ayia Roumeli (photo V. Kotrotsos)

82

The churches

The Koimesis of the Theotokos at Ayia RoumeliThe site of an ancient temple, perhaps that of Apollo Tarraios, was taken over by the medium-sized, three-aisled church of the Panayia, as it is known to us from the later, single-aisled chapel on the site of the original sanctuary. The basilica survives to a great height, and is of particular interest for this reason. Large hewn struc-tures of local grey limestone can be seen in situ over a large area of the south side, beneath the south wall of the church. These formed the crepidoma of the ancient temple, from which also survives a large number of other hewn elements, which had been reused when building the stylobate of the basilica. The basilica had three aisles, a wooden roof with a narthex and a sanctuary flanked by two orthogonal auxiliary spaces forming the side chapels, the pastophoria. To the east the large, semi-circular apse behind the altar, which tapers gradually, survives complete. The original bifora window, which was later sealed and converted into two small sky-lights, survives in the centre of the apse. The tripartite narthex lies to the west,

Fig. 16: The Koimesis of the Theotokos (photo: V. Kotrotsos)

CH

AP

TE

R Ι |

TH

E E

AR

LI

ES

T T

RA

CE

S O

F A

HU

MA

N P

RE

SE

NC

E I

N T

HE

GO

RG

E

83

which is separated from the church by a wall and which communicates via three openings with the central church. The sanctuary occupies the east side of the cen-tral aisle and is divided by the stylobate of the icon screen, the foundations of which survive. The church is divided into three aisles by built stylobates, whose founda-tions survive. In amongst the building materials lie the large, orthogonal structures of the ancient temple. Also of interest is the simple wall construction between the rooms, with decorative pointing. To the south of the basilica survives a grave with an arch over it, which most likely contains the remains of a distinguished person-age of the Early Christian period.

The church originally had a mosaic floor, of which today only a few sections sur-vive, as it was dug up to accommodate subsequent burials. The mosaic designs are geometric, amongst which can be discerned a perimeter border comprised of intersecting semi-circles and rectangular borders with scales, intersecting circles, and a band interlaced with knots. The mosaic is of a relatively high quality and can be compared with similar floors at Souyia, Frangokastelo and the peninsula.

Fig. 18: The Koimesis of the Theotokos, drawing by N. Hadjimichalis and

Pan. Matalas from the study Hora-Sfakia-Samaria, 1966-1967)

Fig. 17: The mosaic floor of the church of the Koimesis of the Theotokos

(photo: M. Andrianakis)

On the basis of the above, it can be surmised that the workshop of mosaic artists active in Crete and Argos during the 6th century AD was also active here. The basilica at Ayia Roumeli is also dated to this period. It appears that this basilica was abandoned at some point and gradually fell into ruin, albeit still remaining in better condition than any other basilica in Crete. A small, single-aisled, barrel-vaulted church dedicated to the Koimesis of the Theotokos – the Dormition of the Virgin – was built and had its walls painted on the site of the sanctuary in the 15th century. It is a typical structure, similar to dozens of others all over Crete, which are of interest most of all for their wall paintings. The wall paintings in the church of the Panayia are in a particularly ruinous condition, whilst even those sections which survived have been seriously damaged by fire. The decoration was uncovered during conservation work in 1995 by the then 13th Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities.

PA

RT

ΙΙ

| T

HE

MA

NM

AD

E E

NV

IR

ON

ME

NT

84

Hosia Maria the EgyptianThe small church, with dimensions of 2.50 x 3.40 m, is dedicated to the memory of the Venerable, or Hosia, Maria of Egypt, from which the nearby village and Gorge perhaps got their name (from the corruption of “Hosia Maria”). The church of Hosia Maria is built in the typical architectural style of West Crete: single-aisled and covered with domes, without any decorative details. The simple building is filled inside with wall paintings dating to the first half of the 14th century. These wall paintings survive in a very bad condition, a large section being covered by salt crystals. One can still, however, distinguish the iconographical subjects quite well, which are numerous and uncommon. In the dome there is a portrayal of

Fig. 19: The church of the Hosia Maria the Egyptian 2008 (photo: V. Kotrotsos)

Fig. 20: The church of the Hosia Maria, drawing by N. Hadjimichalis and Pan. Matalas from the study Hora-Sfakia-Samaria, 1966-1967, drawing no. 53)

CH

AP

TE

R Ι |

TH

E E

AR

LI

ES

T T

RA

CE

S O

F A

HU

MA

N P

RE

SE

NC

E I

N T

HE

GO

RG

E

85

the Betrayal, with Judas rushing up to Christ and Peter cutting off Malchus’s ear. This is followed by the Metamorphosis of Christ, who is represented with double “glory” between Elijah and Moses, with the three disciples fallen low on the floor. Above the sanctuary is the Ascension of Christ, followed by the Rock, with the an-gel seated next to the empty tomb of Christ, and the Resurrection, rendered in the standard Byzantine manner, with the descent of Christ into Hades. Next to this survives the simple representation of the Crucifixion, with Christ on the cross in between the group of women, with the Panayia, the young St John, and the centu-rion Longinus. This is followed by a representation of the Birth of Christ.

The Panayia is seated in the centre of the stable with the infant Christ, who is looking up at the three Magi, in her arms. To the right is the scene of the bath of the infant and, to the left, a thoughtful Joseph conversing with the shepherds and the angels. Alongside this is the scene of the Flight into Egypt, followed by the Baptism, the Last Supper, the Raising of Lazarus, and the Presentation of Christ. In the quarter-sphere of the sanctuary apse is a representation of the Deesis, with a supernaturally-sized Christ in between the smaller-scaled entreating Panayia and St John the Baptist. Half-body and full-body depictions of hierarchs can be seen in the two zones of the apse cylinder. In the panel is the Holy Shroud, with Christ’s head imprinted on the cloth. On the north wall, St George can be seen on horseback being crowned by an angel, whilst on the south wall there is a representation of the Hosia Maria of Egypt receiving Holy Communion from the monk Zosimas. The Hosia Maria lived a wanton life in the 4th century. She turned to asceticism after a visit to Jeru-salem, where, because of her life of sin, an invisible power prevented her from enter-ing the church of the Holy Sepulchre. She lived in complete isolation in the Jordanian desert for 47 years. Here, near the end of her life, she was found by the hermit Zosimas, who offered her the Holy Communion. A little after this, the Hosia Maria died. Worship of the two saints is common in the remote areas of Sfakia and Selinos. The wall paintings in the church of the Hosia Maria, the work of a folk artist active in western Crete dur-ing the first half of the 14th century, are distinguished for their decent quality and their interesting iconographic subjects, which differ from the usual range of themes for churches in this region, omitting major scenes from the life of Christ and including secondary ones.

Fig. 21: From the lintel of the Hosia Maria (photo: E. Marakaki)


86

Fig. 22: Chapel of Ayios Nikolaos (photo: V. Kotrotsos)

Fig. 23: Ayios Georgios (M. Toubis SA archive)

Fig. 24: The Metamorphosis of Christ (photo: V. Kotrotsos)


CH

AP

TE

R Ι |

TH

E E

AR

LI

ES

T T

RA

CE

S O

F A

HU

MA

N P

RE

SE

NC

E I

N T

HE

GO

RG

E

87

Other churchesNear the entrance to the Gorge we encounter the small, single-aisled barrel-vaulted church of Ayios Nikolaos, set within a beautiful landscape. It was built sometime in the mid-18th century, as was the similar church of Christ in Sa-maria village. In the old village of Ayia Roumeli, the church of the Ayia Triada (Holy Trinity) survives in a good condition. This is a single-aisled, barrel-vaulted church with deep decorative glazed dishes in the east facade, possibly dating to the 16th century. In the south wall and in the cemetery, which surrounds the church, tombs survive in the form of arcosolia (the tomb is arched). This type of burial, which was also known in the Early Christian period, dates to the Venetian era and was commonly used up until recently, especially in the region of Sfakia. The old village of Ayia Roumeli has another single-aisled barrel-vaulted church, dedicated to Ayios Georgios and built during the 18th century. The remaining chapels in the Park also date to this century.

Fig. 25: Interiory of the church of Afentis Christos (photo: I. Vlazaki)

Fig. 26: The church of Afentis Christos (photo: V. Kotrotsos)

PA

RT

ΙΙ

| T

HE

MA

NM

AD

E E

NV

IR

ON

ME

NT

88

Fig. 27: Single-arched bridge at Ayia Roumeli(archive of the 28th Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities).

Fig. 28: Ayia Triada in Ayia Roumeli (photo: E. Papavasileiou)

An impressive single-arched bridge from the Venetian pe-riod survives a little further to the south of the church of Ayia Triada, isolated today due to earlier floods. The sec-ond bridge of Ayia Roumeli, which also stands alone on the gravel, is constructed in the Venetian style although it most likely dates to the early Ottoman period.

CH

AP

TE

R Ι |

TH

E E

AR

LI

ES

T T

RA

CE

S O

F A

HU

MA

N P

RE

SE

NC

E I

N T

HE

GO

RG

E

89

3. Through the years of Turkish rule (1645-1898)

Introduction41

During the first period of the Ottoman empire, Crete continued to preserve its institutions almost untouched. The island’s commercial ties with western Europe were not cut off. The feudal system resem-bled the Byzantine one more than it did the Venetian. The buildings of the first Ottoman period can barely be distinguished from those of the late Venetian period. Conditions worsened in the 18th cen-tury when Ottoman power began to collapse. Crete descended into a wave of anarchy, crime and long-term enmity between the Chris-tians and Muslims. The province of Sfakia had not been settled by Muslims, and enjoyed a relative autonomy, as it had in the Venetian period. Yet, it was from here that the first great revolution against the Turks started, in 1770 (see p.130), during which the Gorge was a refuge for the non-combatants and a hiding place for the revolutionaries. Samaria played the same role in all the revolutions that followed. The only characteristic traces left by the Turks in the area were the fortresses, the kules,42 or kouledes as they are known, which formed a well-organised network that permitted the sending of smoke signals from one to the other.

41 Rackham and Moody, p. 5.42 Kules, Turkish for castle.

Between themselves, the kules would have communicated by trumpet, so that they could get help until assistance arrived from the kisla,* which was to be built in each province. The Cretans, now at Lakkoi and later at the island, did all they could to prevent the construction. They would shoot at the builders all day, knock down the building where they could, wreck the limekiln, set fire to the bushes and shrubs that the lime manu-facturers would burn. The Turk would not turn back. He brought Bulgarian and Armenian builders to the town, knocked down dilapidated churches to use their stone, would bring water and sand from a day’s journey away…

Pantelis Prevelakis, 1945**

* Kisla, a Turkish word meaning barracks.** P. Prevelakis, Deserted Crete, 4th edition, Athens 1945.

Fig. 30: Coin from the Ottoman period, with the Islamic year of 1837 or 1841, from the reign of either Mahmud II (1808-1839) or Abdülmecid I (1840-1867), found in Samaria Gorge (photo: E. Marakakis, coin identified by K. Gyparis)

Fig. 29: Inside the Tower(photo: A. Kladou-Bletsa)

PA

RT

ΙΙ

| T

HE

MA

NM

AD

E E

NV

IR

ON

ME

NT

90

Turkish fortresses (kules)

The Turkish kules tower over the most prominent points of Sfakia. These are a serious of fortress towers, most often small, built by the Turks to put down the Cretan revolu-tion of 1866-1869. With the construction of these towers, the Turkish forces were able to ensure continuous surveillance, and were now able to receive supplies comfortably from the hinterland along the military roads, and by ship from the sea.

The Turks disembarked and set fire to Ayia Roumeli, the exit to the revolutionaries’ hideout, the Samaria Gorge, twice during the revolution, in the summer of 1867 and in November 1868. To control the Gorge and the passage to the west and Selinos province, they set up four kules in Ayia Roumeli. Two were in the Angelokampi dis-trict (a large one low down and a smaller lookout higher up) and two on the height above the coastal village (Pyrgos, which is still in a very good condition and towers over the area, and a small one higher up). Another kules is located in Samaria, at the site of Pyrgos, above the village, and which has visual contact with Xyloskalo and Hora Samarias.

The condition of the castles, which are not very old, today demonstrates the spread of forest vegetation in contrast with the time when they were built.43

43 Rackham and Moody, p. 253.

Fig. 31: The Tower (kules) of Ayia Roumeli (photo: A. Kladou-Bletsa)

Text:Aimilia Kladou-Bletsa

CH

AP

TE

R Ι |

TH

E E

AR

LI

ES

T T

RA

CE

S O

F A

HU

MA

N P

RE

SE

NC

E I

N T

HE

GO

RG

E

91

Fig. 32: The Tower (kules) of Samaria (photo: C. Aretaki)

PA

RT

ΙΙ

| T

HE

MA

NM

AD

E E

NV

IR

ON

ME

NT

92

Fig. 33: The village of Samaria, spring 2004 (Chania Forestry Service Archives)

93

C H A P T E R 2

P E R M A N E N T H A B I T AT I O N I N M O D E R N T I M E S

1. Towns and villages

Two villages are an integral part of the human geography of Samaria: Samaria, located within the Gorge, and Ayia Roumeli (old and new villages), built at the exit of the Gorge onto the Libyan Sea on the site of ancient Tarra. The ties between the two villages were always very close. They were greatly interdependent on each other for economic, security and communications issues. The abandonment of Samaria village when the Gorge was declared a National Park in 1962 created an imbalance in the system of the two villages, which had learnt to live with each other over the centuries, under difficult conditions, with Samaria providing con-tact with the hinterland and Ayia Roumeli with the southern coasts.

Text and data collection:Emmy Papavasileiou

Fig. 34: The positions of Samaria and Ayia Roumeli villages (plan of proposed works for the study Sfakia-Samaria, 1966)

PA

RT

ΙΙ

| T

HE

MA

NM

AD

E E

NV

IR

ON

ME

NT

94

Samaria

The village of Samaria in the province of Sfakia is first mentioned in the writ-ten sources with the name Samaria by Francesco Barozzi,44 in 1577,45 and Antonio Trivan46 (Vari cose di Candia 1182-1669).47 Permanent settlement within the Gorge took place after that of ancient Tarra, and was perhaps ini-tiated by people seeking protection within the Gorge, who subsequently settled there permanently. The charac-teristics of this settlement are unique,

as the living conditions, from all perspectives (limited sunshine, great hu-midity, difficult access, difficult terrain, little cultivable land and, most of all, complete isolation from the rest of the world, in particular during the summer months) are difficult. Even so, from the moment that people set-tled here, their residency was permanent and continuous.

The village is located at an altitude of 350 metres and a distance of 7 km from the entrance to the Gorge at Xyloskalo. It is located within a hollow in the borders, almost flat, and cannot be seen from the main footpath until the last moment. A little further down to the south are the ruins of Lower Samaria, which was abandoned in the 1920s because of a double homicide, which forced its inhabitants to leave. Although the space is narrow, the buildings are laid out in an open and completely scattered manner. An impressive network of stone walls goes around the village houses, and which was used for surround walls, to distinguish between properties. One of the village’s two cemeteries was located next to the church of Hosia Maria (a section of which was washed away by floods), and the other opposite the village, in the church of the Metamorphosis of Christ.

44 Francesco Barozzi: Venetian nobleman and distinguished scholar born in Rethymno in 1537. A famed mathematician, geographer, cosmographer and philosopher, advocate of hermeneutics, one of the last homines universales of the late Renaissance period.

45 F. Barozzi, Descriptione dell’isola di Creta (1577/8). A geographic and archaeological description of Crete during the Renaissance years, with an introduction, editing, commentary and translation into Greek by Stephanos Kaklamanis, Vikelaia Municipal Library: Heraklion, 2004.

46 Antonio Trivan: a Venetian officer who documented, amongst other things, all the villages of Chania before the coming of the Turks in 1645.47 Vari cose di Candia 1182-1669: Narrative on various events in Crete from the year 1182 until 1669, by Antonio Trivan, public notary, translated into Greek by

Georgios P. Portalis of Chania, 1930, unpublished.

In the cove of this Gorge is the village of Samaria, inhabited by 13 families, who share a common economic life with the Ayiorou-meliotes. Above the villages is the famed Xyloskalon [wooden stair], which the Turkish army recently built for itself as a pass, and it con-structed a tower alongside it, in order to prevent the entry of the revolutionaries into the Gorge.

Gregorios Papadopetrakis, 1877

G. Papadopetrakis, History of Sfakia (1877), Athens 1971, Vardinoyianni Bros reprint, p. 19.

95

Fig. 35: Samaria village, present condition (1966-67) and general plan,

Nik. Hadjimichalis and Pan. Matalas (from the study Hora Sfakia-Samaria,

1966-1967, vol. II, drawing 055)

S A M A R I AV I L L A G E

CURRENT CONDITION OF PROPERTIES

1. ROUSSOS VIGLAKIS BEQUEST2. EVANGELOS GEORGIO VIGLAKIS3. STYLIANIS VARDI VIGLAKIS4. EVANGELOS VARDI KALOGERAKIS5. DESPINA GEORGIOU VIGLI

6. ROUSSOS VIGLAKIS BEQUEST7. ROUSSOS VIGLAKIS BEQUEST8. EVANGELOS IOSIF VIGLAKIS9. IOANNIS DAMOULIS KATSENAVAKIS

10. IOSIF THEODOSIOU TZATZIMAKIS11. KALOGERAKIDES12. KALOGERAKIDES13. KALOGERAKIDES14. KALOGERAKIDES15. CHRYSI DAMALI KATSENAVAKI

M - FOOTPATHΔ - TWO-STOREYΕ - RUINSΜΕ - SINGLE-STOREY RUINΔΕ - TWO -STOREY RUIN

CH

AP

TE

R Ι

I |

PE

RM

AN

EN

T H

AB

IT

AT

IO

N I

N M

OD

ER

N T

IM

ES

PA

RT

ΙΙ

| T

HE

MA

NM

AD

E E

NV

IR

ON

ME

NT

96

The churches of Ayios Nikolaos, Ayios Georgios and Afentis Christos can be found within the Park. There is also a cave dedicated to Ayia Zoni near the south exit.

Samaria was expropriated in 1962, for the complete protection of the Gorge and the declaration of a National Park. The last inhabitants left in 1965, when the process of expropriation and their transfer to other parts of the Prefecture – primarily to areas where their relatives and other former in-habitants of Samaria had moved to earlier, such as Ayia Roumeli, Palaio-chora and Aliakanos – was completed.

Upper Samaria had around twelve houses when the last inhabitants aban-doned it, whilst Lower Samaria had seven, in ruinous condition. Restora-tion and conservation work did not begin immediately on the houses once

Fig. 36: Wall network in Lower Samaria (photo: V. Kotrotsos)

Fig. 37: Samaria in autumn (photo: F. Borakis)

97

In this poor village I saw many strange things: all the houses were covered in mud or with large stone slabs. A bridge, the only passage from the opposite riverbank to the village, is made of wood. It is around five metres wide and, as you step on the cypress beams, which sway and rub continuously, your heart leaps, however brave you may be.

The village children, however, run barefoot over the “wood bridge” and race against the kid goats and the lambs! I admired a wooden duct, which brings the water from the spring to the village! In this duct you can see the intelligence and simplic-ity of the inhabitants. They have cut many straight cypresses, carved a channel into them – “deflated” them – and placed a cypress in the spring in such a way so that the duct fills with water. Where the first cypress ends, they place a second one right below, and a third and a fourth, and so on, in exactly the same way, so as to transport the water from very high up in the village a distance of 80-100 metres!

The products of civilisation, cement, iron, ceramics, etc. are unknown here. The people are self-sufficient. They live within a beautiful nature. This is what they love and are satis-fied with. They are indifferent to civi-lisation and its comforts.

V. Antourakis

V. Antourakis, “Samaria” in Kritki Estia. Meniaion Periodikon en Chaniois, Issue 184, July 1968, p. 300. The article may have been written earlier, as the inhabitants had already left by 1968.

the village had been emptied, and so these houses too became dilapidated. In the past few years, the Forests Directorate has begun to restore and reuse some of the houses of Upper Samaria, for its staff and for environmental training activities (see p.201.).

In addition to Samaria village, there is one more site with ruins that indicate the presence of an earlier, permanent or temporary, settlement. This is Hora Samaria, located above the village at an altitude of 670 m and which takes an hour to climb up to from the village.48 The identification of these ruins remains problematic even today (see p. 170.) and we can only guess as to their date. Oral histories mention that in the past – not today, however – there were also traces of human habitation at the site of Upper Hora, which is today located at an altitude of 1450 m and requires a 4 hour climb from Samaria village.49

48 G. Patroudakis, “Hora Samaria”, Kritiko Panorama, issue 15, May-June 2006, pp. 26-34.49 Op. cit.


CH

AP

TE

R Ι

I |

PE

RM

AN

EN

T H

AB

IT

AT

IO

N I

N M

OD

ER

N T

IM

ES

PA

RT

ΙΙ

| T

HE

MA

NM

AD

E E

NV

IR

ON

ME

NT

98

Ayia Roumeli

The village of Ayia Roumeli is also closely bound with the Gorge. The old village, today abandoned, was divided into neighbour-hoods, a characteristic of the Sfakia villages, which grew linearly and followed the west bank of the river, except for Pera Banda, to the east of the Gorge exit. The village, which played an impor-tant role in Cretan history, was set fire to twice by the Turks, in 1867 and 1868 (see p. 133.).

Ayia Roumeli, as the seat of the Community of the same name, had a basic social infrastructure, such as the Primary School, open from 1899 to 196750 - which now houses the Community Offices – and the Gendarmerie Station near the beach. Also near the village are the churches of Ayios Georgios, Ayia Paraskevi and Ayios Antonios (within a cave), whilst inside the village is the church of Ayia Triada (the village’s patron, with a cemetery). Near the beach is the old church of the Koimesis of the The-otokos (see p.80).

Today’s Ayia Roumeli was built on the west bank of the ravine, at the site of Gailos, 20 minutes on foot from the old village, then called Mesa Ayia Roumeli and today known as Old Ayia Roumeli. On 12 November 1954 a large flood destroyed several houses in the old village. In 1957, the Ministry of Social Welfare expropri-ated 21,500 square metres of the Gialos coast to give land to the flood victims, a measure which benefited almost all the inhabit-ants. The new village thus began to develop on the west bank of the stream, especially in the 1970s, and on the lines of a town plan that still holds today. The new Primary School (1959-1960) was the first to be constructed, operating from the 1967-1968 school year until June 1989, when it closed (the building today houses the doctors surgery).

An emergency excavation was conducted by the head of the 25th Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities Yiannis Tzedakis in 1970 before settlement at the new site, which uncov-ered the cemetery of ancient Tarra. The study by the architects and town planners Nikos Hadjimichalis and Panayiotis Matalas

50 Details from research by teacher Evangelia Stavroudakis, Directorate of Primary Edu-cation, Chania.


From the mouth, however, it is many miles to the bed of the gorge, where lies the village of Ayia Roumeli, now in-habited by 35 families, who live comfortably from flocks of sheep and goats, bees, etc., from wood for shipbuilding, roofs, handicrafts, etc., from fishing, hunting the agrimi and various birds. They also have gardens and watermills by the banks of the heaving river, various trees and plants. They were always shipbuilders, constructing all the boats for the Sfakians and others. This village only has 4-5 hours of sun-light during the summer. The most prominent family here were the Batoudianoi.

Gregorios Papadopetrakis,* 1877**

* Gregorios Papadopetrakis, Abbot of the Monastery of Ayia Triada ton Tzangarolok and Bishop of Ieorsiteia.** Papadopetrakis, p. 18.

99

Fig. 38: (Old) Ayia Roumeli, present condition (1966-67) and general plan, Nik. Hadjimichalis and Pan. Matalas (from the study Hora Sfakia-Samaria, 1966-1967, vol. II, drawing 057)

Fig. 39: The village of Ayia Roumeli (M. Toubis SA archive)

A Y I A R O U M E L IG E N E R A L V I E W

CURRENT CONDITIONNEIGHBOURHOODS

Α - CAVEΒ - MIDDLE NEIGHBOURHOODΓ- LOWER NEIGHBOURHOOD

Δ - NEIGHBOURHOOD BEYONDΕ - YIALOSΣΤ - TARRA

CH

AP

TE

R Ι

I |

PE

RM

AN

EN

T H

AB

IT

AT

IO

N I

N M

OD

ER

N T

IM

ES

PA

RT

ΙΙ

| T

HE

MA

NM

AD

E E

NV

IR

ON

ME

NT

100

The school was founded in 1899 … Prior to the school’s foundation and in the years 1870-1880 the teacher was Emmanuel Papadakis, son of George, who had transformed his house on the beach into a school. He was paid by the children’s parents. When the school was founded, the teacher was appointed by the Greek state.* All the children were now obliged to attend the school. The first school in our place was in a dilapidated house. When a rich but benevolent resi-dent of the area, Georgios Xenoudakis,** saw the condition of the school, he made a generous monetary sum available for the founding of a new school. The land was given by the then Community Presi-dent Emmanuel Viglakis. Indeed, with this money and the personal efforts of the inhabitants, it became the school we have today.

Tzanakis Georgios, 1964***

* Presumably he means the Cretan State (1898-1913).** Georgios Xenoudakis, lawyer from Imvros. In his will he bequeathed a large sum for the construc-tion of schools in all the communities of Sfakia.*** From a piece by Georgios Tzanakis, teacher and headmaster of the Ayia Roumeli school in 1964, entitled “The history of the school”, from the history textbook of the Primary School of Ayia Roumeli, 1961. See also P.G. Kassimatis, Historical review of education in Crete, Athens 1953, p. 91.

Fig. 41: Road to Old Ayia Roumeli today (photo: E. Papavasileiou)

(1966-1967, see p.180) foresaw the development of the village to the east, as far as the extension of the natural axis of the Gorge, which would have permitted the continuation of the village along the bank, the development of tourism in a specific zone facing onto the sea, green areas, as well as the showcasing of ar-chaeological sites. The study was never applied. The archaeological area, except for around Gialos, extends to the east of the stream at Azoyromouri, as well as the perimeter of the church of the Panayia. The Tarra area and the Gorge have been characterised as an area of archaeological, historical and outstanding natu-ral beauty (Government Gazette 1242/8/16-10-73) and is legally protected (Law 1469/50, “On the protection of a special category of buildings and works of art postdating than 1830”).

The old and the new villages are connected by a paved area, which is today used as a road by the local population. Today’s village is comprised of a large number of freestanding buildings, most of which are used as hostels for tourists. Their design does not fit with either the natural environment or the local architectural style. The care shown by the locals is apparent in the gardens and paved lanes.

Fig. 40: Proposal for the surfacing of the old Ayia Roumeli village road with tarmac, after the installation of a drainage system (sketch: A. Kladou-Bletsa, Water Supply Study* drawing 8).

* Water supply of Ayia Roumeli: Study of environmental consequences, Prefecture of Chania Technical Service, Community of Ayia Roumeli, Chania, May 1995, Re-searchers: Aimilia Kladou-Bletsa, architect; Christina Kotsifaki, chemical engineer; Katia Pavlaki, geologist.

101

Many studies have been written in the past twenty years, the 1990s in particular, on the technical infrastructure of the village – transport, water supply, sewerage, biological treatment, design of the common areas and other village infrastructure.

Of these studies, only some have been partially applied, such as two jetties from the foreseen port facilities, a heliport and the partial construction of the common areas. The biological treatment studies and the integration of the water supply network (which starts from the Kefalovrysia spring within the Gorge and reaches as far as the village, negatively affecting the natural landscape) within the natural landscape were never applied.

To make Ayia Roumeli energy independent, especially after an increase in energy needs with the rise in tourism, in 1984 the Public Power Corporation installed a photovoltaic solar power station at the site where the heliport is today. The station did not cover all needs and was moved two years later to Gavdos. In 1986, after a protest by residents, the area was supplied power through an average voltage line, via Hora Sfakia and Vamos.

Fig. 42: The little port of Ayia Roumeli and heliport (M. Toubis SA archive)

CH

AP

TE

R Ι

I |

PE

RM

AN

EN

T H

AB

IT

AT

IO

N I

N M

OD

ER

N T

IM

ES

PA

RT

ΙΙ

| T

HE

MA

NM

AD

E E

NV

IR

ON

ME

NT

102

51 Proposed housing types for the new village of Ayia Roumeli, Technical Report Aimilia Kladou-Bletsa, architec-tural engineer, Kostas Vardakis, President, Technical Chamber of Greece-West Crete Division, Chania 1970.

52 K. Lassithiotakis, Sfakian houses, Kalokairinos: Heraklion 1958, p. 15.53 Rackham and Moody, p. 245.

Fig. 43: Stone house in Lower Samaria (photo: C. Aretaki)

Today’s Ayia Roumeli is essentially a tourism resort that could act as a model for others. Securing the beauty of the landscape and protecting the environment should be the primary concern of any outside intervention. It is of interest that such concern was present in the studies, but they have never been implement-ed. For this reason, and because of its geographical isolation, Ayia Roumeli is a good example for the study of the mechanisms upon which planning depends in Greece, and the factors which distort development. The inability of Greek gov-ernment, central and local, to implement a complete, integrated study, in the rare cases that one exists, within a virgin area and with the coordinated action of all services and stakeholders should be examined.

The Hadjimichalis-Matalas study proposed that: “the state undertakes responsi-bility for the infrastructure and the initial interventions necessary for develop-ment.” A convincing policy would orient the inhabitants towards environmen-tally-friendly, long-term investments.

It is a fact that the contemporary urban environment is not worthy of the area that hosts it. Even so, not that much irreversible damage has been done. Moreo-ver, many of the structures of the old village still exist, which, even though they have suffered wear and tear have not been altered. The locals, clever and with a strong survival instinct, can take an active role in programmes to upgrade the environment of the Gorge and their village.

2. Habitation: Structural details

Sfakian folk architecture has a profound and idiosyncratic character.51 It features one of the most characteristic forms of dwelling in Greece and the Eastern Medi-terranean. The Sfakian stone, rectangular, detached one-roomed house with a central entrance and an internal dividing arch (“kamarospito”) and a flat roof is found over most of the province of Sfakia,52 with variations in the mountain and coastal villages.

At Samaria, not a single house has an arch. The houses are two-floored, narrow, without an arch or beam along the long axis, with a flat roof lined with mud or slabs, and beams and planks for the flooring.53 The locals themselves usually built their own houses. The availability of long tree trunks is perhaps the reason why it was not necessary to use an arch to provide internal support for the beams.

103

The construction of the house of the hainis54 Kaloyeroyiannis by crafts-men from Selinos in gratitude for him having relieved the province of Selinos from the cruel janissary Vergeris55 (see p. 123.) may indicate an association between Samaria and the builders of Selinos.

Fig. 44: Houses of Samaria (N. Hadjimichalis and Pan. Matalas,

from the study Hora Sfakia-Samaria, 1966-1967, vol. II)

54 Hainis: revolutionary, guerrilla, fugitive; s.v. A, Xanthinakis, Lexicon of the west Cretan idiom, Heraklion: Cretan University Press 2001.

55 Oral history of Yiannis N. Kaloyerakis of Samaria, descendant of Kaloyeroyiannis.

CH

AP

TE

R Ι

I |

PE

RM

AN

EN

T H

AB

IT

AT

IO

N I

N M

OD

ER

N T

IM

ES

PA

RT

ΙΙ

| T

HE

MA

NM

AD

E E

NV

IR

ON

ME

NT

104

Fig. 45: The house of Archonto Delaki (plan from the book, The Cretan House by D. Vasileiades, drawing 179, Athens: Estia, 2nd edition, 1976)

Fig. 46: House at Ayia Roumeli shore (drawing by Nik. Hadjimichalis and Pan. Matalas from the study Hora Sfakia-Samaria, 1966-1967, vol. II, drawing 060)

The houses of (old) Ayia Roumeli followed the typology of Sfakian folk archi-tecture more. Their designs were influenced by both Hora Sfakia and Anopoli. The P. Marinakis residence is considered a representative example of the Sfakian house, resembling the houses of Obrosoyialou (a neighbourhood of Hora Sfakia). In their study, Hadjimichalis and Matalas (see p. 180.) proposed that it be declared preserved, as an outstanding example of folk architecture.

The house of Archonto Delaki has an impressive simplicity, and is featured in architect Demetris Vasileiades’ book The Cretan house.56 It resembles the typical Anopoli house,57 with an internal arch and a sofa on one side. To the right is a wooden loft where the parents sleep and to the left, in an L-shape, a ledge where the rest of the family sleep.

The Technical Chamber of Greece-West Crete Division, in its efforts to help pro-tect the landscape and local architecture of Ayia Roumeli, in 1970 commissioned the architect Aimilia Kladou to prepare a study for the design of the new resi-dences at Gialos. These would serve the modern needs of the inhabitants whilst at the same time preserving local folk architecture forms. Nor was this study implemented.58

56 D. Vasileiades, The Cretan house, Athens: Estia 1976, 2nd edition p. 150.57 Lassithiotakis, p. 15. 58 See Proposed housing types for the new village of Ayia Roumeli.

105

Fig. 47: The Marinakis residence in 2008 (photo: E. Papavasileiou)

Fig. 48: Lower neighbourhood of Ayia Roumeli, Marinakis residence: façade, 1966-67, Nik. Hadjimichalis and Pan. Matalas (from the study Hora Sfakia-

Samaria, 1966-1967, vol. II, drawing 060)

A Y I A R O U M E L IT H E H O U S E O F T H E M A R I N A K I B R O T H E R S

GROUND FLOOR - FIRST FLOOR

1. ENTRANCE2. BALCONY3. TERRACE4. JAR

5. OVEN6. FIRE7. HOUSE8. SCALES

Α - YARDΕ - ENTRANCE1. SCALES2. CHAMBER

3. BALCONY4. ASCENT5. ROOM6. DESCENT

GROUND FLOOR FIRST FLOOR

CH

AP

TE

R Ι

I |

PE

RM

AN

EN

T H

AB

IT

AT

IO

N I

N M

OD

ER

N T

IM

ES

PA

RT

ΙΙ

| T

HE

MA

NM

AD

E E

NV

IR

ON

ME

NT

106

3. The population

The inhabitants of both villages are Sfakians. The villages, and the whole area of the Park, belong administratively to the province of Sfakia (aside from a small section in the northwest, which belongs to Selinos province), and have accompanied it in all the changes to local government over the years, as can be seen in the table.

59 S. Spanakis, Towns and villages of Crete over the centuries, vol. II, Heraklion: Graphikes Technes G. Detorakis, 1993, p. 694. See also “Census details of the Prefecture of Chania Statistical Service”, Concise Geographical Lexicon of Greece, M. Stamatelatos and F. Vamvas, Hermes: Athens 2001, pp. 9 and 675.

60 N. Stavrakis, Statistics of the population of Crete, Paligenesia: Athens, 1890.61 Since 1920 details are provided by the official censuses of the National Statistical Service. They give the real population, at the time of the census, regardless

of whether individuals are permanent residents or visitors. Details for the permanent and legal population collected through questionnaires do not exist for all the censuses.

62 The permanent population was much larger in 1961.63 The permanent population in 1994, according to the details (collected through a questionnaire) of the Local Development Programme of the Sfakia Develop-

ment Association (May 1994), came to 160 residents (78 men, 82 women), a figure that appears much closer to reality. The difference between the two counts is attributed to the time of the census in relation to the tourism season.

64 This is not a permanent population, as the village is no longer inhabited.

TABLE 1: POPULATION DETAILS 59

YEAR SAMARIA AYIA ROUMELI COMMUNITY/ MUNICIPALITY/ PREFECTURE

1834 (Census during Egyptian rule)

10 families (all Christian)

38 families(all Christian) Province of Sfakia

1881 (Stavrakis census, Ottoman period)60

67 (34 men, 33 women)

145 (79 men, 66 women) Municipality of Ayios Ioannis, Province of Sfakia

1900 (Island of Crete census, Cretan State) 75 (38 men, 37 women) 179

(93 men, 86 women) Municipality of Ayios Ioannis, Province of Sfakia

192061 (1st census of the Greek state) 40 (20 men, 20 women) 119

(65 men, 54 women)Municipality of Ayia Roumeli, Province of Sfakia, Prefecture of Rethymno

1928 41 123 Community of Ayios Ioannis Province of Sfakia, Prefecture of Chania

1940 39 145 Community of Ayia Roumeli, Province of Sfakia, Prefecture of Chania

1951 21 139 »

1961 562 155 »

1971 - 62 »

1981 - 93 Ayia Roumeli 7 Old Ayia Roumeli »

1991 - 3663

(22 men, 14 women) »

2001 -121 Ayia Roumeli 464 Old Ayia Roumeli (65 men, 60 women)

Municipal District (Capodistrian), Municipality of Sfakia, Prefecture of Chania

107

The site of the small village is exception-ally romantic, but the inhabitants are deprived of the beneficial sun, which the surrounding mountains take from them. In the winter, the village only sees three hours of sun, in the summer four and a half. And with all the fevers that afflict them, they remain rooted to their place. If you happen to ask anyone if they have been to Chania, they will say: “And what would I want in Chania?”

M. Defner, 1918

M. Defner, Travel memories from Western Crete, Athens: Syllogos pros Diadosin Ofeli-mon Vivlion, n.d., p. 210.

Fig. 49: Damoulis Kaloyerakis, son of Vardis (1890-1943),

(D. Kaloyerakis family archive)

The above table contains many interesting details and poses a number of ques-tions, which require systematic research, as local specifics mean that population changes cannot be interpreted in the same way as for the rest of the Prefecture. For example, revenge between two families through the vendetta, usually ending in tit-for-tat murders, and which is also found in other parts of Crete, is often the reason for dramatic population declines in Samaria, as whole families were forced to flee.

The migration wave from Crete that had begun in the early 20th century, pri-marily to America, does not appear to have affected Samaria much. One case of emigration that we can record is that of the Kaloyerakis brothers to Argentina.

When they returned to Samaria, one of the brothers, Damoulis V. Kaloyerakis, went back to his birthplace and, using the experience he had gained, contributed decisively to the development of a basic processing system there (construction and operation of hydraulic log splitters and olive presses). In the 1960s, with the new wave of migration to European countries, again there were only a few migrants from Samaria and Ayia Roumeli.

Of interest are the testimonies of travellers who found that, when asked, permanent residents would say that they had no reason to go to Chania and were worried that afterwards they might not want to return. Samaria experienced its greatest population fall after the Second World War as a result of the destruction wrought to the infrastructure and traditional way of life.

The population of Ayia Roumeli also fell greatly between 1900 and 1920, but since then has remained stable, reinforced by the mi-gration from Samaria. Its greatest fall was between 1961-1971, as locals preferred to invest the money that they received from the expropriation of their homes in a new house in another part of the Prefecture. Later, the children of former inhabitants started to come to Ayia Roumeli to invest in tourism. The population decline in this period may also be associated with the delay in approving the town plan for the new village – finally ratified on 23/4/1973 – as well as with the rise of internal migration.

The increase in population figures for both genders in the past few decades (taking into consideration the research results from 1991 but not the census) is due to the great tourism activity that devel-oped in this period and to the return and “permanent” settlement of those working in tourism, mainly descendants of the former in-habitants (2001 census permanent residents: 119 at Ayia Roumeli and four at Old

CH

AP

TE

R Ι

I |

PE

RM

AN

EN

T H

AB

IT

AT

IO

N I

N M

OD

ER

N T

IM

ES

PA

RT

ΙΙ

| T

HE

MA

NM

AD

E E

NV

IR

ON

ME

NT

108

Ayia Roumeli65). Yet, this increase is noted only during the tourism season (March to October). In the winter, the population does not exceed twenty inhabitants, as the village does not have either a school (since 1989) or basic services (post office, pharmacy, etc.) or daily boat connection (three times a week, weather permit-ting). The doctors surgery is also only open during the tourism period.

Of interest is the breakdown according to gender, as the number of men, in those censuses for which we have this information, is greater than the number of wom-en, even if we might expect that war would bring a different result. This is because living conditions were tougher for women and they would leave the Park area through marriage with men from elsewhere.

4. Access and passage through the gorge

The Samaria Gorge has two main gates: Xyloskalo on the Omalos (north) side, and Ayia Roumeli on the Libyan Sea (south) side. Until the 1960s, the entrance from the Porias area, further east of Xyloskalo, was still used by the inhabitants. This passage leads closer to Chania and served the locals better. There are also other communication channels through adjoining smaller gorges and other pas-sages, which are however difficult to negotiate and known only to those very fa-miliar with the area.

The natural direction through the Gorge is that which follows the slope of the ter-rain, from Xyloskalo (altitude 1227 m) until the surface of the sea at Ayia Roumeli (altitude 0 m). Even so, access from the opposite direction was more common in the old days, as access to the sea was easier from the south shore. The central footpath that crosses the Park from Xyloskalo as far as Ayia Roumeli requires systematic cleaning and maintenance every year. Rocks brought down by gushing streams shift the passes and make passage even more difficult. In 1926, a whole lake was formed at Halasmena Gremna, staying that way for two years. This also happened a few years ago. The people would go in with their donkeys and cross the lake and streams along with their animals, so they wouldn’t get frightened.

Xyloskalo (pieces of wood nailed to the precipice to form a stairway66) was created in the Ottoman period and repaired by the Cretan State so that the High Commis-sioner Prince George could visit the Gorge.67 Since then, it has undergone many repairs, until reaching its current appearance. Until the German occupation there

65 Prefecture of Chania Statistical Service.66 S. Spanakis, Crete, vol. II, Vangelis Sfakianakis: Heraklion, p. 283. 67 A. Makridakis, Samaria. The kingdom of the agrimi of Crete, p. 13, Athens: Chania Hunters Association,

1976.

From the west, Xyloskalo is not, as its name suggests, a wooden stair, made by human hand, hung from the side of the cliff, continuing as far as the south shore. It is nothing but a narrow stream, tipping on all sides, dammed by rocks and piles of earth. To the west, a crack permits a goat path to pass through to Kandanos valley and Selinos port. The only entrance to the fortress is the road that led us here and which we take once more for Lakkos and the north shore. And what a road!

V. Berard, 1897

V. Bérard, Les Affaires de Crete, 1898, Greek translation and commentary by G. Morag-lis, Trochalia: 1994, p. 173.

109

had been a footpath from Xyloskalo to Lakkoi, when the first road was opened using forced labour. The road network grew from this first layout, sections of which are still being completed today. Prior to the road connections, transport in Chania was done with animals, primarily donkeys, and the journey to Chania town took one-and-a-half to two-and-a-half days, nights being spent at vil-lages along the way. The road today crosses the Omalos mountain range,68 another reserve of great natural and historical value in Chania Prefecture, which reaches as far as Xyloskalo.

Ayia Roumeli, although it had basic port facilities, communicated with the other villages on the southern Cretan shore by boat (the best-known being the historic ARKADI (see p. 134). This mari-time connection did not exist in all eras (travellers in the 1930s, for example, would go to Chania from Ayia Roumeli via Xyloskalo, see p. 165.). Construction of today’s port facilities started in the 1960s, based on studies by the Chania Port Office.69 Two jetties were built, one in front of the village, the other at Masali to the west of the village for ferry boats and passenger car ferries serving the south coast. Repairs were carried out from time to time by the Port Office, as wear and tear and the weather would make the jet-ties unusable. Transport by sea is today operated by ANENDYK (Southwest Crete Shipping Societe Anonyme), a collectively-owned company founded by residents of Ayia Roumeli in 1982. Overland connections between Ayia Roumeli and Aradaina and Anopoli were – and still are – along footpaths. Connection by road is not possible. A heliport has been built at Ayia Roumeli, to cover emergency transport needs. This was completed in 1994 and handed over to the Municipality in 1997. The lack of coordination and communication between the parties involved, however, even today prohibits the issuing of an operations licence from the Civil Aviation Authority and, by extension, operation of the heliport.

68 The Omalos mountain range belongs to the Municipality of Mousouros, in the broader Gorge area. The particular architecture and its unique landscape have been the focus of several studies.

69 Details from the Chania Port Office.Fig. 50: Xyloskalo (T. Borakis -Mavridakis archive)

EΘΝΙΚΟΣ ΔΡΥΜΟΣ ΣΑΜΑΡΙΑΣ αγγλικα10Α

PA

RT

ΙΙ

| T

HE

MA

NM

AD

E E

NV

IR

ON

ME

NT

110

Fig. 51: The bus goes as far as Lakkoi, 1960s (Mountaineering Club of Chania archive)

Fig. 52: The port of Ayia Roumeli(photo: Em. Papavasileiou)

Fig. 53: Helicopter landing pad within Samaria Gorge (Chania Forestry Service)


111

5. Samaria Gorge: Toponyms and Microtoponyms

Aside from the basic toponyms (village names), in the Gorge every speck of earth, for those who know the place, has its own name. Of the microtoponyms we shall mention the best known, in such a way as to further our knowledge of the Gorge.70 The microtoponyms and, to a certain degree, the toponyms, are common in other parts of Crete and Greece.71 The determination of their etymological origin is a difficult task, requiring long and systematic research by specialists.72 We present all the interpretations that have been given so far, many of which are not widely accepted.

70 The classification used here follows the categorisation proposed by C. Haralambakis, linguistics professor at Athens University, in The Cretan Toponyms. Pro-ceedings of a two-day conference, vol. II, Historical and Folklore Society of Rethymni: Rethymno 2000, pp. 351-3.

71 Y. I. Loupousis, “Microtoponyms and macrotoponyms: the example of Chania Prefecture,” in Kritiki Estia 8, 2000-2001, pp. 207-21.72 Cf. Loupousis, “Etymology of toponyms from Chania Prefecture,” The Cretan Toponyms. Proceedings of a two-day conference, vol. II, pp. 389-401.73 N.V. Tomadakis, “Linguistic stromatography in Crete in the toponymic and naming tradition,” Modern Greek Essays and Studies, vol. III, Athens 1992, p. 405.74 Spanakis, Crete, vol. II, p. 330.75 Paul Faure: Professor of Greek language and Greek civilisation, Université Blaise Pascal-Clermont Ferrand. He dedicated many years to studying the historical

geography of the Mediterranean, Crete in particular.76 Spanakis, Crete, vol. II, p. 371.77 Op. cit., p. 32.

Toponyms

SamariaThe prevailing view, also adopted by Nik. V. Tomadakis,73 is that the toponym originated from the name of Hosia Maria (the Egyptian), to whom the chapel at the centre of the Gorge, built in 1379, is dedicated. Hosia Maria > Sia Maria > Samaria.74 The philologist Ioannis Moralides (1984) believes that the name de-rives from the Homeric word amari (Φ 259), Doric amara (Theocr. 27.53) (amal: with, simultaneously + reo, roos: water stream). The original name of the Gorge is believed to have been Amaria faranx (water stream gorge), which over time, with the addition of the “s” and the shift in the accent, became Samaria.

Tarra Paul Faure,75 suggests that it derives from the root tal-tar-taur, which means “gorge with a river at its depths”.76

Ayia RoumeliAccording to Papagregorakis (Kritiki Estia issue 58, 83), this is an Arab toponym, from the words “aia” (water) and “rumeli” (a Greek name meaning “Greek water”, “Rum” being a former term for Greek).77 Defner believes that the name comes from Ayia Roumilia or Roumina, a Roman goddess equivalent to Britomartis, to whom the temple of ancient Tarra belonged.

Fig. 54: With Gingilos as background (photo S. Pratsolis)

PA

RT

ΙΙ

| T

HE

MA

NM

AD

E E

NV

IR

ON

ME

NT

112

Microtoponyms

Microtoponyms associated with the natural environment:

Natural formsKerama: augmentative of keramos (tile), keramidi, cave.78 Kolardachtis (name of the point where the streams cross, including that of Sideropoulos, in the central stream), Korifi Spathi (sword tip), Portes (doors), Honos: funnel.

GeologyVolakias: generic, from “volakas”: large stone, rock.79 Gingilos: possibly a pre-Hel-ladic name deriving from Gilgilo, which Paul Faure suggests means Gerero, i.e. a large stone mass.80 Krygios Aeras: cold air coming from cracks in rocks, most prob-ably a cave wall. Sapimenos (kremnos) or Sapimena gremna: the steep slope of Gingilos is thus named because the rock is very unstable. Sideropoulos, Speliara, Halases, Halase: points where the earth has fallen or slid. Halasmena gremna (a site where, as mentioned above, a lake was formed in the past) has a similar meaning. Halikas: place with loose stones (halikia).

Natural irrigation, running water and springs Avlemonaria, Avlemonakas (names of peaks): widespread toponym in Madares which locals say refers to a stream that ends in the broad courtyard (avle), collecting the water from melted snow.Vrysi, Kefalovrysia: tap, indicating the main water source, one which supplies much water and is never dry. Neroutsiko: diminutive of water (nero), indicating volume. Potisteria: watering can.

Earth coverMavros Dasos: Black Forest, meaning a density of trees, analogous in many cases to dark.

Trees and plants, wild and cultivatedAzoyromouri: azyoros = Mediterranean stinkbush,81 mouri = piece of jutting earth, height, small hill. Azoyromouri = prominent spot with stinkbush. Vroula (name of spring): the bulrush (vourlo) grows at points where there is water.

Platanaki, Prinias: generic, area where holly (prinos) grows. Riza sykias: fig (sykia) tree root (riza).

78 I. Prombonas, “The Homeric apax halkeo en keramo and today’s Cretan toponym of keramos,” Proceedings of a two-day conference, vol. II, pp. 207-12.

79 Ancient: volax-volos, mass of compact earth.80 Spanakis, Crete, vol. II, p. 136.81 S.v. Xanthinakis.

Fig. 55: Kefalovrysia (photo: S. Vlazaki)

113

Animals Lagoudolivada: the meadow (livadi) here has many hares (lagoi). Perdi-kas nero: partridge (perdika) water (nero).

Microtoponyms associated with human activities:

Farming the land and other agricultural tasks:Mesa Abeli (Mid Vineyard), Pano Abeli (Upper Vineyard), Abelaki (Vineyard), Melissokepos (Bee Park).

CommunicationsPoria: place with a pass (poros), crossing.82

Fortresses, lookouts, watchtowers, etc.Veranda, Exedra (balcony), Pyrgos (tower).

Houses, constructionKalyvaki, Lousopo (name of spring): probable corruption of lithopo, a place with rocks, stony. Mitatoulis (name of a spring): diminutive of mitato.83 Xyloskalo: wooden (xylino) ladder (skala).

Religion and churchesAfentis Christos, Ai Giorgios, etc.: names of all the churches in the Gorge.

Ethnic namesHelleniko: in contrast to property that belonged to non-Greeks, Hellenes (from Hellenes? Possible corruption by foreign travellers). Lenoseli (El-leno-seli): the neck between two mountains, where, according to mythol-ogy, the kings of Crete gathered to offer their sacrifices to the gods,84 seli: clearing, level peak. Barbarigo, tou Bey o chonos: small gorge like a cone (Turkish). Tou Saracenou i Skala (Arabic).

Folklore: Daimonospelios: Devil’s Cave. Tou Digeni i pate: Digenis’s footrack.

Toponyms associated with people:Angelokambi or Angelokamboi or Angelokambia: possibly the first com-posite name to refer to the name Angelos or the surname Angelakis. Stsi kalogres to agrimi: edge, peak. Tchi kalogres to spelio (see p.130). Stou Katsia, Stsi Kontares tou Platano, Tou Mantaka I kalyva (see p. 135.).

82 Op. cit.83 Mitato: summer flocking station, with facilities for making cheese.84 K. Psarakis, “Samaria: place of mystery and worship”, Chaniotikia Nea, 28/08/2000.

Fig. 56: Azoyromouri, at Ayia Roumeli (photo E. Papavasileiou)

CH

AP

TE

R Ι

I |

PE

RM

AN

EN

T H

AB

IT

AT

IO

N I

N M

OD

ER

N T

IM

ES

114

6. Occupations of the people

In the past, the local economy was based on various activities, on a limited scale of course, but covering a wide range of the primary, mainly, sector (pastoralism, farming, logging, beekeeping, fishing). This was a self-sufficient and au-tonomous economy. Ayia Roumeli’s economy today is dependent and based almost entirely on tourism, with other activities gradually dying out.Prior to expropriation, the nanny goats in the Gorge were privately owned. Land was sold by private agreement, in the presence of witnesses. The Historical Archive of Crete holds a number of “contract” documents from the 18th and 19th centuries.85

85 Z. Semanderaki, “Toponyms in private contracts of the 18th and 19th centuries,” En Chaniois 2007, Munici-pality of Chania Annual Publication, pp. 51-68.

Fig. 57: The sheep head for the shade… (A. Manousakis archive)

PastoralismPastoralism was the main occupation of the inhabitants of Samaria. All families had flocks of sheep and goats, which they grazed around the village at Prinia and Lagoudolivada.

The village had two mitata, at Ayios Nikolaos, where sheep and goat milk was collected separately and cheese produced. They would make myzithra cheese from goat milk and cheese and yoghurt from sheep milk, and sell them in the

115

…leaving these precipitous parts of both villages, where most risk their lives on their crags …

Gregorios Papadopetrakis, 1877

Papadopetrakis, p. 19.

Fig. 58: Mitato at Ayios Nikolaos (photo by Hadjimichalis and Matalas), from the study Hora Sfakia-Samaria, 1966-1967, vol. II, drawing 053)

Fig. 59: The mitato, in the service of environmental protection (forest guard house) (photo. T. Borakis)

surrounding villages and in Chania. Sheep wool would be used to make woven textiles, which were processed in fulling mills (see Manufacturing). The Ayioir-oumeliotes would produce their dairy products at the mitata of Gingilos. Hunting the agrimi and other animals (birds, hares, etc.) was another basic occupation of the people of the Gorge. In the 1930s, efforts to raise awareness were made and the first agrimi protection measures implemented.

CropsThe main crop of the villages in Samaria and Ayia Roumeli was the olive (there are still around 750 olive trees in the Park). In the 1920s Damoulis Kaloyerakis opened the first olive press in Samaria (which today houses the Samaria Museum “Man and Samaria”), whilst at Ayia Roumeli there were two olive presses, one of which is in good condition.

In the old days there were also wheat crops, which began to be limited in the 1930s. Around Kolardachtis they grew wheat mainly for animal feed (primarily barley). Each family would grow its vegetables on terraces above the village. Toponyms such as Pano Abeli, Mesa Abeli and Abelakia show that there were vines here in the old

CH

AP

TE

R Ι

I |

PE

RM

AN

EN

T H

AB

IT

AT

IO

N I

N M

OD

ER

N T

IM

ES

PA

RT

ΙΙ

| T

HE

MA

NM

AD

E E

NV

IR

ON

ME

NT

116

86 Melissokofino: beehive made from woven material (reeds, wicker) and which resembles a basket.87 Oral history of Georgios Tzatzimakis.

days. At Ayia Roumeli, in addition to vegetables, they grew citrus fruits and, as visi-tors and travellers describe, the gardens of houses were full of flowers.

Beekeeping Beekeeping in traditional “kofinia”86 was very widespread, and many houses had a wax press (manual honey extractor) for producing honey. The hives in this area were constructed using osier branches plastered on the inside and outside with clay and red earth, and covered with pieces of pine bark, which did not rot easily87. The signs of chopping are still apparent on many trees. The hives were later made from planks of wood, until the modern European hive was adopted. There were bee farms at many points in the Park, the best-known being that at Ayios Nikola-os. During the German occupation, honey was one of the products that the locals would exchange in order to obtain other basic food times.

Fig. 60: Inside the Kaloyeraki olive press, 2008 (photo: V. Kotrotsos)

Fig. 61: Small olive grove in Samaria, 2008 (photo: I. Vlazaki)

Fig. 62: The Kaloyerakis olive press now houses the Man and Samaria Information Kiosk, 2008 (photo: V. Kotrotsos)

117

Forest produceLogging and forest products were another main occupation for the locals. The chopped tree trunks from the Samaria forests would be transported by loggers to Ayia Roumeli via the streams, where they were loaded onto ships to be sold as either raw or lightly processed wood (see above unit).

Another forest product is pine tree bark, “pitykas”, which the locals would collect and sell. Pitykas was used to produce pitch, used to make caique boats waterproof and in tanning to dye leather.

It does not appear as though the locals were systematically involved in collect-ing resin, at least in the final years. A company,88 most probably from an Aegean island, which had a long tradition in resin collection and perhaps with a licence from the Ministry of Agriculture, brought in workers in 1937 and 1938 to collect the resin. In the past, resin had many uses, from a well-known “white spirit” to the traditional additive in retsina. The local inhabitants also worked in resin collec-tion, and the incisions can still be seen on some trees.

88 The company was perhaps owned by Kassiotakis and represented by Perikles Konstantinides of Piraeus (who baptised Aristea Katsanevaki in Samaria).

Fig. 63: Samaria Gorge (photo: V. Kotrotsos)

CH

AP

TE

R Ι

I |

PE

RM

AN

EN

T H

AB

IT

AT

IO

N I

N M

OD

ER

N T

IM

ES

PA

RT

ΙΙ

| T

HE

MA

NM

AD

E E

NV

IR

ON

ME

NT

118

ManufacturingThe use of waterpower from the streams provided the foundation for basic manufacturing in the region of Samaria. The water-mills here were mentioned from as early as 1630 by Franc-esco Basilicata. They were used to grind grain and animal feed (flour mills), for processing textiles (fulling mills) and hydrau-lic log splitters.91 There were 14 water-

mills with chimneys,92 the majority near Ayia Roumeli. The ruins of the founda-tions of the watermills can still be seen today.

How the Samaria watermills operated: water from a stream was collected in a small con-structed channel and directed towards the mill, which is built at a lower point, so that the water falls almost vertically, into a funnel like a “chimney” ending in a slanted mouth-piece. It is emitted from here, and pushes the wooden sails of a horizontal mill, set on a vertical axle, which rotates the upper of a pair of millstones (if it is a flour mill) or moves the cords (if it is a hydraulic log splitter). The inhabitants of the surrounding areas – Ano-poli, Ai Yiannis, etc. – would grind grain in the flourmills of Ayia Roumeli, using animals

Fig. 64: Section of a watermill, showing how it works

(from The making of the Cretan landscape by Rackham

and Moody)

The work required for making forest products also provided a “natural protection” for the forest. Coppicing and col-lection of pine bark for making torches (the central part dried pine tree trunks was used as a torch or tinder) as well as resin gathering, done from May to October, a period of increased fire risk, helped clear the forest. Woodcutting and carving of items of daily use (e.g. spoons) was yet another of the occupations that secured a supplementary income, by being sold to neighbouring villages (Karanos, Skines, etc.).

There were also many coal furnaces using holm oaks, which give a good quality coal, in the Gorge. Coal was gathered in large piles at Ayia Roumeli and from there transported by caiques to be sold in various regions, even Africa. The coal trade continued until the 1920s.89 There were also limekilns for the same purpose. Stone found in the area of Prinia was used to whet cutting tools with the so-called “akonia” grindstones.90

89 Oral history of Mathios Stavroudakis, President of the Ayia Roumeli Municipal District.90 Akonpetro, also known as Naxia stone.91 School project (unpublished) for the Technology class on the Hydromilos watermill, by Nikolaos Kotrotsos,

Souda Middle School, 2007-2008.92 Rackham and Moody, p. 251.

Ayia Roumeli and Ayios Pavlos. Rivers to which the ponente galleys would on occasion take water. They power mills and have plenty of good waters, which run continuously.

Fransesco Basilicata, 1630

Extract from the report on Crete by the engineer Francesco Basilicata submitted in 1630 to the then Capitan Generale del Regno di Candia Pietro Giustiniano. See St. Spanakis, Monuments of Cretan History, vol. V, Heraklion 1969, p. 38, and M. Gregorakis, Chania as foreigners saw it, Chaniotika Nea: Chania 2003, p. 177.

Fig. 65: Hydraulic log splitter (from the magazine La maison

des jeunes et de la culture de Romans Bourg-De-Peage).

Fig. 66: Dilapidated watermill at Ayia Roumeli, 2008

(photo: E. Papavasileiou)

water supplychannel

chimney

stationary will stone

rotating will stone

supply funnel

mouth

sail

119

to transport it here. The grain given to the inhabitants as food aid by UNNRA was also ground here.93

Heavy woollen materials, rugs and clothes were processed in the water-powered fulling mills (“rassotrives” or “nerotrives”). The water would fall onto them with great force, so as to tighten their weft, making them waterproof and softer. Textiles were also cleaned and dyed in the fulling mills. To chop the tree trunks and produce planks and poles of various thicknesses, the inhabitants would use hydraulic log splitters: wooden constructions with a cord, which were rotated by the water. An-other hydraulic log splitter known as the “fabrica” was later set up near Portes94 Sifis Viglis’s attempt to operate a hydraulic log splitter with a diesel engine never came to fruition, as the Second World War broke out (this machine still stands unused outside Samaria village). The Germans requisitioned this hydraulic log splitter dur-ing their occupation, sending wood to Chania.

93 United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration.94 Photograph of a hydraulic log splitter from La maison des jeunes et de la culture de Romans Bourg-de-Péage, which also announces the screening of a colour film

from the mission of five speleologists to Crete (Quinze spéléologues en Crète).

At many points further down from Samaria village you en-counter the famous hydraulic log splitters. In the old days, these constituted a form of primitive industry, where the plentiful wood of Samaria was processed. The river water was used to generate power.

V. Antourakis, 1968

Antourakis, p. 301.

CH

AP

TE

R Ι

I |

PE

RM

AN

EN

T H

AB

IT

AT

IO

N I

N M

OD

ER

N T

IM

ES

PA

RT

ΙΙ

| T

HE

MA

NM

AD

E E

NV

IR

ON

ME

NT

120

PACHOUNTASIngredients: Houmeli and wholemeal bar-ley flour. To get the houmeli, knead the wax from the honeycomb, having strained the honey from it. Heat whatever remains after the honey has separated in a cauldron for several hours. The remains, a dark liquid like petimezi grape syrup, are known as hou-meli.

Roast the flour (preferably in the oven, so it browns all over) and gradually pour in the houmeli, continuously stirring, until it rises and becomes doughy. Add cinnamon or cloves or any herbs of your preference, shape the pastry into balls and eat without further cooking. The pastry can also be placed in a baking tray and served like halvas.

Aristea Koundouraki, Paliochora, former inhabitant of Samaria

SFAKIAN YIACHNI WITH YOGHURTIngredients: Goat meat, spring onion finely chopped, yoghurt, salt, pepper, olive oil, spoonful of flour.

Fry the meat with the spring onion, on a low flame at first so that the liquid from the meat evaporates, and then on a normal flame, un-til cooked, keeping the sauce. A little before removing from the flame, add a spoonful of strained yoghurt, which has first been mixed with the flour, stir well until bubbling and the liquid from the yoghurt has separated from the other ingredients. Remove from the flame and eat immediately.

Athena G. Tzatzimaki, inhabitant of Ayia Roumeli

In 1952 a company represented by Yiannis Bonatos of Aradaina began placing or-ders for “bondelia”,95 i.e. beams 2-2.5 m long from local loggers and “manarokopoi96 to be used in house construction, marketing them in the region of Messara.97

Despite the written references to shipbuilding by the inhabitants of Ayia Roumeli,98 there is no actual evidence (traces or testimonies) for this activity.

Cottage IndustriesThe women were involved in all farm work as well as domestic work. Textiles was one of their main occupations. Using wool, they would produce materials for heavy uses (kapes,99 sakoulia,100 kilimia,101 patanies,102 pantes,103 kouvertoria), and purchase other types of material and clothing from Chania. Meat, honey, cheese, milk, olives, olive oil, greens and fish were the foodstuffs produced locally. Snails, typical of the Cretan diet, do not feature in the diet of the Samariots as there were no edible snails inside the Gorge, although there are around Ayia Roumeli. Winter food supplies were acquired in October. The locals would make their pur-chases at the point of production or from ships docking at Ayia Roumeli with large quantities of food that would last for long periods, such as potatoes (from Omalos), flour, rice, sardines and herring.

They would also make foods that were stored naturally, such as salted pork and fried goat with olive oil in a clay dish. One delicacy usually made for children was “pachountas”, with wholemeal barley flour and houmeli (honey water). During the German occupation, there was little olive oil but more cheese. The lack of oil led to the creation of a recipe for Sfakian yiachni casserole which substitutes olive oil with yoghurt.

95 Bondela, -ia: roofing columns (Italian puntello = support), s.v. Xanthinakis.96 Manarokopos: woodcutter who uses a “manara” (large axe), s.v. Xanthinakis.97 Oral history of Giorgos Tzatzimakis of Ayia Roumeli.98 Spanakis, Crete, vol. II, p. 32. 99 Kapa (sing.) or kapoto: thick woollen overcoat with a hood, s.v. Xanthinakis.100 Sakouli (or vourgia): small, woven bag.101 Kilimi: handmade rug or cover, without nap (pile), typical of Anatolian and Balkan textiles, s.v. Babiniotis.102 Patania: blankets made from very fine wool, with many patterns fitted during weaving and with strong local

characteristics.103 Pantas: a sampler, made of fine material with decorative patterns or words (“Good Morning”) which deco-

rated the walls.104 Kouvertorio: decorative bed cover made with long, round stitches on the loom.

121

Social life

Social life in Samaria, as expected, was not particularly rich. During the win-ter, the village was cut off from Xyloskalo because of snow and from Ayia Roumeli because of the gushing streams. News from the outside world would come via Ayia Roumeli and from Samariots who had gone to Samaria or the surrounding villages (Karanou, Omalos, Lakkoi, Skines), when the weather had improved. Visitors, seasonal workers and mountain climbers were anoth-er source of information. Beyond the Samaria bridge there was a spot known as “magazaki” (little shop), This was an open area which every visitor, hunter or rambler in the Park would have to pass by, and where all the inhabitants would gather to talk to him, to learn the news or just look at him, since he was a stranger. There was no wireless in the village, just a gramophone player, on which they would play records and listen to music. In the evenings the Samariots would have evening parties, lighting up the place with torches of flames. The men would discuss the wars and the women bustled around the house. The children played the traditional games of hide-and-seek and “it”, as well as improvised games with natural elements (wood, fruits, wool)105 or with the little orphan goats that the locals would take into their homes and raise.

I WISH ONCE, I WISH TWICE

I wish once, I wish twice, I wish three and five times,I wish to go overseas, to foreign lands.Mountains do not snow over, gorge do not dew,until I have gone far, gone and returned.But overseas took me.

Performed by Katina Stavrou Viglaki

Song documented by Samuel Baud-Bovy in Ayia Rou-meli in 1954. Performed by Katina Stavrou-Viglaki. See S. Baud-Bovy, A. Ayoutanti and D. Mazaraki, Chansons Populaires de Crète Occidentale, ed. Minkoff, Genève 1972, p. 203.

Fig. 67: “The magazaki” today, after renovation (photo: V. Kotrotsos)

105 Kostoula Katsenevaki-Markaki oral history.


CH

AP

TE

R Ι

I |

PE

RM

AN

EN

T H

AB

IT

AT

IO

N I

N M

OD

ER

N T

IM

ES

PA

RT

ΙΙ

| T

HE

MA

NM

AD

E E

NV

IR

ON

ME

NT

122

The evening parties also happened at Ayia Roumeli, usually with the men, as the women were home already earlier. The men would gather in a house, sit in a circle around the fireplace, each with his heromandelo106 (handkerchief) with tobacco107 and cut up pieces of paper (usually from a newspaper) with which to roll ciga-rettes. The host, in a ritualistic manner, would take off his heromandelo and of-fer tobacco to each visitor in turn. When the last one had finished smoking his cigarette, the visitors would, each in succession, offer tobacco, and the new cycle started, with the discussion focussing on the serious problems of survival.108

Customs were very strict, as throughout Samaria province. The boys would go to the Primary School at Ayia Roumeli, where they stayed with relatives through the winter, as the two villages had very close family connections (siblings, cousins, etc). The girls, as a rule, were not permitted to learn to read,109 as “they don’t need it”. There were, of course, exceptions: if the older sisters were already looking after the other children, the youngest daughter may have been able to go to school. From the beginning of the 1950s, however, the girls at Ayia Roumeli had almost equal access to primary education.110 Of course, all girls were married through match-making, making their “dowry” was one of their primary duties.

Women would give birth to many children (there were families with 14-18 chil-dren), helping each other. Of course, the death rate was very high, as there was no doctor and no medicines. They would use only practical medicine – rubbing with oil, hot drinks, etc. A woman would die in labour in the Samaria of the 1930s because weather conditions meant it was not possible to take her to hospital.

It is particularly interesting that the inhabitants were not afraid to live within the Gorge. Neither did the quirks or nature, especially in winter, frighten them (gushing winds, streams, noises from shots or falling rocks, which, given the Park’s terrain, would multiply, creating pandemonium) or the superstitions wide-spread in the Prefecture scare them, according to which Gingilos was a satanic hotbed. (And for which reason the cave at Gingilos is known as Daimonospelios or Xontikospelios111).

106 Heromandelo: handkerchief, in contrast with the head scarf.107 Tobacco was grown at Aradaina and Ai Yiannis.108 Giorgos Tzatzimakis oral history.109 Eleni Katsanevaki-Kokolaki oral history.110 School project by Evangelia M. Stavroudaki.111 E. Platakis, “Terrible sounding and scary names of Cretan caves” in Eilapine, vol. I, volume in honour of N.

Platanos, Vikelaia Municipal Library: Heraklion.

Fig. 69: The cross of Ayia Zoni (photo: E. Papavasileiou)

Fig. 68: Publication from the newspaper National Pan-Cretan Daily Newspaper of National Radical Principles, Chania 3/2/1962.

From research by the pupil Michalis Smyrlakis in the archive of his father’s Sifis Smyrlakis.

Fig. 70: The church and the cemetery of Christos (photo: V. Kotrotsos)


123

Sometime on the eve of the war – I was a child then – in our neighbouring village of Panayia some women had symptoms of a strange illness. All day they would shout and hit, but disappear all night. In the morning they would return and claim that the demons that entered them came at night, lifting them into the air and taking them to their hideout at Gingilos, to the devils’ cave, the Daimonospelio … They would then leave. They would stroll all night long and in the early morning hours, before daybreak, they would go and get them back … And the people believed all this … As children we were afraid to step over the threshold of our houses, in case we encountered these strange women, inside of whom the demons hid… Now I’m afraid here. My mind is filled with the things I heard as a young child: in Gingilos gorge … the devils…. And what blasphemy: “All the devils will get you, they’ll lift you up and take you to Samaria Gorge”, young and old would utter…Now I’m here: at Gingilos … there where the devils’ home is … I would like to escape these thoughts. But, however hard I try, they won’t leave me. I can’t. “You’ll go out on patrol with Electra after midnight” … How I wished to avoid this mission! I don’t dare say anything, though … We started to proceed slowly, slowly. Pitch black. We proceed amongst the giant rocks, thick bushes, tall cypresses and pines. With Gingilos to our left and in front of us, frightening us in the wild night. Our hearts were beating with fear and our eyes able to see much more powerfully. You thought that any minute now you’d encounter the terrible evil, and we wouldn’t be able to fight it. We had no other hope other than our strength to complete our mission. Some rocks above came loose, they rolled with a crash to the bottom of the Gorge. Who let them loose? We were patient and waited for the worst: to see the demons in front of us. To see two fiery eyes looking at us … We moved away. We proceeded two or three kilometres. We looked around us in case there were any enemies. And then we started to return, relieved. We reached the guard post. Took a deep breath. Not because we didn’t encounter the enemy. But, most of all, because we didn’t see any devils living in Gingilos … And I was here other times. I undertook solitary missions. And, yet, neither during this first mission or any time after did I see anything to confirm what I heard the old village ladies saying, when they believed that there are devils in Samaria Gorge.

Argyro Kokovli, 2002

N. and A. Kokovli, There was no other road, Polytopo: Athens, 2002, p. 199.

Fig. 71: At the Gingilos edge (photo: H. Kargiolakis)

CH

AP

TE

R Ι

I |

PE

RM

AN

EN

T H

AB

IT

AT

IO

N I

N M

OD

ER

N T

IM

ES

PA

RT

ΙΙ

| T

HE

MA

NM

AD

E E

NV

IR

ON

ME

NT

124

However, for better or for worse, the Ayiaroumeliotes, starting from the cave dedi-cated to Ayia Zoni, near the Gorge exit, would carve a cross in the rock, and then another cross on the lintel of the houses of the old village, in order to create a zone protected from the evil spirits...112 Ever Maundy Thursday the women would also sew signs in the form of a cross onto the men’s clothes and bags, as they were exposed to greater dangers on the mountains, as a good luck wish and protection from the demons.113

The legend of “Goldilocks” (see p. 124.) with the “golden loom” as well as the ru-mours of other hidden treasures in the region have led many “gold diggers”, Greek and otherwise, to visit the Gorge (and even with the help of Arab states).

Many violent deaths are caused in Samaria from falls when either grazing ani-mals or hunting, when withered trees are cut down or from lightning. This type of death has resulted in the special dirges of Samaria. Many deaths are also at-tributed to the social phenomenon of the vendetta (see unit on The population), which in the past was widespread in the isolated villages of Sfakia province and has been comprehensively studied.114 The last vendetta around Ayia Roumeli took place in 1949.

Despite the existence of many churches in the Gorge area, neither of the two villages had a priest until the 1960s, and the priest of Ai Yianni would come to perform services. Baptisms took place in the churches, although weddings were held in the yards of houses. Some of the inhabitants’ forenames are of particular interest as they can be found only here, whilst as surnames we find them in other parts of the Province of Sfakia (Damoulis, Diomataris as opposed to Diomedes, and the equivalent surnames of Damoulakis, Diomatarakis). After the service, the whole wedding with streamers and the musicians playing their instruments at the front would proceed to the groom’s house, where the celebrations were held. Mrs Kostoula Katsanevaki-Marakaki went from Samaria to Ayia Roumeli as a bride in 1949. With her white wedding dress, she climbed onto the deco-rated donkey and passed through Portes with the whole wedding entourage. Weddings, baptisms and festivals were opportunities for partying and revelries. Song was the inhabitants’ permanent companion, when they grazed their herds or performed agricultural tasks or weaved. Information on the singers of Ayia Roumeli is included in the interesting study by the musicologist Samuel Baud-Bovy in 1953-1954.115

112 Mathios Stavroudakis oral history.113 Evangelia T. Stavroudaki oral history. 114 See A. Tsanteropoulos, The vendetta in contemporary mountain Crete, Plethron: Athens 2004.115 S. Baud-Bovy, A. Agioutani and D. Mazaraki, Musical Documentation in Crete, 1953-1954, vol. I, Athens 2006,

Centre for Asia Minor Studies, Melpo Merlier Musical Folklore Archives, pp. 61 and 113.

Here we came to Omalos, through the Gorge, where the magnificent wild nature astonished the foreigners. On the way Korkakas and Papadakis explained to us that the bound tree bark, which hung like string from the peak to the depths of the Gorge, forms a trail that assists the villag-ers coming into the mountains. From Om-alos we went into sunless Samaria again, lying at the root of a steep cliff, and spent the night in there. The stories of its inhab-itants talk of deaths from falls, which the woodcutters and hunters going through the mountains cannot always avoid. An only son, when hunting in years past fell when stuck on a section of the cliff jutting out. His widow mother grieves for him pulling her hair, but from the other side of the Gorge, as no one could approach this jutting section. Only the birds …

Diary of Manousos R. Koundouros (1890)

Plymakis, The agrimi of Crete, p.. 105.

Fig. 72: Diomataris Tzatzimos with a black kerchief without fringes, signifying mourning (photograph in Samuel Baud-Bovy, Aglaia Agioutani and Despina Mazaraki, Musical Documentation in Crete, 1953-1954, vol. I, Athens 2006, Centre for Asia Minor Studies, Melpo Merlier Musical Folklore Archives, p. 64)

125

Fig. 73: From the baptism of Damoulis and Pagona Kaloyerakis’s baby. Photograph taken outside the Kaloyerakis olive press, 1950s (Kaloyerakis family archive)

Fig. 74: The same place, 2008 (photo: V. Kotrotsos)

Fig. 75: Baptism of Yiannis Mavridakis in the Samaria river, 1988, (T. Borakis-Mavridakis archive)

PA

RT

ΙΙ

| T

HE

MA

NM

AD

E E

NV

IR

ON

ME

NT

126

In one-and-a-half to two hours we reach little Lake Loutros and from there by motor boat we set off for Ayia Roumeli, which they told us was a village with good singers. We arrived at night. The village slept. The gendarmes at the Station, who in the meantime had received a circular from the General Administration, looked after us. They each gave us a blanket and his trench coat and we slept on the shore … There are no instruments at Ayia Roumeli. At weddings they invite violins and lutes from Kissamo and Selino. Good sing-ers at Ayia Roumeli are Sifis Tzatzimos, known as Kou-kos, and his brother, Diomedes Tzatzimos, the village president, 53-years-old. Unfortunately, we didn’t find Koukos in the village. We found the president, howev-er, who is truly a good singer. He was in mourning and it was with difficulty that we convinced him to sing. He sang “Anantranisa, my eyes” which has a difficult tune and he performed it very well … Here a “good singer” is one who has a good voice, a good organism as they tell us and not, as in central and eastern Crete, one who knows how to improvise. This is because, instead of being in the hands of the instrumentalists, much here is purely vocal … We learnt that our singer, Di-omedes (or, Diomataris) Tzatzimos had gone to Hora Sfakia by foot, to take his goat herd. The squadron commander of the gendarmerie is a charming Cretan, exiled here at the end of the world for two years now. He accompanied us under the moonlight. Streams in between stone dams, an abandoned watermill where in the past they would bring all the wheat from the area to grind it … The whole village was asleep. Only a few dogs welcomed us. To our good luck, there was a light on in Tzatzimos’s house: the whole family had gathered to welcome the travellers. He himself was barefoot, resting from his journey. He wore black clothes, and had a very slim, broad nose, lively yet sad eyes (he has lost three brothers, either killed or exe-cuted in the war), rather pronounced cheekbones and a nice, well-groomed beard. He reminds me of an an-cient bronze sculpture of a warrior. Everything is done in an organised and disciplined fashion. As we were eating a sweet and exchanging questions, he declared himself ready to sing, a little angry that the Kudelski* sometimes makes his voice hoarse. After three songs, he served us dinner: three eggs with a select butter and red honey from his beehives, with a wonderful aroma. Then, after he had once more sent the women, including his own wife with the very delicate features, out, he sang us a final song that he had chosen very carefully. Its content was like the goodbye to the life of a party animal and his wife: Wretched, false world, who will win you? To which he added, as a conclusion, a melancholy mantinada couplet: First I was the angel, now others act the angel. At the fountain where I drank, now others drink.

Baud-Bovy, 1953-1954

* Kudelski: audio recorder invented by Stefan Kudelski, celebrat-ed for its quality. In cinema, it is also known as the Nagra.

Fig. 76: Musical score from Chansons Populaire de Crète Occidentale by Samuel Baud-Bovy*

* Baud-Bovy et al., Chansons Populaires, p. 280

Fig. 77: 1950s, Evangelos Viglis, Damoulis Kaloyerakis, Yiannis Viglis, Sifis Viglis, Michalis Kaloyerakis

(Kaloyerakis family archive)

Once I was an angel, now the others act like angelsAt the fountain where I drank water, others now drink.

127

8. The last families of Samaria

In 1965, three years after the declaration of the Gorge as a National Park, the expropriation procedures were com-pleted and Samaria was abandoned by its last inhabitants. The Viglis, Kaloyerakis, Bilalis, Katsenevakis and Sperelakis families are the last families documented as living in Samaria. Family members are today found in Chania, Palaio-chora, Souda, Alikianos and Pervolia. The oral histories of many of those who were born and lived in the Gorge have been a valuable source for this book. Although the Gorge is associated with a difficult time in their lives, it fills them with nostalgia.

The Katsanevaki family was the last to leave the Gorge, whilst Vangelis Viglis was the last person to have lived his whole life in the Park. He was one of those former inhabitants who, after his family had left the Gorge, returned to work as a guard in the Park until his death.

Fig. 78: Damoulis Kaloyerakis the younger, with his sons Yiannis and Michalis (Kaloyerakis family archive)

Fig. 79: The sisters Eleni Katsanevaki-Kokolaki and Kostoula Katsanevaki-Marakaki, June 2008 (photo: E. Papavasileiou)

CH

AP

TE

R Ι

I |

PE

RM

AN

EN

T H

AB

IT

AT

IO

N I

N M

OD

ER

N T

IM

ES

PA

RT

ΙΙ

| T

HE

MA

NM

AD

E E

NV

IR

ON

ME

NT

128

Little birds, chirp as you have learnt,because I too was a bird, and a nightingale amongst

the nightingales,and of the falcons I was also a peregrine,

peregrine and I chirped.Performed by Diomataris Tzatzimos

Op. cit. p. 176.

Fig. 80: Scece from Samaria village in the 1950s (Kaloyerakis family archive)

129

C H A P T E R 3

T H E R O L E O F S A M A R I A G O R G E I N H I S T O R Y

The Gorge played an important role during all the historical events of Crete. It was a hideout for revo-lutionaries and a refuge for the persecuted. Its inac-cessible land and physical isolation offered protection and helped in preparing for action. It was also a place where military equipment could be stored. Moreover, the natural bay of Ayia Roumeli could be used as a point for receiving supplies by sea. The above natural advantages were exploited b the people of the island during all the rebellions, movements and revolutions.

1. Venetian Rule (1204-1669)

The period of Venetian rule in Crete began immediately following the Fourth Crusade (1204). The island passed in the hands of the Venetians for the “1000 silver marks” that they had paid to Boniface of Montferrat, the Crusader leader. Enrico Dandolo, Doge of the Serene Republic of St Mark, “purchased” the island, as he had real-ised that it was held an important position as a centre of sea communications and trade.

The island passed completely into the hands of the Venetians in the late 13th cen-tury, and the possession was named the Regno di Candia, the Kingdom of Can-dia. The Cretans did not accept Venetian rule without complaint. Until Turkish conquest of the island in 1669, 27 large and small revolutions are recorded as well as man smaller local movements.116 The Venetian sources reveal that the Sfakians participated in and instigated rebellions.

The existence and formation of this Gorge contributed to the Greek Orthodox popula-tion of Crete, during its 700 years of slavery to the Vene-tians and Turks (1204-1898), being able to survive, strug-gle, and keep its language, religion, customs and tradi-tions Greek, and finally be-ing liberated and uniting with Mother Greece.

P. Kelaides, Ancient cities in Sfakia, Karavi and Toxos: Athens, 1982, p. 106.

Fig. 81: Sfakian revolutionary guarding Portes, 1896 (The Illustrated news,

Man. Manousakas archive)

116 T. Detorakis, History of Crete, Athens 1986, p. 173. C. Maltezou, “Crete during the period of Venetian rule (1211-1669)”, in Crete. History and civilisation, vol. II, Union of Local Authorities of Crete: Heraklion 1988, p. 125.

Text:Argyro Chaniotaki-Smyrlaki

Of manliness the honour and the struggle.Castle door, of Samaria’s GorgeYou were never trodden on through the passage of time by Anatolians, Venetians and Franks.

PA

RT

ΙΙ

| T

HE

MA

NM

AD

E E

NV

IR

ON

ME

NT

130

The Skordylis Revolution

In 1319 a revolution broke out at Sfakia known as the “Goldilocks Revolution”. The general cause was bad government and the harsh behaviour of the Venetians settled in the Sfakia garrison. The immediate cause was the shameful act of the Venetian garrison leader to Chrysis Skordyli. The uprising spread and a Revolu-tion broke out throughout the region. Defence was organised within the Gorge. 2. Turkish Rule (1669-1898) In early summer 1645 a large Turkish regiment disembarked at Kolybari. The Turkish conquest of Crete was beginning. The Turkish troops proceeded steadily to the east and took Chania on 22 August. After three years, the siege of Candia (today’s Heraklion) began, ending with the handover of the city after 21 years (September 1669). This important event has gone down in history as the Cretan War, described by Marinos Tzanes Bounialis in his homonymous poem. The loss of Crete was a heavy blow for the Serene Republic, and a great victory for the Sultan. The new conqueror, although initially less authoritarian than the previ-ous one, was equally hated by the indigenous population. From the 18th century, revolutions started to break out, with the vision of freedom always remaining alive from the Cretans. The cases of conversion to Islam, for survival purposes, did not prevent the rest of the Christian inhabitants from uprising. All the revolu-tions and movements documented were responded to in a violent and harsh way by the Ottoman administration.

The Revolution of Daskaloyiannis (1770)

One important even, which fits into the general historical context of the time, was the 1770 Revolution, known as the Revolution of Daskaloyiannis after its leader.

Ioannis Vlachos, known as Daskaloyiannis, was a rich Sfakian ship-owner, well-travelled, who came into contact with Theodore Orlov, the envoy of Catherine the Great of Russia, who was instigating rebellions amongst the Sultan’s Christian subjects. Daskaloyiannis believed that the uprising was possible, he overcame in-ternal reactions and organised the movement at Sfakia in the spring of 1770. He was counting on Russian help and the fact that the inaccessible terrain made a potential Turkish raid difficult. The Turkish reaction was formidable. Sfakia was destroyed. No Russian assistance came. Some women and children managed to get to the Peloponnese and Kythera. Some others managed to escape to the Gorge. Daskaloyiannis, in order to calm the Turkish rage, handed himself over on 17 June 1771 and suffered a horrific death at Heraklion.

Tradition holds that the powerful Skordy-lis family had a beautiful daughter, Chry-sis, with wonderful blonde hair. One day, the daughter went to collect water along with the other girls. On the road, she was met by the Garrison leader, who jumped off his horse and attempted to kiss her. Chrysis resisted and hit him. He got an-gry and lopped off her bright blonde plait with his sword, and took it with him. The large Skordylis family, in order to wash away the shame, attacked the garrison, and killed the perpetrator and the whole garrison.* The legend that was subsequently “woven” around the histori-cal event says that Chrysis followed her family to the Gorge, where she remained until the military campaign was over. She was a hermit at Samaria, dedicated her-self to God and, as the legend goes, she was buried there along with her golden loom. There are still place names con-nected to the legend, such as “tchi kalo-gres o spelios” (the nun’s cave) and “tchi kalogres t’armi” (the nun’s loom). **

* Deotarakis, p.184. See also L. Petrides, Crete: landscape, people, events, legends, Athens 1963, p. 77, and Kelaides, p. 105. ** A. Plymakis, “Goldilocks in the mysterious land of Samaria”, in Kritiko Panorama, issue 15, May-June 2006, p. 48.

Fig. 82: Ioannis Vlachos, Daskaloyiannis (Anopoli, Sfakia 1722 – Heraklion 1771) (M. Toubis SA archive)

131

117 Barba Pantzelios: the Ballad of Daskaloyiannis, Heraklion 1947. The Ballad of Daskaloyiannis is a poem describing the events of the 1770 Revolution and Daskaloyiannis himself. It is a source of information on the customs and traditions of the Sfakians. It is of great literary value and is reminiscent of epic poetry, medieval Cretan literature and demotic poetry. It was dictated in 1786 by the cheese-maker Barba Pantzelios (from Mouri Sfakion) to the literate shepherd Sifis Skordylis in moments of rest from his cheese-making activities in the Sfakian open-air cheese-makers. The Ballad of Daskaloyiannis has been set to music by the composer Nikos Mamangakis.

118 Detorakis, p. 333.119 He was accompanied by a Volunteer Corps, a small naval squadron and British philhellenes.

THE BALLAD OF DASKALOYIANNIS

The Turks are capturing many shores, They’re going to Ayia Roumeli / And the families are leaving, they get out at Linoseli. / They go to enter the Gorge At the bottom of Samaria, / At Portes they found Yiannis the Good. / And they battled with him and made him turn backThey passed Eligia and he still drew them near.But others who came straight in from Xyloskalo,And all those who found families turned them upside down.Few were saved and suddenly they fell upon themAnd only at Neroutsiko did they arrive and shore them up.Because the Sfakians didn’t care that they couldn’t enter through there / There were a few with a heavy fate and where would they go first! / And when they suddenly learnt that they were taking their children, / The sweat ran from their brow to their knees… / They reached Xyloskalo, they battled with him / But of the women and children none caught up with him.

Barba Pantzelios, lines 455- 470

In the “Ballad of Daskaloyiannis” Barba Pantzelios eloquently describes the effort the Sfakians made to save the women and children hidden in Samaria.117 Daskaloyiannis’s revolution may have had this tragic outcome. It was recorded, however, in the memory of the Cretan people as a symbol, and had a significant function in all the Greek liberation struggles that followed.

The Revolution of 1821

The Cretans participated in the Revolution of 1821, although conditions were particularly unfavourable. The memory of the destruction of 1770 was still alive in memory. The complete lack of military supplies, the fear of reprisals, the large proportion of the Turkish population and the distance from mainland Greece, the centre of the Revolution, were deterrents. Despite all this, they dared.

The official start of the Struggle is considered to be 14 June 1821, after Assem-blies had been held at Glyka Nera (7 April) and Panayia Thymiani (15 April). The vengeance was fierce. Slaughters, pillaging, hangings. Mehmet Ali of Egypt rushed to the aid of the Sultan (1822). Egyptian troops disembarked on the island, whilst the revolutionaries had no assistance.118

The fierceness of the Egyptian army and internal conflicts amongst the Greeks led things to a dead end. The arrival of the Hydraiot Emmanuel Tobazis as Governor in 1823 – sent by the central revolutionary administration of mainland Greece – raised morale,119 but did not prevent the negative outcome. The large Egyptian army, its equivalent ferociousness and Tobazis’s inability to act effectively led to the failure of the Revolution and thousands of victims all over the island.

In March 1824 the Egyptian army with Hussein invaded Sfakia. The memory of 1770 was strong. Just as then, some entered the ships and emigrated and others sought refuge in the Gorge. Tobazis left the island and the Revolution petered out. Some were determined to continue fighting a bandit war.

CH

AP

TE

R I

II |

TH

E R

OL

E O

F S

AM

AR

IA

GO

RG

E I

N H

IS

TO

RY

PA

RT

ΙΙ

| T

HE

MA

NM

AD

E E

NV

IR

ON

ME

NT

132

Vasileios Psilakis’s description of the invasion of Sfakia and the efforts of the Turkish-Egyptian army to enter the Gorge is dramatic. “No quill can describe the sufferings of those fleeing,” the historian writes, recounting how a body of 300 Sfakians attempted to hold the enemy back on the side of Aradaina, to give the “non-fighting crowds” time to hide inside the Gorge. This body, however, was outflanked and the women and children would have been slaughtered if Hadji-giorgis from Mouri (the Mouriotis) and Anagnostis Manouselis from Kallikrati had not rushed to the scene with 32 men and intercepted the “wanton combat-ants”, creating time for the women and children to escape. They were all saved. The “combatants” did not enter the Gorge in the end. Psilakis, referring to Papa-dopetrakis’s position, says that they were frightened by the “God-built fortress”, the mysterious and formidable ravines of Samaria and the infinite meandering of the river! Many of the women and children who sought refuge there died from the hardships, the deprivation, the cold and the hunger. They fed on wild acorns and cedar pines.120

Kaloyeroyiannis

The Turks waged a whole campaign to capture the great hainis (revolutionary/guerrilla/fugitive) Yiannis Kaloyerakis (Kaloyeroyiannis) of Samaria. The prov-ince of Selinos, which neighboured onto the Gorge, was being attacked by the wild janissaries who plagued the area. Kaloyeroyiannis sent a letter to the most bloodthirsty of these, the infamous Vergeris, telling him to stop the violence if he wanted to keep his life. Vergeris replied with an invitation:

Come, Yianni Kaloyere, down to the housewe can slaughter a marti121 have some zefkaki122

Kaloyeroyiannis accepted and went to Selino, crossing the ravine. The two men met, and the meeting ended up in a fight.123 Vergeris was killed and Kaloyeroyian-nis escaped with a wounded leg. The Turks of Selinos and Chania went wild and organised a campaign against him! Because they were afraid of entering “into that astounding Gorge”,124 they lay in ambush at its entrance for a long time. Tradition holds that they managed to kill him near Xyloskalo, “through deceit”, having en-trapped the wounded hainis between two sets of gunfire.

120 V. Psilakis, History of Crete, vol. III, Minotaur: Athens, n.d., pp. 1850-3.121 Marti = goat.122 Zefkaki: (Turkish: zeyk), revels, entertainment, s.v. Xanthinakis.123 V. Psilakis identifies the weapon as a knife, Y. Manousakis a pistol.124 Psilakis, p. 1561.

In a gesture of gratitude for Kaloyerakis’s heroic act, the Seliniots gave half of Omalos to the inhabitants of Samaria, and in collaboration with them they built a house for him and his family, with two downstairs areas and two upstairs sitting rooms, which still stands today.

Yiannis D. Kaloyerakis

Oral history as told to Emmy Papavasileiou, June 2008.

Figs. 83a & b: Engravings of a Cretan man and Cretan woman by Antonio Schranz (from Travels in Crete by R. Pashley)

133

The Revolution of 1866

From 1866, Cretans had started to assemble with the purpose of working against the Ottoman empire. The cause, the undying desire to be freed. Now, however, there was an added cause, the demand for unification with Greece, which had been an independent state since 1830. Immediate causes, taxes and monastic problems. The countdown that followed was dynamic and decisive. The revolu-tionaries’ slogan, “Union or Death”.

Sfakia, and the Gorge in particular, were often at the centre of operations. The Turkish army reached Ayia Roumeli by boat at the end of December 1866, and even bombarded it. The revolutionaries found themselves in a very difficult po-sition, as they also had to deal with the problem of the region’s non-combatants who had fled to the coast, awaiting Greek and European ships.

On 7 January 1867, and whilst the Turkish army was camped at Ayia Roumeli, the revolutionaries attacked them from the surrounding heights. The Turkish soldiers were surprised. Many were killed and the river ran red. When they man-aged to regroup, they responded with firepower with the support of a Turkish frigate which started to fire cannons. The Sfakians were able, however, to hold

their positions on the heights. The enemy, finally, departed from Ayia Roumeli, but the hostilities were not over. Two other campaigns came the following year. During the first (June 1867), the province was de-stroyed. The second (31 July), focusing on Omalos and the Gorge, failed.

Of note was Turkish persistence in captur-ing the Gorge of Ayia Roumeli. There is, however, an explanation: the boats “Panel-linion”, “Arkadi” and “Enosis” would steer towards Ayia Roumeli, bringing food and military supplies to the revolutionaries. Also, the Committee of the General Revo-lutionary Assembly was established at Ayia Roumeli, after Koutsoyerako. The revolu-tionary Press was established there, as was the Temporary Government.

Hark! what is that sound, that pre-vails o’er both [night and its silence]? – a human voice exclaiming, “The Ar-cadi – the Arcadi!” and Appleton ap-pears, announcing more deliberately that the Arcadi had made a landfall here, and would remain but an hour longer.By pure providential favour it seemed to have come, offering, when least expected, the means we had been so wearisomely questing of return… I have only to add that, by the aid of an obliging Rumelian, a short walk of twenty minutes down the water-course brought me again to the har-bour-side, thronged with πατριώται [It is by this word the Cretans (and, indeed, I think the Greeks generally) address each other], gazing at the beneficent little bark that had come to succour them…Boats were yet plying between the vessel and the shore – landing goods and taking away poor heart-wearied émigrés – all which I stood for some time watching, loth to be an impedi-ment to these latter, whose claims were of so much more moment than my own; and might thus have re-mained, in sooth, till the “phantom bark” had given its valedictory whis-tle, had not a stout seaman caught me up in his arms and carried me bodily into the boat. The night was moonless, but starlight. In half an hour afterwards we weighed anchor, and, under the com-mand of the brave Captain Courenti, - who was destined a few weeks later to preside (after a gallant encoun-ter)* over the destruction of his ves-sel, - made a fair passage to Syra: for which, and all His other mercies throughout the journey, I offer my hearty thanks to Almighty God.

Edward Postlethwaite, 1868**

* He refers to the steamship “Arcadi” running aground at Palaiochora. See immediately be-low, however.** E. Postlethwaite, A Tour in Crete, John Cam-den Hotten: London 1868, pp. 114-116.


CH

AP

TE

R I

II |

TH

E R

OL

E O

F S

AM

AR

IA

GO

RG

E I

N H

IS

TO

RY

PA

RT

ΙΙ

| T

HE

MA

NM

AD

E E

NV

IR

ON

ME

NT

134

The loss of the steamship “Arkadi” The island was regularly supplied by the “Arkadi”, which covered the Syros-Crete route. On 4 August 1867 it sailed from Syros to Ayia Roumeli for the last time. When it reached the little port, it began to unload the material assistance it had brought along with the volunteers. It was noticed, however, by the enemy ships and the cruiser “Intzedin” and came under attack. It attempted to escape by ma-noeuvring. It was on its own and couldn’t stand up to the Turks. It was then that the Captain Anastasios Kourentis took the decision to run aground at nearby Pal-aiochora (7 August 1867). This led to significant loss of life and materials. Those who survived wandered in the Gorge for quite a while. The supply ship had been lost, however. The Revolution died out three years later.

This was the last revolution in which the Gorge of Samaria functioned as a site of action for central events, as it had done during the earlier revolutions against the Venetians and Turks.

Fig. 84: The ARKADI steamship copperplate, Gennadios Library, (M. Toubis SA archive)

Fig. 85: Card of the Cretan State (K. Gryparis archive)

This village was deemed suitable for the time being by the Assembly as, although coastal, it is not exposed onto the sea, with rocky heights in front and the cannonballs falling onto other high and steep rocks.

V. Psilakis, History of Crete

V. Psilakis, History of Crete, vol. IV, Minotaur: Athens, n.d., pp. 2258.

It was a great necessity for military sup-plies and food, the steamship would moor third at Sfakia (at Ayia Roumeli), there it would unload all its cargo … of food, lead, dynamite and skins.

V. Psilakis, History of Crete

Ibid. p. 2226.


135

3. After the Union of Crete with Greece (1913) The 1938 movement

On 29 July 1938 the only organised act of collective resistance against Ioannis Metax-as and the 4th of August dictatorship took place. Old politicians and officers who had taken part in the 1935 Movement and been discharged pushed for the restoration of democracy. They published a revolutionary proclamation, also transmitting it from the radio station they took over. The dictatorship responded swiftly and the move-ment, not well planned or organised, collapsed. 125

The politicians leading it fled Crete. Its military leader, General Emmanuel Mantakas,126 refused to exile himself and became a fugitive. As might be expected, arrests and many convictions followed. This little movement functioned, perhaps, as the seed for the resistance against the German in-vasion three years late, in May 1941. General Mantakas fled to the Lefka Ori via Lakkoi, his village. He was sentenced in absentia to life impris-onment, and remained in hiding in the Gorge at the spot now known as Mantakas’s Hut, until the proclamation of war.

He himself later said:

“I held on. I saw my children and wife and so many other relatives take the road to exile with great pain. Only God knows with what difficulty I spent two winters in the mountains of Crete. But, unfortunately, events showed that I had to persist.” 127

125 Detorakis, p. 467.126 Emmanuel (Manolis) Mantakas (Lakkoi, 1889-1968): a volunteer in the Greek army, he took part in the 1912-1913 wars, during which he was wounded. Participated

in the Thessaloniki movement (the “National Defence”) in 1916 as well as in the First World War. Studied at the École Militaire in Paris and served in the Greek army in high positions. He quit the army with the restoration of the monarchy in 1935, took part in the Chania anti-dictatorship movement and was condemned to life im-prisonment and the stripping of his rank. During the occupation he joined the left-wing EAM, and was made Secretary (Minister) of Military Affairs in the mountain government. He was subsequently exiled to Makronisos and later, voted twice as parliamentary deputy for Piraeus and Islands with the United Democratic Left (EDA).

127 V. Hadjiangelis, The anti-dictatorship movement of Crete, Chania 1986, pp. 138-9.

We lived in Athens. In the summers we went down to Chania and stayed in my father’s paternal home at Lakkoi. I was a small child. In the summer of ΄38 my father wasn’t with us. We children didn’t know where he was. Later we learned he was a fugitive and was in hiding. Our grandmother Trian-tafyllia came and found us. She was old, but vigorous. She was anxious, though, and was constantly discussing with my mother. My father was then hiding in the mountains and moving between Omalos, Samaria and Ayia Roumeli. He was being hidden by our family friends the Viglides. I remember Giorgis and Yiannis Viglis coming to the house. They had nice horses and mules. The colourful woven covers of the animals made an impression on me. There was a little tree outside the house, and they tied them there. They would bring us children honey pies. They brought my mother letters from father and oral messages. I also remember seeing a walking stick flickering sometimes in the mountains opposite. At first, I didn’t understand. Later, however, I realised that it was my father getting bolder, approaching us and making signs so we’d know he was there. They later arrested mother and us and exiled us to Melos … *

Oral history of Philitsa Mantaka, daughter of Emmanuel Mantakas

* Oral history given by Philitsa Mantakas to Argyro Chaniotaki-Smyrlaki in June 2008.

Fig. 86: Mantakas (sketch by D. Megalides from the book

The anti-dictatorship movement of Crete by V. Hadjiangelis)

CH

AP

TE

R I

II |

TH

E R

OL

E O

F S

AM

AR

IA

GO

RG

E I

N H

IS

TO

RY

PA

RT

ΙΙ

| T

HE

MA

NM

AD

E E

NV

IR

ON

ME

NT

136

Samaria during the Second World War

The departure of the king and the Greek governmentA little before Athens was occupied by German troops, King George II and the Greek government of Emmanuel Tsouderos fled to Crete, which was the only free remain-ing part of Greece and continental Europe (23 April 1941). The island’s defences were supported by the few soldiers of the British Empire who had been transferred there after the fall of the mainland Greek front. The Greek powers were few and without equipment. The soldiers of the 5th Crete Division were cut off from the mainland. The German raid started from the air on the morning of 20 May. This was followed by the epic resistance of the island’s inhabitants, with the help of Brit-ish soldiers. This was the Battle of Crete, which has gone down as one of the most important events of the Second World War. Crete succumbed on 30 May, not being able to resist the weight of the raid, with the German occupation beginning im-mediately after, accompanied by the conqueror’s reprisals. On the same day the last allied troops left southern Crete. The top-ranking politicians also left. Twenty New

Zealand soldiers accompanied George, Prime Minister Tsou-deros, Prince Peter, the Minister Varvaersos and chamberlain Levides.128 They hiked as far as Perivolia in Thersianes Ma-dares, and from Poria descended into the Gorge and crossed it. They reached Samaria, where they found hospitality in the house of Rousos Viglis. On the same evening, they reached Ayia Roumeli, from where they were picked up by a British ship and taken to Alexandria. Today, Rousos Viglis’s house hosts the doctor’s surgery of Samaria.

Occupation and Resistance

The German occupation of Crete ended in 1945. Throughout its duration the Gorge acted as a place of refuge, protection, preparation and salvation for the patriots or-ganising the resistance against the conqueror.

All the inhabitants of Samaria village were part of or helped the national resistance organisations. The mitato, the cheese factory, of the Viglis brothers – Thodoris and Yiannis – at Poria, on the northeast outskirts of the Gorge, and has gone down in history as a hideaway of the national resistance fighters. Here the guerrillas would hide and be given hospitality, whilst the sheep and goats of the Viglis brothers, which grazed all around them, were theirs to make the most of.129

128 A. Regos, The crucial years, 1935-1941, vol. II, Papazisis: Athens 1995, p. 273.129 Oral history of Argyro Kokovli, told to Emmy Papavasileiou, June 2008.

Fig. 87: The house of Rousos Viglis which today hosts the doctor’s surgery of Samaria (photo: V. Kotrotsos)

137

“We turned our backs on the field of battle, where the fierceness had died down, or at least lost its spectacle, now that the sea battles were over, when other parachutists weren’t falling and not many planes were landing. Bolanis went ahead, leading us directly to the crest of the Lefka Ori.“… After having past one point, which the young guide called Poria, our course became easier. We passed a mountain edge and came down on the south side of the range, passing through a cedar forest, reminiscent of the Indus valley in Kashmir. The king explained to me how this was all that was left of the large cedar forest where the Byzantines got their wood supplies from. When we reached a river with clear running water, and as the sun was setting, I stopped and had a bath. Revitalised, I ran to catch up with the others who had gone on a head, and soon met up with them stopped outside of a village, relatively large for this side of Crete. This was Samaria, and the inhabitants had gathered along the length of the river, armed with rivals, and asked us threateningly who we were.“Tsouderos took the initiative and spoke to them in the Cretan dialogue. He told them who we where and that they should let us proceed. Reluctantly, because the suspicion that we were Germans was still strong, they lowered their rifles and allowed the Prime Minister to approach the men at the front. A discussion followed, after which we all relaxed and they announced to us that we could enter Samaria. They took us to a house whose owner … gave us hospitality.“All those who hadn’t washed cleaned themselves. They did not, however, have a razor with which to shave and the only one was mine. So, they all used it. It was a good job I had taken it with me. As I was washing, a Cretan in local costume suddenly arrived, having entered Samaria from the south. He was General Haywood’s messenger, bringing news, according to which the general was at Hora Sfakia along with the staff of the British embassy, and was moving in the direction of the coast of Ayia Roumeli, as we were. We had thus restored contact, and Colonel Blunt was thrilled.“After the meal brought to us by the villagers – we had abused their hospitality as there were many of us whilst their village was poor – we set off again. With great difficulty we descended a deep ravine towards the south, from where a series of tall rock walls starts, the famed Gorge of Samaria, of which I had heard much. The spectacle was most impressive. If the war hadn’t intervened I may have never visited this isolated natural sight. Only a small part of the blue sky was visible, a strip along the length of which from time to time we could see an aeroplane passing.“… Near the beach we encountered a few gendarmes who belonged to the forces at the Ayia Roumeli station, Admiral Turk, as well as the British ambassador and his wife, Sir Michael and Lady Palairet. The ambassador looked completely exhausted – as he most probably was – but not his wife. On the contrary, she got to work immediately, lit a fire and prepared an impromptu meal for us, which was most welcome. Many planes passed us overhead, but thankfully they didn’t notice us.“There was a hut on the beach, which had been taken over by the team that was waiting for us. We also went inside, but the atmosphere was foul – we were at sea level – and a swarm of flies was buzzing annoyingly. I preferred to get out and lie on the sand. I must have fallen asleep when I was suddenly surprised by the presence, next to me, of Admiral Turl, who was gazing at the sea and making signs with a torch. In the distance, far off, a light could be seen in the dark. When I asked him what he was doing, he said he was trying to communicate with the ship from which he believed that the light was coming.”

Prince Peter,* 1941**

* Prince Peter (1908-1980): son of Prince George, High Commissioner of the Cretan State (1898-1906), and of Princess Marie Bonaparte, a close collaborator of Sigmund Freud. He studied Law and Economic Sci-ences, and had an interest in anthropology. He wrote the books The Eternal Question (1932), Απ΄ Αθηνών εις Καλκούτα (From Athens to Calcutta, Athens 1940) and The Science of Anthropology (1969). During the proclamation of the Greek-Italian war in 1940, he was conscripted and appointed aide to George II, king of Greece ΄, whom he followed to Crete and then to the Middle East.** Prince Peter, War Diaries, 1940 – 1941, vol. I, Idryma Goulandri-Horn: Athens 1997.

Fig. 88: Prince Peter (photograph from the book

War Diaries by Prince Peter)

CH

AP

TE

R I

II |

TH

E R

OL

E O

F S

AM

AR

IA

GO

RG

E I

N H

IS

TO

RY

PA

RT

ΙΙ

| T

HE

MA

NM

AD

E E

NV

IR

ON

ME

NT

138

On 4 September 1941 the Germans boasted that they had conquered Crete, when they raised the German flag over the peak of Volakia. They then en-tered the village, Samaria. We villagers had all hidden in the caves, aside from the very elderly Kyriakos Speralakis, who couldn’t come with us. The Germans remained in the village for four days. To terrorise us completely they would constantly set off explosions and create pandemonium. Dur-ing this first raid they killed the youngster Stavros Y. Viglakis who stumbled onto them when he was looking for food to quench his hunger. When this first squadron of Germans had gone, we returned to our houses and found them pillaged – our harvests, oil and honey were missing, as were our ani-mals. The biggest blow was the requisition of our mules, which were the only means of transport we had and which we moved things around on. Their loss meant that we often had to carry the sacks and wood ourselves, and carry them great distances with them on foot. The Germans had a permanent guardhouse at Ayia Roumeli, and constantly patrolled the Gorge. They requisitioned the “fabrica”, the hydraulic loc split-ter, because they needed wood to send to Chania. They made us do all the grinding chores. One of the jobs we did was to clear a large area at Oma-los so they could plant potatoes and rye. They also flattened a large part of the mountain range, so that planes could land. They brought the first tractor to the region “off-road”, as there was no road, and later brought oth-ers, transporting their parts by plane. The Germans had a telephone in the guardhouses at Loutraki and Ayia Roumeli, and two trained carrier pigeons for moments of need, which covered the Ayia Roumeli-Chania Command (housed in today’s Prefecture building). I saw them leaving twice.The German officer*, who was interested in animals, put us to work catching agrimia, bearded vultures, griffon vultures. He would film them and then kill them and stuff them. The lute players would use griffon vulture wings as plectrums.He forgot his binoculars at Prinia one day, and went on his own the next day to get them. He fell off the rock edge and died, before one of his aides could get help to him.After Koutsoyerakos and Livada were set fire to, the Germans stayed in Sa-maria for several days, where they requisitioned several houses, created food stores, etc. During their stay, they traded the booty, the loot, they had got from Koutsoyerakos, such as matches and blankets.They left Ayia Roumeli in September 1944. This was one of the first signs that their troops were starting to withdraw from the Prefecture. I happened to be there. They were anxious because their phone couldn’t connect with the guardhouse at Loutros. They saw a little boat coming through their bin-oculars. The German, who accompanied them always, shouted something out to them in their language and they ran to the guardhouse. The man in the boat, Yiannis Vailakis of Loutros, told me “we’ve come to get them.” In half an hour they had gathered all their things. “Where are you going?” I gestured to them. One, with tears in his eyes, said “Russia, Russia kaput,” fearing that they were going to transfer them to the Russian front, where they might die.

Testimony of Yiannis Damoulis Kalogerakis**

* The German officer and zoology professor Horst Siewert. See Part II, chap-ter 5.1.** Oral history of Yiannis D. Kaloyerakis, who lived the above experiences from the ages of 13-15, told to Emmy Papavasileiou, June 2008.

When the Germans took Ayia Roumeli they set up a guardhouse in the gen-darmerie station. The next day they proceeded to Samaria and, in order to instil fear before entering the village, they created pandemonium by firing shots. They requisitioned the hydraulic log splitter, which they sometimes operated themselves, as they needed wood that they got from the Gorge. At Portes they also made an airlift using boards. … Australians and New Zealanders who had not managed to be transported to the Middle East had remained in the area, hiding in a cave at the entrance to the Gorge. The Germans found them here when they took over Ayia Rou-meli. They tried to eliminate them. The leader was killed, one escaped to the mountains and the rest handed themselves over.… The Ayioroumeliots helped the English in 1943 in the sabotage of Koutsoy-erakos, where many [23-25] Germans were killed. There were then two battles at Achlada and Voukelasi. In reprisal, the Germans set fire to Koutsoyerakos and Livada and then went to Ayia Roumeli, where they rounded up the inhab-itants and locked the men up in the church. They allowed only the women to visit them. During one such visit, Kalliope Viglaki managed to save a youth by dressing him up in women’s clothing. The village was besieged for 63 days. They then took the men on foot to Chania, to send them into exile. When they passed Aradaina seven people escaped with the help of the locals, without the Germans realising it. The remaining prisoners were sent to Germany, to the concentration camps, from where they did not return…

Giorgos Tzatzimakis*

* Oral history of Giorgos Tzatzamiakis, as told to Argyro Smyrlaki-Chaniotaki, July 2008.

Fig. 89: Snow in Samaria (F. Borakis archive)

139

The Civil War

After liberation, Greece was dragged into a tumul-tuous and rending civil war. Its effect was smaller in Crete, without this meaning that the island did not suffer.

The Gorge of Samaria was the safest refuge for the guerrillas. Only in this wild place, with its unsur-passable chasms, could the guerrillas rest, breath. Yet, this place was to be their grave too. In June 1948, the final battle, the Battle of Samaria, took place, be-tween the last guerrillas remaining in Crete and gov-ernment forces. Yiannis Viglis of Samaria saved the main group of the hunted, by leading them through a difficult passage between Prinia and Tripiti, to a safe place above Koutsoyerakos. Without Viglis’s help, the exodus of the 104 guerrillas through the cordon would have been completely impossible.130 The epi-logue of this fratricidal war was written at Samaria.

We hid in the inaccessible slopes and the opponent left empty-handed … For sure, he was better prepared than us. He had the ability to surround us, to keep us hidden and force us to hand ourselves over or die form hunger and thirst.… At daybreak [4/6/1948] ... gendarmes, MAY [Outdoor Defence Units], soldiers and conscripted villages moved together towards the Gorge. They take Gingilos from the west. From the north, Omalos, Xyloskalo, Poria, Melintaou and Psari, and more to the east Angelokambi. Many forces disembarked by sea at Ayia Roumeli. We were completely encircled. On the 5th of June mortars and heavy machine guns fire and comb the land … Aeroplanes drop tons of hot lead onto the steep ravines, the slopes and the peaks. Stones leave their eternal resting spots and, along with the steel roll down, you think, without end. The Gorge shakes, growls … With nightfall, all dies down … At dawn, and throughout the day, hell once more …… Within a wild Gorge, invaders on one side, thousands, with all means … and on the other a few dozen barefoot, naked … hungry and thirsty, calculat-ing their bullets one by one … The Gorge passes hold strong … The guerrillas fight … How much, however? And, until when? One noon, everything is lost. A combined attack from the Lagoudolidaves passage breaks our own resistance. Later, at Ai Nikolas, Poria and Angelokambi … Many forces head for the bottom of the Gorge.… the basic guerrilla forces withdraw to the southwest, to the Prinia region … But, the end is nigh … the Gorge cannot be held. It has fallen!… This wild nature, this difficult place, which looked after us and kept us, is now alien. Hostile … We must leave. Abandon it. But, how? The passages are now taken. And these are not slopes that can be walked over. That can be clambered, panted over, emerging somewhere. Here, the places are unsurpass-able. You can hide like an agrimi so they can’t find you however much they search. But, to live with the air and the rocks without food and water, you can’t. The Gorge was cut off…… Night draws … the Viglides, Yiannis and Vangelis, take a last, tearful look at their little village which is still burning. They then go in front and around ninety guerrillas follow them – those of us who survived …… There is also a passage which no one knows, just these kings of the Gorge, the Viglides. A passage through unsurpassable places. We proceed on hand and foot … stones slip away under our feet. We survived the battle, but you think you will never get out of here. Daybreak finds us on a plateau with strong, thick cypresses. Humans may never even have set foot here before …

Nikos and Argyro Kokovlis, 2002

N. and A. Kokovlis, pp. 217-21.

130 L. Iliakis, The civil war in Crete, Chania 2002, p. 89.

Fig. 90: Thodoros Viglis (photograph from The civil war in Crete,

by L. Iliakis, Chania 2002)

Fig. 91: Yiannis Viglis (photograph from The civil war in Crete,

by L. Iliakis, Chania 2002)

CH

AP

TE

R I

II |

TH

E R

OL

E O

F S

AM

AR

IA

GO

RG

E I

N H

IS

TO

RY

PA

RT

ΙΙ

| T

HE

MA

NM

AD

E E

NV

IR

ON

ME

NT

140

Fig. 92: Midday at Samaria (photo: V. Kotsotsos)

141

C H A P T E R 4

T H E G O R G E A N D T H E W I L D G O AT I N L I T E R AT U R E

131 Leska: natural step, rise in the land on a cliff. 132 See S. Apostolakis, Rizitika. The demotic songs of Crete, Gnosis: Athens 1993, p. 614.133 Sanada: female agrimi.134 These three mantinades were kindly made available by the teacher and folklorist Stamatis Apostolakis.135 V. Haroniti and A. Droudaki, Historic places of Crete, Smyrniotaki: Athens 1990, p. 102.

To a large degree, nature is an aesthetic spectacle and sound … Man’s attitude to-wards nature does not resemble so much the attitude of a viewer towards a work of art, but the attitude of a creator towards his subject … Nature has no meaning be-fore you see her. She waits for you to give it to her, transforming the elements she gives you into a vision … Then, she begins to talk to your soul, to give herself over to you, to initiate you into her mysteries … For nature to talk to man’s soul means that the human substance is shaped within a deeper content. The souls talks to itself, taking inspiration from nature ... We must see our aesthetic contact with nature as our school for becoming human.

Vasilis Tatakis, 1937

V. Tatakis, “The meaning of love for nature”, in Ypaithro, issue 26, Athens 1937, pp. 42-9.

An inexhaustible source of artistic inspiration, the wild beauty of Samaria and the wild goat has inspired folk bards and great poets, photographers and ordinary people, like an old grandpa from Epirus, who exclaimed on seeing the Gorge:

“Oh, what wild beauty!”

1. Folk poetry: Rizitika and Mantinades

Rizitiko:Agrimi and my little agrimaki, my tamed deerTell me where your places are, where your winter quarters.Crags are our land, leskes131 our winter quarters,The little caves in the crags our home! 132

Mantinades:The passes of Samria and the parts of OmalosWhoever does not enter and pass them knows Crete not.…The Cretan of the prairie, the agrimi of Gingilos,See that they have been born from the same dough.…- But the sanada133 no one can catch her,because she jumps like an arrow in Samaria’s forests!134

…I am a child of Samaria, I don’t pay the haraç taxAnd like the agrimi of the mountain, I will never be tamed.135

Editing:Emmy Papavasileiou

Fig. 93: Stamp from the Hellenic Post, 1979 (Hellenic Post Philately Section)

PA

RT

ΙΙ

| T

HE

MA

NM

AD

E E

NV

IR

ON

ME

NT

142

2. The wild goat in poetry

Andreas Embiricos136

THE WILD GOAT137

The wild goat jumped and stood on a tall peak. Erect and snorting he looks at the plain and listens before another little dance takes him to another peak. His eyes shine like crystals and are like the eyes of an eagle, or a man full of great inspiration. His hair is lustrous and between his back legs, behind and below his middle, the great bell of complete Orthodoxy wavering with his every wiggle, deeply and grandly it moves.

Below stretches out the plain, with its spidery veil and the heavy chains. The wild goat looks and listens. From the plain rises a myriad-mouthed cry of human lungs.

“Wild goat, wild goat! Come to us so you can enjoy and save us.”

The wild goat looks and listens. Yet, he does not care for all the noise and clamour of the world below. He stands erect on his feet and smells the air, raising his lips as in moments of reproduction.

“Wild goat, wild goat! Come to us to bring us joy and save us. We shall worship you as a God. We shall build temples for you. You shall be the golden goat! And we shall even offer you rich oats and all our most expensive fattened lamb … Come see!”

And saying this, the people of the plains pushed a flock of rare small goats towards the mountain, a breed.

The wild goat stands unmoving and sniffs the air again. Then, suddenly, he raises his head and lets out a great bleat, echoing above and beyond the Gorge like a limp laugh, and, at once, with a quick jump, like an enormous arrow or a meteor, he flies even higher up.

Hello and greetings, Wild Goat! Why should the words of the plains and their voices strike you? Why should you prefer the goats of the plains? You have all that you need here for grazing and reproduction, and something else, something which, by God, never flourished below in the plains – here you have Freedom!

The crystals that came together and made Krystallis, Dionysios Solomos the conduc-tor of Museus, Andreas the first called and lead cantor Kalvos, Pericles Yiannopou-los who wanted everything Greek and hid deep inside himself a burning Savonarola soul, the great master of Delphi, the Archangel Sikelianos, who formed Greek Easter and resurrected (this an Easter too) Pan, the poet Kostas Varnalis of the Black Sea, the burning bushes Nikos Engonopoulos and Nikitas Rantos, Odysseus Elytis, who baptised his soul in the Ionian waters of the Greek Sea, the poet from Lefkada, the

136 Andreas Embiricos (Braila, Romania 1901-1975). Writer and psychiatrist, the first to practice psychoa-nalysis in Greece. He introduced s urrealism to Greece, and his first collection of poetry, Blast Furnace, is the first purely surrealist text in Greek. Other works: Hinterland, Oktana, and the prose The Great Eastern.

137 Oktana, Ikaros: Athens 1980, pp. 32-4.Fig. 94: The logo of the Crete Museum of Natural History

143

morning star, Nanos Valaoritis, these and a few others, those who took the mountains, so that they plain would not eat them up, they celebrate your inspiration and your thick seed, son of Pan and a deer of Aphrodite.

Hello and greetings, Wild Goat, who does not love the plains! What would you do with them? Every morning the sun here rises between your horns! In your eyes shine the light-ening of Jechova and the unextinguished passion of Zeus, each time you sow here, with your females, your glorious and undying stock!

Hello and greetings, Wild Goat, who will not go to the plains! Hello and greetings, you who tread your toenails on the precipitous peaks, the highest Hosanna!

I spoke and I said, Wild Goat, for I have not sinned.Glyfada, 12.7.1960

Fig. 95: Painting of D. Kokotsis, Gingilos, Chania 1925 (photo: V. Kotrotsos)

Dimitris Kokotsis (Kisamos, Chania 1894–1961): Painter who studied at the Sorbonne and exhib-ited throughout almost the whole world: Athens, Prague, Venice, Paris, New York. His rich output al-ways has Crete at its centre.

CH

AP

TE

R 4

| T

HE

GO

RG

E A

ND

TH

E W

IL

D G

OA

T I

N L

IT

ER

AT

UR

E

PA

RT

ΙΙ

| T

HE

MA

NM

AD

E E

NV

IR

ON

ME

NT

144

Fig. 96: Detail from a clay larnax found in the Late Roman cemetery at Armenon Rethymnis. 1350-1300 BC). From the book Minoan and Mycenean tastes (Ministry of Culture, 1999)

Manolis Pratikakis138

THE WILD GOAT 139

Ι

We see him standing tall. He becomes a precipitous idea. Wild. Immaterial. Later, a small grey cloudthat constantly changes shape and is lost.And again earthly, breezy, triumphant amongstThe bushes; a moving arrow; nervy,Full of the smells of wonderful herbs.(In the unprocessed dark, smelling the dangerof salvation).An animal of the stars with that magnetic andSleek hair. A complete being which you look atAnd remember only at a distance.

THE WILD GOATΙΙ

A complete poem that extinguishes, is written, which receives Never-ending readings as a multi-paged forestIs unravelled, referring everywhere.A projection from the rock; savagely pushing Time back. An unknown instinct that Escaped, which is increasingly escaping. With those deadlyLeaps, those from before matched to their divine tracks.The universe shines unconquered in his horns.A black flame that runs in the mountains. An unapproachable Moment behind covers; a pattern in the space of Beings that becomes a dream and net.Which clouds the water in the eye; and makes the mindA confused ball of string.Like a distant rifle shot from deaths of baptisms;The memory shines like a small fountain; it smokes incense from Twigs of Green.

And when hunters shoot him and he falls, and he dyesThe stones with his blood; when men approach himAnd the dogs, there is nothing there. Not a trace,Hair or body but a gorge; which the Inapproachable pushes youBack with crazy magnets.

138 Manolis Pratikakis (Myrtos Ieropetra, 1943): Poet and psychologist. A leading representative of the generation of the 1970s, he was a candidate in 1999 for the European Aristeion literary prize (for The Dormition and Resurrection of the Bodies of Domenico). Poetry collections: Libido, Genealogy, Lekythos, Left quietly in the grass, The great hostel, The invisible crowd. In 2003 he won the State Prize for Poetry for his collection Water. All titles in Greek.

139 M. Pratikakis, The magic of non-vengeance, Kastaniotis: Athens 1990.

145

Manolis Pratikakis14 MARKS OF THE WILD GOAT

1. Always speechless, as it hears the bleat of the piteous chasm.

2. Its homeland is at the edge of disaster. There he rests, There he births his children. The breeze drops the Bones into the depths, and you didn’t hear them at the brink.

3. They leave like zephyrs and it is then that uncomprehendingly. They wiggle the thorns of the desert. (See Mirror, Tarkovsky.)

4. Its limbs are like hymns within the pleasure of departure.

5. These four-winged creatures of the precipices with the unconstrained motors of divine origin.

6. Stubborn and starlit, humbly imperial, like a running painting of Piero dell Francesca.

7. In its scent it has absorbed the little grass of everything that correlates to it.

8. Its horns of fossilised animal tissue, twisted on a prickly helmet, forgotten hymns, in flexible necks of springs. The horns of the spinning wheel wrap the horizon.

9. It is the crystal cry that grazes in the mountains. The one which leaves man in half.

10. That which makes him shine like a four-legged ruby is the Steaming metal. The mineral of death.

11. Like a sexual body which escapes you to reappear once again in your dreams.

12. Noiseless and unshootable; he does not speak nor does he hide, but he means.

13. A flame whose flesh does not understand the chasms.

14. The Wild Goats of Crete increasingly descend to the virgin depths to be born.

Fig. 97: Sculpture by Y. Markantonakis at the entrance of Chania town (photo: Emmy Papavasileiou)

Y. Markantonakis (Chania 1952): Studied sculpture at the Athens School of Fine Art. In 1995 he was made artistic director of the Art Workshop of the Municipality of Chania. He was won awards in Greek national sculpture competitions. In 2005, he represented Greece at the Biennale of Sweden.


CH

AP

TE

R 4

| T

HE

GO

RG

E A

ND

TH

E W

IL

D G

OA

T I

N L

IT

ER

AT

UR

E

PA

RT

ΙΙ

| T

HE

MA

NM

AD

E E

NV

IR

ON

ME

NT

146

Fig. 98: Gingilos, winter 1945 (photo: Alois-

Feichtenberger, M. Manousakas archive)

Fig. 99: Samaria, winter 1985

(photo: A. Borakis archive)


PA

RT

ΙΙ

| T

HE

MA

NM

AD

E E

NV

IR

ON

ME

NT

148

3. The gorge in prose

Many visitors, artists and otherwise, feel the need to share their feelings with others, recording their personal experiences of travelling through the Gorge on paper or blogs. One, however, stands out: the poet and prose writer Giorgis Manousakis, who portrayed the “passage through the Gorge” as a journey of thought for nature and man.

We shall now follow his footsteps. The author walked through the Gorge in the summer of 1968. A period of transition, when the traditional way of life and thought still preserved many of its old features, but new messages could already be discerned. With a deep knowledge of the place, Giorgis Manousakis seeks the particular morality of the province of Sfakia and shines light on the relationship between man and nature with the sensitivity of an author, a relationship which contributes to self-knowledge and the surpassing of the human microcosm.

“The Passage through the Gorge” is the last chapter in the travel book Travelogue of Sfakia, which won Giorgis Manousakis the 1st State Prize for travel writing in 1981.

We would like to express our warm gratitude to the philologist Angeliki Karathanasi-Manousaki for her kind permission to allow us to reprint this chapter from her husband’s book.

Fig. 100: The passage through the Gorge (Chania Forestry Service archive)

149

140 Giorgis Manousakis (Chania, 1933-2008). Poet and author. Was a literature teacher for 26 years in secondary education. Poetry: Monologues, 1967; The body of silence; 1970; Triglyph, 1976; Bird taxidermist, 1978; Breathing spaces, 1988; People and shadows, 1995, At the capes of existence, 2003; Broken sculptures and bitter herbs, 2005. Prose: Travelogue of Sfakia, 1980, 2002; A helmet nailed onto the balustrade, 32 short prose pieces, 1999; When our sole fitted with the earth, chronicle, 2000; The Volunteer, 2008, novel (historical and political, apprenticeship set during the period 1912-1940). Criticism: Crete in the literary work of Prevelakis, 1968. In 1977 he was awarded the Kazantzakis Prize. All titles in Greek.

141 G. Manousakis, Travelogue through Sfakia, first edition Kedros: Athens 1980, second edition Mitos: Rethymno 2002.

Giorgis Manousakis140

THE PASSAGE THROUGH THE GORGE 141

Omalos becomes narrower at its southeast edge, terminating at the rock edge of Xyloskalo. To the right, on a rise, the tourist kiosk resembles a look out point. Behind it rises the Gingilos massif, wild and imposing. This is what magnetises our vision above all, surprising after the nonchalant monotony of the fertile mountain range. This is what draws our steps to the edge of the chasm, so we see it fully rising from the depths of the Gorge, standing there, in front of us, naked and fearsome, all ashen rock, wrinkled, in pieces, beaten by the winds and the rains of the winter storms. From the middle and upward it is given to the sunlight, from the middle and downwards sunken in the shadows. Its dense mass, as it rises dead opposite and so near to us, is like a silent threat. This impression is magnified by the total lack of life – of the tiniest speck of green — from its tip until its middle. Gingilos has the look of the landscape of a dead star.

Between it and us, the abyss opens up. Xyloskalo, green and ashen, hangs over unbelievable depths. It plummets with all the deeply rooted rocks, with its expansive trees, the lit protru-sion and the dark cavities, as far as where the shade becomes so thick in the darkness. The whole place looks as though it is falling with everything sliding leftwards and further, until it is lost between two series of giant mountains.

In front of us the road begins to unwind and descend to this invisible, from up here, deep peak of the earth.

We begin. The sometime footpath is now wide, so that two people can walk side-by-side. It descends smoothly, with its bound wood planks, going right and then left, inscribing its never-ending crooked line on the mountain slope. As we descend, so the wall of Xyloskalo, which we left behind, begins to gain height. High up on the erect rock are perked the ancient wild cypress trees of the Gorge, not looking at all like the cypresses of the plain. Those rise straight up, marking the centre of the sky with their tops. Their whole existence is peaceful, self-controlled, stretched and lofty for one purpose: height. The ones here are old border dwellers, wounded a thousand times, battling for centuries at the edge of the chasm. They have twisted bodies, broken, peeled, full of corners and knots, whose dramatic stances show all the struggle and anxiety of their lives. The main concern of these ones is not conquering height, but survival. This is why large branches stretch to the sides, like hands seeking to grab hold somewhere, thrusting thick, strong roots into the reddish rock. The rocks eject them from their hard material, but they insist on coming out again, sliding like snakes for a little on the surface and then diving in again, like the tentacles of a giant octopus. And the whole tree ages, stuck onto the slopes, its branches and deep green tufts stretch out parallel to the surface of the precipice, stretching out only in two dimensions, so as not to be a target for the wild windstorms of winter.

CH

AP

TE

R 4

| T

HE

GO

RG

E A

ND

TH

E W

IL

D G

OA

T I

N L

IT

ER

AT

UR

E

PA

RT

ΙΙ

| T

HE

MA

NM

AD

E E

NV

IR

ON

ME

NT

150

Now the calm summer breeze, which blows through the leaves of the Xyloskalo trees – cypresses, pines and holm oaks – make them emit a deep rumble filling the Gorge. It is not a cry or a complaint, but a slow, persistent conversation, so near yet so far, a low-voiced murmur from broad chests, which seems to be telling a heroic story from mythological times.

This descent is a descent into the maternal bowels of nature. With our every step we go deeper into the green innards of the Gorge. And the further we go, so the indefinable something thickened around us filling the air, like the invisible presence of a harsh but benevolent force. Does this feeling come from the feeling of the dominant – with all the murmuring of the trees – silence, a silence that spreads its wings out wider than the eye can reach? Or does it come from the strong smell of chlorophyll and the moist breath of the depths of the Gorge, which rise up to here? Whatever its source is, it drips into us drop by drop like strong alcohol. The people of this polity, who come here in groups, talk loud-ly. Some laugh for no reason. Someone lets out a harsh, animal-like cry. Another whistles, fingers in mouth, with all his strength. The sounds are absorbed into the immobile silence, which does not appear to lose its eternal serenity. Our voices are weak, they are sucked and lost in the infinitude of Xyloskalo, before we reach the rocks of Gingilos. The titanic landscape is not shaken by the passage of humans.

To the right of the road a small plateau is formed, with its cypress tree in the middle and with a little stone wall all around, like a parapet and a mantle for resting at. Below this, the land hangs straight down for two or three hundred metres, until the bottom of the Gorge.

The descent continues. At some point, in amongst the sated plant life, a relic stands out. A tree that died many years ago, but which continues to stand on the same spot where it lived. A gnarled and weathered trunk, with the remains of few of its branches, motionless, in a position of tragic despair. A giant skeleton condemned to remain upright for eternity, bones whitening, naked and licked. And all around the other trees ceaselessly murmur the deep song of life.

A rifle shot. The sides of Xyloskalo receive it, and drop it again many times. Only such sounds are these magisterial mountains willing to respond to.

To our right, and so close, are the precipices of the Gremna tou Sapemenou. The slope of Gingilos, more sheer down here, takes on a leaden colour. The whole rock is eroded – the slightest weight shatters it into pebbles, which roll downwards. Human feet cannot step on this “brokenness”. Only the elves and the fairies can be suspended in the air at the Gremna tou Demonou, they have night-time dances at Linoseli, the spring with the freezing water, and come and go in the Devil’s Cave, the site of the ancient oracle.

From the time when the ancient gods were worshipped at Gingilos, the pagans have con-tinued to live in its harsh isolation. The old Sfakians know a heap of stories about shep-herds who were tempted by fairy dances and then lost their speech, the lyre-players who were moonstruck and still play strange tunes in deep caves, of young men who fell in love with elves, yoked with them and then fell into a deep gulch chasm. But we have no fear that the demons will touch us. A rifle shot – someone trigger-happy must have fired it – has scattered them and made them hide in the earth’s deepest holes.

151

A new sound comes to our ears, slow and distant. It is like the voice of a flute, mixing with the deep cypress and pine bows. It is the murmur of water, rising from the bottom of the Gorge. It seems that we are nearing the bottom of the giant Gorge. In any case, the sides of Xyloskalo, which are lost in the unimaginable heights above our heads, confirm that we have come a substantial distance. The water’s voice sounds increasingly near, until the little river is seen also descending this small slope, running over large, greyish pebbles. It is so transparent that you cannot but lean over and dip your lips into its jittery surface. But you can’t drink more than three or four gulps, as it sets your teeth chattering.

Plane trees neighbour on to the water, and giant rocks, some like one-roofed houses, sit next to the stream. In between them, or a little further down, stand trees, amongst the most tortured and windswept. A large stone has jammed in the crotch of some holm oak. Its bark rises, just like dough, and it hugs it even tighter, so that nothing can separate them now. The land around looks like a battlefield. What destruction must take place in these depths during a winter storm! It is then that the demons of Gingilos rule throughout the Gorge, and woe betide the person who ends up in their path.

And yet in this wild place the women and children of Sfakia resorted, as a final hiding place, during every uprising, when the enemy was flooding their province. They often spent whole winters in the caves, whilst the few armed guarded the two openings of the Gorge night and day: Xyloskalo in the north and Portes in the south. More often, they kept the “dogs” out of the Gorge. This is what happened in the early 14th century, when the Skordylis family of Sfakia raised the province against the Venetians. And so in March 1824 when bloodthirsty Hussein trampled Crete, burning and slaughtering, and in the summers of 1867 and 1868 when Ali Sarchos and Mehmet Pasha would not dare step foot in Xyloskalo. Only during the uprising of Daskaloyiannis were the Turks able to break the defence. They went down to Omalos, surprising the small garrison (“Because the Sfaki-ans didn’t care that they couldn’t enter through there,” as Barba Pantzelios tells) and they reached as far as Neroutsikos. There the revolutionaries stopped them and, after a battle, forced them to go back.

I think of December 1868, when Crete’s three-year revolution was in its last throes. The last fighters of Riza and Kissamoselinos were perched here, around three hundred in all, including some of the brains behind the uprising: Kriaris, Korkides, Parthenios Perides, Hadjimichalis Yiannaris, Mantakas, Nikoloudes. Without food and military supplies, with the relentless winter all around them and the Turks having closed off the two entrances to the Gorge, they waited for the miracle: a war between Greece and Turkey. But the miracle did not seem to come, the cold and the water kept increasing, and the Pasha, along with the nobles of Hora Sfakia who sided with him, gave them a swift deadline in which to give themselves up. With heads held high, the captains walked in the deep snow up the road we had traversed, going to declare their submission.

We reach Ai Nikolas. The Gorge here broadens and becomes a small plateau, lightly skewed. To the right and left, in amongst the rocks and trees, little ledges are formed. The chapel of Ai Nikolas is built in stone, roofed with tiles. It is guarded by a number of sur-rounding giant-bodied cypresses. Inside, its walls are mouldy from the weather and the damp. It has earth for a floor. A poor icon-stand of blackened wood and a metal cande-labrum are all its “wealth”. A little further down the shepherds have built a pen for their sheep in dry stone.

CH

AP

TE

R 4

| T

HE

GO

RG

E A

ND

TH

E W

IL

D G

OA

T I

N L

IT

ER

AT

UR

E

PA

RT

ΙΙ

| T

HE

MA

NM

AD

E E

NV

IR

ON

ME

NT

152

This is where Pashley believed that Kaino was in ancient times, the city where the virgin Britomartys was born. Minos had been driven crazy by this mountain agrimi, and hunted it for nine months at Madares. When, after much effort, he made to grab her, she jumped into the sea. Fishermen’s nets saved her from being lost, and from that point on she be-came a goddess of the forests and the sea, the nymph Diktynna.

Groups of walkers start to come. Some enter the little church, most scatter to find some-where for their night’s sleep whilst there is still daylight. Many remove their walking boots and wash their feet in the running water. Those who came first have even laid out the food. Five or six warm-blooded ones dip into the stream where it forms a little lake, crying out loudly as they hit the freezing water.

Night slowly falls. The mountains, trees, rocks, people fade away as the darkness sucks them up. They are no longer distinct, except for the glow of electric torches, which search here and there. The night, however, is full of voices, teasing and laughter. And now the time for sleep comes, in a small level section, beneath some plane tree, with the stars playing hide-and-seek between its sparse foliage, whilst further below the river recites, without taking a breath, its heroic rhapsody.

The grey light of dawn is the sign to wake up. Until the moment comes to start off, day has broken well. The Gorge is in shadow, yet high above the peaks are reddened by the sun. The route follows the river, sometimes level with it, sometimes higher, to its right, then to its left.

The Gorge is still quite wide. Its two sides, however, rise sharply, here with a little slope and below completely vertical. Bushes and all kinds of herbs spring from the cracks in its reddish rocks, bindweeds hang like distant green bears, whilst cypresses, pines and wild fig trees cling on to the cliff with all the strength of their twisted roots. The sides and the floor of the Gorge are becoming increasingly green. Behind the vertical wall, a peak that appears very close stretches upwards so high it makes you dizzy.

The group in front of us has stopped. Someone is indicating a distant point on the oppo-site mountain. He gestures wildly and insists that he “saw it”, there on the rock. He saw it for a second and then lost it. But the others, who saw nothing, tease him and maybe they are right because the famous, now almost mythical, agrimia of Samaria have withdrawn to areas where man cannot be seen, not even at a distance.

As we proceed the vegetation peters out. On the Gorge’s naked walls its geological history is written. Horizontal, wavy lines indicate the rock zones. Each line has its own shade, and all together form a colour scale from earthen to dark brown, from ceramic to red. Else-where, small rocks, united in a compact mass, form mosaics of abstract art. In many parts, the winter water flows have left deep, sheer wounds.

At one point, the left side of the Gorge is dragged backwards, it becomes less steep, divides into two and allows a downward sloping dry river bed to pass. Small terraces can be seen in the sloping sides that form, which they once cultivated. At the peak of a height the ruins of a building can be seen, perhaps a tower. From the ravine opened up by the dry river, we see a series of peaks which, as they become lost in the depths, compete as to which will get there first. These are the rocky leaps of the Cretan earth in conquering height.

153

The stream, which accompanied our route, has disappeared. We didn’t even notice that it had left us. We now walk alongside a dry bed.

Behind a turn in the Gorge, the village of Samaria can be seen. The space here widens and forms a small vale, which is not missing even olives. The road followed by the right side of the Gorge now goes down towards the bottom, where the round pebbles whiten. In front of us, a rock with its only tree and a little church at the top stand out like a delicate Chinese handicraft on the blue depths of the Gorge. Opposite, the village’s little houses can be seen, small and unplastered. Between us and these, the bed of the dry river deepens, digging a second gorge in miniature into the middle of the Gorge. A wooden bridge of cypress trunks and a few planks unites the two banks. The ancient pieces of wood wobble and creak as you pass over them.

Samaria is deserted. It hasn’t been long since, with the forced expropriations of the area, its last inhabitants left. Two or three men, whom we saw entering the village, are workers brought in for some job. Most houses had fallen into ruin quite a few years ago. The rest – not more than six or seven – look as though they were only abandoned a short while ago. Their gardens have not yet been covered over with grass. Their doors and windows are open and, here and there, you can notice traces of recent life.

The lower floor of a house was where the “factory” where olive oil was made was. All are as they were when people lived in the village: the mass of the core on the floor, with its strong aroma. The mill with its two millstones, so small that they fit in a man’s embrace. The primitive “firmer”, the hand-powered press. A round table, made from a slice of a cypress tree trunk, with three pieces of wood planted into one side as legs. And in the ceiling the square opening, for a little light to enter. All are small. The “factory” is narrow, with walls greasy from the oil, a low door and ceiling with blackened beams. All indicate that life in this isolated village was poor and difficult, unmoving over the centuries. Expropriation only quickened the fateful end.

We go up to the living area via a wooden stair. On the sofa, with the disembowelled mat-tress, a blanket like a jack, red, yellow and black, is spread out. A second is on the planks of the floor. There, a small table and above it a lamp with the two, three empty crackers from a “rifle”. On the wall hangs a cracked mirror, with painted flowers and its now vain “good morning” to the homemakers, now gone forever. Perhaps the workers we saw a little earlier live here.

The hour is drawing on, yet Samaria is still in the shade. They say that the village doesn’t see more than four hours of daylight even during the summer. In winter, it is covered in snow from December to February or March and in the spring the waters keep it cut off from the rest of the world.

Those who inhabited these places must have had astonishing physical endurance and spir-itual strength. Samaria, whose life stopped a few months ago, was during all the Turkish period – and certainly earlier – a small but proud and unsubmissive heart, which beat in this wild mountain peak. It was the hideaway of the revolutionaries during the uprisings and the asylum of the hainides – the guerillas of Crete – during the years of the janissaries.

One of the last, Kaloyeroyiannis, born and bred in Samaria, became the avenger of the Christians of neighbouring Selinos, who suffered so much under the harsh Turks of their province. With his few companions he went down one night to Katano, Kakodiki, Kopetos,

CH

AP

TE

R 4

| T

HE

GO

RG

E A

ND

TH

E W

IL

D G

OA

T I

N L

IT

ER

AT

UR

E

PA

RT

ΙΙ

| T

HE

MA

NM

AD

E E

NV

IR

ON

ME

NT

154

and hit as many brutal Aghas he could find outside of their towers. The most bloodthirsty Seliniot janissary in the years before the 1821 revolution was Vergeris. Kaloyeroyiannis sent him a letter saying he should stop the killing of the Christian ragas, if he loved his life. The Turk replied, inviting Kaloyeroyiannis to his house for something to nibble. The hainis crossed the Gorge alone and entered Selinos. He heard that the fearsome Vergeris was pillaging the villages of Lakkoi Zographou. He lay in wait and found him in a deserted spot, without an escort. He stepped out in front of him, swore at him and invited him to fight. The Agha pulled out his pistol in reply and, drunk as he was, hit him on the behind. Kaloyeroyiannis hit him too, killing him.

The death of Vergeris caused all the Turks of Selinos to rise up, and track the footsteps of the wounded hainis. For days they searched for him in the slopes and dales, until they found him above Achlada, near Xyloskalo, suffering from his wound. They expelled him from the place and killed him, firing on all sides. Their fear that he perhaps still lived was so great that for hours they did not dare approach the spot where he lay.

There where the houses end, on a steep slope much higher up than the road nests the chapel of Hosia Maria, which gave its name to the village. Above this, the slope continues to rise several hundred metres, sharper and wilder. Higher up hangs the peak of Spathi – Sword – with its untrodden crags, where the agrimia dance on the edge. A few years ago a young Sfakian tried to clamber up there, and fell into a chasm of thousands of metres.

The church is built on a tiny level area. Small, with robust stone walls and its only opening a low door, it roosts next to the unceasing threat of a torrent. The grey round stones reach as far as her foundations. Above the door is engraved the year 1379. We push the door, made from thick wood, which turns on a crank, also wooden with its one edge stuck into the floor and the other into the ceiling We crouch and enter the semi-dark church. Despite all the damp and abandonment, some of the wall paintings still survive. Their style is, of course, provincial, with thick lines and a naïve spirit; yet here and there you can still spot the face of an old saint by candlelight, with bushy eyebrows, thick beard and moustache and a piercing gaze, reminiscent of old Sfakians.

On its poor icon stand there are still two or three old icons, folk art which, unbeknown how, have for the time being been saved from passing icon thieves. On one, with the date 1740, the Father Superior Zosimas gives communion in the desert to Hosia Maria, skeletal and wrinkled after living an ascetic life for forty years. Above, within the clouds, Christ gives his blessings to the devoutly faithful.

In one corner is a forgotten folk “pew”, a wooden staff, hooked at the top like a capital let-ter gamma, a Γ. They would lean on this, supporting it under their armpit or in front of their chest during the liturgy.

Outside the door, in the little straight space, there is a cement plaque. Someone tells us that three brothers were buried under here, all three killed by the same bullet.

We drink water from the stream next to the chapel, which has not been drained despite it being summer, and sit on a rock and rest. Around us resound the giant female cypresses and the refreshing sound of the water. The people on the road below look tiny, proceeding with rucksacks on their backs. The shadows are deep, the wind sharp, and the height gives you something of that feeling of greatness and pride, which made the highlanders wonder if the lowlanders also have a soul. At the tip of the tongue, the hainis song emerges:

155

Hey, with you sitting up, on the snowy mountainYou eat the dew of the snow, drink freezing water,If you catch a hare you taste it, a partridge you dine on it …

The heavy tune hovers like an eagle at the opening of the Gorge, and those who pass below, at its bottom, lift their heads and look to where we are, searching vainly for the singers.

The landscape changes from the village of Samaria and beyond. The Gorge narrows a little and its sides become bare. Only scattered low branches, bushes and greens hang in the air. There is no other road out from the basin of the dry river. The footstep poises with difficulty over its cobbles.

The wavy lines begin to draw their designs on the Gorge walls once more. On one part of the completely smooth rock, the winter waters have drawn large vertical strokes, greens, reds and yellows – an art informel painting in dimensions that fit with the size of the space. Further down a piece hanging from the left side, who knows from which era, has laid a bed of stones over a large area, which goes down as far as the bottom of the Gorge. For several hours you walk along the causeways of this giant pile of stones. The sun, now at midday, hits you on the head and hits the black rocks, so that you think you are now walking in a desert.

But the Gorge does not dally in opening a new, calm embrace, with the white of the lit-tle church of Christ. A little further, and we reach Kefalovrysia. Plane trees along with cypresses and pines spread thick, refreshing shadows, promising blissful rest for the tired and sweaty rambler. And best of all: a rich spring bubbles from a hole in a rock, it flows next to the tree roots, and descends following the path of the Gorge.

Many people locate the oracle of Apollo Tarraios here. Certainly, if you come here alone at an hour when the daylight dwindles you will here all those “hums, whispers and roars and all those confused sounds of the wind, spring, trees and bushes,” that Deffner heard. You shall then be ready, through his imagination, to see the seer-priest “escort you into the dimly lit temple” and tell you “predictions on your future.” For most of the day trippers who have stopped here, however, at midday next to the spring, drinking water, washing, eating, joking and laughing, the place represents nothing more than the pleasure of shade and rest. No imposing mystery could withstand such human masses.

From Kefalovrysi down, the water accompanies our route once more. The Gorge again starts to narrow. Its sides grow wilder and climb sharply upwards. Somewhere, the right wall is deeply rent by a divine slice. You feel awe as you see that giant schism being lost in the heights, full of shadow and threatening rock protrusions.

From time to time we encounter relics of buildings that resemble watermills. These are the log splitters of Samaria and Ayia Roumeli, simple and primitive equipment for processing tree trunks, using the river flow to generate power.

The famous Portes. The place where the two sides of the Gorge draw so close you imagine that they will close off the pass to the sea. On seeing it, you automatically stop. Not to admire the wild grandeur of a nature whose scale annihilates you. Your first reaction is a primordial fear. The myth of the Clashing Rocks surfaces from some childhood memory and you wonder, in the flash of a moment, if this narrow opening you see in front of you is not a trap, if these two giant rocks wait do not for you to go between them for them so

CH

AP

TE

R 4

| T

HE

GO

RG

E A

ND

TH

E W

IL

D G

OA

T I

N L

IT

ER

AT

UR

E

PA

RT

ΙΙ

| T

HE

MA

NM

AD

E E

NV

IR

ON

ME

NT

156

they can shift and crush you without mercy. The mind, of course, quickly expels this crazy, atavistic fear, although deep inside you an anxiety remains until you emerge onto a most open horizon.

You raise your eyes and follow the two walls of the first Porta, the entrance, which con-tinues parallel upwards, to the point where you can lean your head back. Crags without protrusions, not even for an agrimi to step on. A one-piece rock, so fine in parts that you think a craftsman shaped it. It is there where the colours — red, yellow, brown, grey — and the material of the torn rock, with the veins and lines of its rocks, create painted and sculpted compositions of orgiastic fantasy. Where the rock forms a tiny step or a small tear, some spiny broom or strawberry tree, mastic tree or azilakas throws out its green wisps. But even whole trees hang suspended, clambering at fantastic heights: those stub-born Sfakian cypresses, the gallant pines, the great dark-haired holm oaks and the broad-leafed wild fig trees that you meet along almost the whole length of the Gorge, here mark their presence, each with its own hue.

The midday sun, which falls straight down to the bottom of the chasm, like the blade of a sword, takes an active part in this colour game. Whichever tree or bush it touches trans-forms it into a green flame, whichever rock protrusion becomes a vain wound. The whole Gorge is given to the light, or withdraws into shadowy hollows. Whatever is given to the sun seems different from that which remains in the shade. The first shouts, it proclaims its existence, celebrating the life it was given; the second remains on the borders of a re-spectful silence, within a restrained, introverted joy. It is a cry and whisper of colours and shapes. At midday, the Gorge of Samaria can, at the same time, raise its voice to a cry and lower it to a murmur.

We pass the first Porta. The water fills the width of the opening, less than three metres, and we must walk along the edge, on a row of stones. The water laps transparently and crystal-clean at our feet, playing with the sunlight. This idyllic little river in winter trans-forms into an angry torrent which rises, on days with bad weather, four or five metres high, completely closing the pass.

After the narrowness of the first Porta, the Gorge regains its previous breadth. We have, however, to pass another two “iron portes”, always balanced next to the joyful mono-logue of the water, touching with palms the smooth yellow-red rocks, sometimes rais-ing the gaze to the sun-drenched brows of the narrow pass, lost in distant heights and drenched in sunlight.

The three Portes are the Gorge’s natural gates from the south. During every uprising, when the Turks set foot into the villages of west Sfakia, the revolutionaries would take these passes and block the entrance to the hideaway of Samaria. For today’s rambler, it is the final crown, the impressive climax of the grandeur and wildness of a virgin land. After the third Porta, the Gorge begins to widen and its sides lower, until it is extinguished a few hundred metres from the sea.

Before we enter Ayia Roumeli, we come to a small coffee house with the not particularly modest sign of “Paradise.” And yet, its garden, covered with reeds and cypresses, with the sturdy chairs, does not appear unsuited to its title, when you have walked six hours since morning, when you have passed Portes beneath a sun tempered now by shade. An orange

157

drink, or a tsikoudia sprit and a few nuts are enough (this is all the “establishment” has), and you are happy for the rest and the breeze from the sea.

Two or three parties are already sitting at the coffee house. Barba Manolis, large and erect, with his little wedged white beard, black shirt and woollen khaki culottes, brings his treats. He stops every so often to chat and joke, accompanying his words with the open and free gestures of the mountain Cretan.

A local is sitting with one of the groups, a middle-aged Ayioroumeliot. He tells the story of a vendetta, which resulted in the rival families emigrating. He condemns the murders and concludes:

— The sons were intelligent, the father crazy. Good job they didn’t listen to him, they just left and became human.

The mindset of the average Sfakian has changed in our era.

A group of six Athenians — three boys and the same number of girls — seventeen to nineteen years in age, laughs at the “Paradise”. They laugh at everything, from the sign to the poverty of the “shop”, to the conversations of the café owner. One tackily mimics the Sfakian accent, another is sarcastic with the toast of “always healthy” the Ayioroumeliot says, as he chinks his glasses with two Chaniots. Their whole behaviour is outrageously irritating, no one pays them any attention.

A conversation starts about dittany, the aromatic herb that sprouts at sheer parts of the Cretan mountains. The agrimia, old Manolis confirms, know of its medicinal qualities, and eat it if hit by a hunter. Someone recalls that Aristotle had written something like this: “In Crete, when hit by an arrow, the wild goats seek to eat dittany; for this expels the toxins from the body.” Someone from the group expresses his sadness that he has never eaten this curious plant. The other Sfakian clarifies that it is the same plant known as “stamatohorto” and “erontas”.

A giggle is heard from the group of youngsters. The spotty-faced one jokes:

— Then, instead of “make love,” we can say “make dittany”.

The other five laugh with the “inventive” pun.

For a few moments a silence so heavy falls that one wonders if it’s not a forewarning of a storm. The Ayioroumeliot starts up again, acting as though he heard nothing. The deep-rooted Sfakian responds with dignified silence to the simplistic idiocy of the youth of the large cities.

Apano – Upper – Ayia Roumeli is a little village whose few houses – around fifteen in all — are half hidden amongst an arbour: olive trees at the edges, mulberries and figs within, and even small orange and lemon orchards. Well-tended gardens neighbour onto the Gorge water, which passes through the middle of the village. Ayia Roumeli shifted up here during the time of the corsairs so that the inhabitants could run to the natural castle of Samaria at every danger. The thick shade of the trees, the lapping water, the damp smell of freshly-watered soil, calm and relax our souls.

At the exit of the village, there where the trees end and the land begins to widen, naked and rocky, as the two arms of the Gorge open and lower, stands the church of Ayia Triada.


CH

AP

TE

R 4

| T

HE

GO

RG

E A

ND

TH

E W

IL

D G

OA

T I

N L

IT

ER

AT

UR

E

PA

RT

ΙΙ

| T

HE

MA

NM

AD

E E

NV

IR

ON

ME

NT

158

The cemetery of Ayia Roumeli is also here. The few dead of recent years are cooked in the dried earth, in monuments without a rim of limestone rocks and without the shadow of the wooden, black cross.

The bed of the Samaria river, wide, chunky pebbles, reflects the light and shine of the sun. In is middle, sloping and half-covered by the rocks, a cement bridge can be seen. In the winter of 1954 so much water ran from the Gorge that it knocked the newly-built bridge down and took numerous houses in the village with it. All around the infinite pebbly land, the blossoms of oleanders winnow.

There where the water of the Gorge spills into the sea, the land turns green again with some olive, orange and lemon trees. Five or six houses and two or three coffee houses make up Kato Ayia Roumeli. We sit at the first coffee house, far from the noise of the shore. Its earthy yard is cool, full of shade and greenery, and the water passes us gurgling at a short distance. An old café owner in black, discoloured Cretan costume, short white beard and a step which has ceased being steady, opens the soda bottles with trembling hands.

A marble block leans against the edge of the garden, with capital letters on one side. The old man shows it proudly, and recites the inscription by heart. It is, he explains, from an-cient Tarra, which was located here, in the earth of Ayia Roumeli. In the past, you would find many pieces of marble with inscriptions, pieces of sculpture and pots in the churches of the Panayia, the Virgin, as far as Azouromouri. Many years ago, the archaeologists came, gathered what they could find and took it to Heraklion.

— We didn’t understand the value then … the café owner sighs with the bitterness of a man who has been tricked and had his treasure taken.

Here, then is Tarra; “in Tarra Apollo is honoured”, as Stephanus Byzantius writes. This is where the god of light came after the murder of Pythos, to be purified by its priest and Karmanoras. During the time he lived at Tarra, however, he met Akakallis. “They say … Apollo yoked with Akakallis in the city of Tarra, at the house of Karmanoras”, notes Pausa-nias. The god’s love was so strong that for several hours he forgot to take to the sky and light up the world.

It appears Tarra became a religious centre with the Dorian conquest. During its floruit it minted its own coins and had a monetary agreement with Hyrtakina, Elyros and Lissos. They say that it also founded two colonies, in the Caucasus and Lower Italy. Lucillus, scho-liast of Apollonius Rhodius, who lived in the 2nd century BC, and Chrysothemis, a citha-rode who was victor at the Pythian Games, were Tarraians. In 183 BC Tarra also signed a treaty with Eumenes II of Pergamon, a Roman ally fighting Philip V of Macedonia. The city may have been destroyed by the Saracenes.

Cristoforo Buondelmonti, “presbyter Florentinus”, who toured Crete in 1415-1416, men-tions that he found the ruins of a large temple at Tarra, with plenty of scattered marbles, bodies of statues, and a beautiful head of Artemis or Aphrodite. He also found an eroded inscription: “Clean your feet, cover your head and enter.”

On the foundations of the temple of Apollo, a couple of hundred metres from the sea, the church of the Panayia is built. Many of the ancient marbles were used in its walls. In the yard of today’s church a section of a Roman mosaic survives, with patterns of circles and rhombuses.

EΘΝΙΚΟΣ ΔΡΥΜΟΣ ΣΑΜΑΡΙΑΣ αγγλικά 14Β

159

The name of today’s church has set many interested in topography thinking. There is no female saint (an “ayia”) with the name Roumeli in the Christian calendar, eastern or western, and this has given rise to some improbable guesses. Closest to the truth appears to be the opinion of Ido-meneas Papagrigorakis, who believes it is of Arabic origin (aya Rum-eli, which means “water of a Greek place” or, more simply, “Greek waters”).

The old café owner has heard all of this, but he is more concerned about closer events. He tells us of the battle Bonatoyiannis gave with his hundred young men at Portes in 1770 and of other, later clashes and destruction. And much happened in the years of the two great uprisings in and around Ayia Roumeli. It was from here that the 1,500 revolutionaries entered Selinos in December 1821, to get the Turkish Seliniots. Dalianis’s infantry moored along its coasts in Janu-ary 1828. The Temporary Government and Committee of the General Revolutionary Council stayed in the village for a few days, seeing off 1866 and bringing in 1867. In the first days of 1867 the Turks bombarded Ayia Roumeli by sea, and captured it with an army that disembarked from the boats. Zymbrakakis attacked and made them withdraw on 7 January. But the Turks still en-tered and burnt the little coastal village twice during the same revolution, in summer 1867 and November 1868.

Fig. 101: Giorgis Manousakis with a friend at Portes, 1968 (photo: K. Karathanasis collection)

The old Sfakian also remembered the events bound up in his own life. From here King George I left for Egypt in 1941. He told us of a conversation he had with him:

— I say to him: “And where are you going, your highness, and you are leaving us?” He replies: “Eh, fight, fight.” “But how can we fight,” I go, “when Metaxas took our rifles?” “Eh, with knives, with knives…”

The old man stops narrating, he looks deeply once into the eyes of each of his listeners to see the impression made by the words of the Highest Leader, and then looks off, towards the sea.

In the bay with the soft curve swim many of those who have travelled through the Gorge, whilst others sunbathe on the fine, grey pebbles. From the cement pier the caiques set off for Hora.

CH

AP

TE

R 4

| T

HE

GO

RG

E A

ND

TH

E W

IL

D G

OA

T I

N L

IT

ER

AT

UR

E

PA

RT

ΙΙ

| T

HE

MA

NM

AD

E E

NV

IR

ON

ME

NT

160

Fig. 103: At Xyloskalos, 1960s (Chania Mountainering Club)

Fig. 104: Xyloskalos (M. Toubis SA archive)

Fig. 102: Arrival at Ayia Roumeli, 1970 (archive of the 25th Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities)

161

C H A P T E R 5

T H E G O R G E A S N AT U R E A N D T O U R I S M D E S T I N AT I O N

1. Samaria gorge: A Tourism attraction

People have visited the Gorge since antiquity. Firstly for survival purposes (to find food, refuge) and subsequently for worship – as seen in the ancient temple and numerous Christian churches. There were also the visitors of necessity or passers-by (sailors, soldiers, merchants, loggers) as well as those who visited the Gorge willingly and for a specific purpose.

Contact with nature has many dimensions. Nature is that which carries us on her back, throughout our whole lives, she nurtures us with her rich bosom, and when we have tired, she opens herself up to accept us into our eter-nal sleep. She gives us two great gifts, life and death. Thus, from this perspective, she is so much within us, more in us than outside of us. This is why we feel that an organic bond con-nects us with her. We feel her to be one of our own. She is our mother.


See Tatakis, p. 43.

Text:Emmy Papavasileiou

PA

RT

ΙΙ

| T

HE

MA

NM

AD

E E

NV

IR

ON

ME

NT

162

Naturism, a concept developed during the period of profound urbanisation in Europe and associated more with the idea of nature as an aesthetic phenomenon, is rarely found as an exclusive motivation for visiting the Gorge. Man has almost always had another motive, satisfying his own personal desires, material or spiritual. Research, hunting, mountain climbing, scientific work, the clean air, the simple lifestyle alongside nature in contrast to life in the city, and discovering strange places are some of these. Travel, like tourism, its modern form yet with significant qualitative and quantitative differences, satisfies at least one of the above wishes. Yet, the charm of discovering nature is exercised upon everyone, to a greater or lesser degree, whilst her beauty makes her a constant attraction for visitors.

The work of art is something limited, yet nature, infinite, unfolds every moment in front of the walker’s eyes. And he scans his eyes all around, and then stops somewhere. He has made his choice within the continuity that the nature around him presents. This choice is also a basic act, a first creation, which prepares for the transformation of tree to vision. Our conclusion is that the attitude of man towards nature is active.


Op. cit., pp. 46-7.

Fig. 105: It was worth the trip (Chania Mountaineering

Club archive)

163

Travellers’ destination The Gorge started to become a travellers’ destination from the medieval period onwards, when European interest in the monuments, history and nature of Greece began to grow. The first to arrive was Buondelmonti in 1414-1415, a true child of the Renaissance, a culturally equipped man who knew the Latin poets and had Pliny142 and Ptolemy,143 as his guides. He came to explore Crete, amongst other places, and to see for himself the things the ancients had said about their civilisa-tion. His written work has influenced many later writers.

The reasons for travellers’ visits varied according to their education, knowledge and interests, hence their published works are not all of the same value.144 They are, however, sources from which we can derive important information for re-constructing and understanding the past. In addition to the information given on the Gorge’s flora and fauna, ancient sites, etc. – as we saw in earlier chapters – they also provide important information on crossing the Gorge, living condi-tions, the inhabitants, etc. Particularly noteworthy are the difficulties that the travellers faced when visiting during periods of disturbance and deprivation, in contrast with the comforts enjoyed by today’s tourists.

142 Pliny (Gaius) the Elder: Latin author (AD 23-79). He studied and wrote seven works in 102 volumes. Only his Naturalis Historia in 37 volumes survives, giving us a panorama of ancient science and considered the world’s first encyclopaedia.

143 Ptolemy: Greek natural philosopher who lived in Alexandria from AD 127 to AD 151. In his Geography he collated the totality of his era’s geographical knowledge, providing a relatively accurate description of Europe and the Mediterranean.

144 According to the doctor Joseph Hadjidakis, who in 1881 wrote the book Περιήγησις εις Κρήτην (Tour of Crete), the most reliable of the travellers were the German Hoeck and the Englishman Pashley. See Daphne Gondica’s Greek translation of Pashley’s Travels in Crete, p. XII.

Fig. 106: Map of Crete from Buondelmonti, the Gennadius

manuscript (from A tour of Crete in 1415. Description of the island of Crete,

Heraklion: Mikros Naftilos, 1996) PASSPORT FROM THE PROVISIONAL STATEHOOD OF CRETE

IN THE NAME OF GEORGE I, KING OF THE GREEKSThe provisional Statehood of Crete, sent to all the Leaders, Chieftains, Captains and Heads of the Provinces of Crete

We invite you all in general to give he who bears this, M.E. Postlethwhaite, English Philhellene, who comes here to tour and to see the condition of our provinces and the Christians, every assistance, support and item of information, for all he may ask of you. You should facilitate him and defend him during whatever may occur to him. In general you should ensure that the man is completely safe and that nothing happen to him that may go against the philhellenic sentiments that have inspired him in our national struggle.

K.P. Voloudakis, A. Manouselis, Em. Kranioramis, A.I. Tsichlis,A. Papayiannakis, M. Tsouderos

Secretary Leonidas I. GeorgiadesMonastiri of Preveli, 2, 3 June 1867

Postlethwaite, p. 117, original in French.

164

Hunting destination Hunting of the agrimi and other wildlife (hares, partridges) had since antiquity been one of the reasons that brought hunters to the Gorge. Of course, hunting was then vitally important for survival purposes and was done with traditional weapons, such as bows and arrows, for which the Sfakians were famed.145 It sub-sequently changed character, and became more for personal pleasure and relaxa-tion. As the agrimi is a difficult beast, it took a good hunter who, in addition to agility and special skills had to know the habits and physical characteristics of the wild goat very well, to catch him. This is why the title of wild goat hunter was an honourable one. In more recent times, when the wild goat became limited to Ma-dares and the Gorge, Samaria has become a site for organised excursions by local and foreign hunting groups.

From the moment that modern firearms began to be used, which can hit the ani-mal from a great distance, the competition became unequal and the agrimia were in danger of becoming extinct. The declaration of the Gorge as a National Park was done to stop it being a hunting destination (see p.65). Even from the days of the Cretan State there were hunters who were beginning to become aware of the need to protect the agrimi and of man’s disrespect for nature (see p.174). Illegal hunting, however, continues even today to be a problem.

Mountaineering destination The Gorge of Samaria started to become an established mountaineering destina-tion in the late 19th and early 20th century when, during the time of the Cretan State, French army mountaineers formed the Club Alpin de la Canée, as the fol-lowing material from the era informs us.

The Greek Mountaineering Club (EOS) opened its Chania section in 1930. The especially active Chania Mountaineering Club was responsible for the first or-ganised excursions to the Gorge, as well as for many initiatives for the protection and conservation of the agrimi and the natural environment. Its recognised ac-tions and contributions are complemented by the photographs, research and oral histories of its members, through which many details of the history and cultural life of modern times have been saved. The first group excursion of the EOS, Cha-nia Section, was organised in 1931. Since then, excursions have been organised by various walking and nature clubs from Greece and abroad, and mountaineers continue the tradition of the travellers by publishing their impressions in moun-taineering magazines.

145 Pashley, p. 182.

Fig. 107: Agrimi hunters at Prinia (from The agrimi of Crete by A. Plymakis)

Fig. 108: Early 20th ceantury postcard (M. Manousakas archive)

165

Fig. 109: Chania Mountaineering Club excursion, 1969 (Chania EOS archive)

Fig. 110: Chania Mountaineering Club excursion, 1958 (Chania EOS archive)

Fig. 111: “The first organised crossing of the Samaria Gorge” at Madares, newsletter of the Chania Mountaineering Club, July 1985, p. 2. The Chania Mountaineering Association was later renamed the Chania Mountaineering Club

CH

AP

TE

R 5

| T

HE

GO

RG

E A

S A

NA

TU

RE

AN

D T

OU

RI

SM

DE

ST

IN

AT

IO

N

PA

RT

ΙΙ

| T

HE

MA

NM

AD

E E

NV

IR

ON

ME

NT

166

Tourism destination Up until the 1950s, when mass tourism started, many individual walkers from vari-ous countries followed the tradition of the travellers and crossed the Gorge with the assistance of local Guides. The excursions, organised systematically by the Chania Mountaineering Club and other naturist associations, made the Gorge a favourite destination in the Prefecture of Chania.

The first Tourist Guide to Chania was published in 1959, and edited by Anestis Makridakis, director of the Chania Tour-ism Office and leader in the efforts to save the wild goat and have the Gorge declared a National Park. In this Guide, reference is

The fear of Chaos and wild grandeur domi-nates you from your first steps, and you think, descending the footpath of Xyloskalo, that you are descending into the abyss. Your thought is always accompanied by the hum of the winds and the waters … Left and right, the veins of the rocks give you the impression of a living thing.

Anestis Makridakis, 1959

A. Makridakis, Tourist guide of the town of Chania and the countryside of the Prefecture of Chania, Chania 1959, p. 66.

Scientific, research and educational destination The peculiarity of the geological formations, and the flora and fauna (especially the agrimi) of the Gorge have inspired the in-terest of many scientists and researchers,146 who began to visit and study the Gorge in the early 19th century (see p.172). This research continued during the occupation in the Second World War by German scientists and soldiers. Of particular interest is the case of the German officer and zoology professor Horst Siew-ert, who fell and lost his life at Prinia when doing research in 1943. Horst Siewert filmed his studies. This footage was screened a little after his death at a Rethymno cinema.147

In 1936 students from universities in various countries organised a joint crossing of the Gorge with the help of the EOS. This event gave the EOS the idea of developing this form of tourism in the region. Research is today conducted far more intensely by universities in Greece and abroad, as many species at risk of extinction can be found inside the Gorge, and protecting them is a matter of urgency. One of the most important developments in recent years has been the identification of the origins of the wild goat, by the American School of Classical Studies in Athens (see p.60).

146 See Plymakis, The Agrimi of Crete, p. 87. 147 Op. cit.

INTERNATIONAL UNION OF STUDENTSSAMARIA – LEFKA ORI In July a group of 20 members (Austrian, French, British, German) of the International Union of Students (based in Vienna, Austria) along with a group of Chaniots, formed to accompany and facilitate the foreign students, crossed Samaria Gorge and continued through Hora Sfakia, Imvros Gorge, Asfykos, etc. This excursion, after the wonderful accounts given by the students in their home countries, will be organised every year, and is of great benefit for tourism in Crete and the Prefecture of Chania in particular.

Greek Mountaineering Club, Chania Section

1930–1980. 50 years of life and action of the Greek Mountaineering Club of Cha-nia, EOS: Chania 1983, p. 29.

Fig. 112: Crossing the Gorge, 1980s (photo: S. Pratsolis)

The visit to the Gorge of Samaria requires two days…To visit the Gorge you can go by bus as far as Lakkoi, 24.5 km. The bus starts from Chania, Neon Katastimaton Square, at 3 in the afternoon in winter and 5 in the summer, every day except Sundays. From Lakkoi, go by animal or on foot to Xyloskalo (note: distance Lakkoi-Xyloskalo 17.5 km)…

Anestis Makridakis, 1959

Op. cit., p. 46.

167

made to three bodies organising excursions (the Hellenic Mountaineering Club, the Union of Mountaineer Naturists and the Chania Travellers Club), and only two private tourist agencies. A long chapter in this first Guide is dedicated to the Gorge of Samaria, with an eloquent description of the route and all the necessary information for visitors.

Crossing the Gorge today is far more comfortable. All the tourist agencies in Crete include it in their programmes and there are also organised tour groups. This mass inflow of visitors has absorbed even the “nature lover” into the dominant logic of consumerism. Aside from any damage that might be caused to the natural environment, it also changes the relationship between man and nature. As Giorgis Manousakis says in his article on “crossing the Gorge”, even in the 1960s, “No im-posing mystery could withstand such human masses.”

Man’s need, however, to leave his mark on the places he passes through can be seen even today. Each year, a “forest” is created of piles of stones of various shapes. The need for leaders of tourist groups to mark the route that the group is to follow, for those dawdling behind, has evolved into a habit, which shows that even today people desire symbols: the collectivity of the mysterious union with nature (the dome of stones seeks the union of earth and sky).

Fig. 113a & b: “Forest” of stone piles, the traces of today’s visitors, 1990s

(photo: H. Kargiolaki)

The pressure of the other visitors, walking behind you on the footpath, to go faster doesn’t leave you any room to look at the environment and enjoy it. You walk crouched for hours. I find it boring.

French female visitor

PA

RT

ΙΙ

| T

HE

MA

NM

AD

E E

NV

IR

ON

ME

NT

168

Fig. 114: Gazing with awe… (Chania Mountaineering Club archive)

169

2. Extracts from traveller’s accounts from the 15th to the 21st centuries

148 Based on the Greek translation, C. Buondelmonti, (A tour of Crete in 1415. Description of the island of Crete), Prologue by Styliana Alexiou, translation and introduction by Martha Aposkiti, Heraklion Cultural Society: Heraklion 1983, Map, Mikroa Naftilos, 1996.

149 F.W. Sieber, Travels in the Island of Crete in the year 1817, London 1823, p. 109 (English translation of German original).

Cristoforo Buondelmonti, cler-gyman from Florence, born in 1385. At a young age he travelled to Constantinople, the Aegean islands and Rhodes, where he settled. He visited Crete in 1415. The fruits of his journeys were his books: Liber insularum Archipe-lagi and Descriptio Insule Crete.

See Gregorakis.

F.W. Sieber (Prague, 1789-1845): Austrian doctor and botanist. At age 28 he visited Turkish-held Crete to record the island’s par-ticular features. The results of his research and travel observations are included in the two-volume work Travels in the Island of Crete in the Year 1817.

See Gregorakis.

DESCRIPTIO INSULAE CRETE148

A tour of Crete in 1415Christoforo Buondelmonti

Proceeding to the right, we happily entered the deserted port of an old town today called Ayia Roumeli. Then, even though we were already tired, we started running around the area. In the middle I could see a large temple that was in ruins. In this part, all types of marbles and columns of porphyrite are scattered here and there. I saw the busts of decapitated gods. On the other side of the temple, I found a head of Aphrodite or Artemis, which seemed to us the finest thing that was there. I withdrew to a corner to mark the position of a large sculpture by putting stones around it. I distinguished inscribed Greek letters, in a rather bad condition. I spelt them. Alas, the marble is broken. By guessing, I could read the following words: “Wash your feet, cover your head and enter.” Columns, cisterns, as well as large buildings were discovered everywhere.

TRAVELS IN THE ISLAND OF CRETE IN THE YEAR 1817149

F. W. Sieber

Though accustomed to the Alpine scenery of southern Germany, all that I had seen before vanished from my memory, in comparison with what I here beheld. The ravine always full of water, so that one could scarcely clamber by, along the rocky wall, and so narrow, that one could hold with the hand on the opposite side, rose to the perpendicu-lar height of nearly 500 toises. Darkness reigned in the valley, which was increased by the dark foliage of lofty cypresses and hard leaved oaks. Suspended masses of rock, which every moment threatened to fall, and wholly to close the ravine, made the way dangerous and frightful; nothing in the Alps of Salzburg and Tyrol, that I have visited, presents such an awful prospect as the ravine of Agia Rumelia. After five hours most fatiguing exertions, amidst ruins, blocks, and fallen masses of rock, I was surprised by the beautiful mountain village of Samaria. It is hardly possible to think how they could venture to build it here, only they have nothing to fear from avalanches, as they would, in a similar situation, in the north of Europe. It lay towards the west, under such a high wall of rock, that the sun did not yet shine upon it, at two o’clock in the afternoon.


CH

AP

TE

R 5

| T

HE

GO

RG

E A

S A

NA

TU

RE

AN

D T

OU

RI

SM

DE

ST

IN

AT

IO

N

PA

RT

ΙΙ

| T

HE

MA

NM

AD

E E

NV

IR

ON

ME

NT

170

TRAVELS IN CRETERobert Pashley150

At half-past eight I left this sequestered village, intending to explore the inner re-cesses of the glen as far as Samaria. The path in some parts is so narrow, where it winds round the abrupt precipices, that no horse would be able to pass along it. At one spot it was necessary to take off the saddle from the mule on which I was mounted, during the greater part of the way, in order to avoid the likelihood of precipitating the animal into the river below. In the first half hour after leaving Haghia Ruméli, I crossed the river five or six times, and then arrived at a very striking pass, repre-sented in the opposite plate, and called “The Gates’.” … The contortions of the rocks in this neighbourhood shew how violent must have been the operation of the causes which threw them into their present shapes. Cypresses may be noticed scattered over the mountains of this glen along its whole extent; and as we approach Samaria, they are seen in great numbers. I find the belief in the ancient site said to exist above Samaria, and to have been the last refuge of the ancient Hellenes, is entertained by the Samariote peasant who undertakes to shew me the way to them, and by most of his fellow-villagers. After reposing for a few minutes, under the shade of an overhang-ing rock, I commenced the ascent of the lofty and very steep mountain, on which the ancient remains were said to exist, after first winding round the side of an adjacent mountain, to the south-west of the village, and which is thickly covered with pines and cypresses. A good deal of snow is still lying on all the neighbouring mountains.

A steep and tiresome ascent of a full hour brought us to the alleged site of the ancient city. The existing vestiges are remains of walls, constructed of irregularly shaped stones, most of which are small, and which were united by cement. These remains are five or six feet high where they are best preserved, and may be traced for a considerable distance round the mountain. Just above this wall are seen vestiges of two rooms, each about ten paces square: the wall which divided them is standing to the height of about three feet; and that on the western side is inserted as it were in the side of the mountain, and is ten feet high.

About a hundred paces above these slight ruins, is seen what I suppose once to have been a cistern, although it is not covered over with cement in its interior. Its length is eight paces, and its width three paces and a half. It is partly filled up, its present depth not being above five or six feet. As to Hellenic remains my ascent ended in disappointment; but I was most amply repaid for my labour by the loveliness of the day, and the wildness and magnificence of the scenery around me. On my throwing out some slight doubts about

150 R. Pashley, Travels in Crete, vol. II, Cambridge and London, 1837, pp. 266-273.

The English traveller Robert Pashley (1805-1859) was a fine lawyer and jurist with a deep knowledge of ancient Greek and Latin literature. In 1833 he was granted a licence by the Navy Board of Britain freely to board the ships of the British fleet in-specting the Mediterranean so as to collect information on an-cient topography. He thus trav-elled to Greece, Asia Minor and Crete. His travel book on Crete was published in London in 1837 and contains accurate de-tails. He is considered one of the most distinguished travellers to have visited the island.


171

the vestiges which I saw being very ancient, and suggesting that they could hardly belong to the celebrated “Hellenes,” my Samariote guide exclaimed, in the tone of one half offended at my ignorance or incredulity: “Here was the end of them, my good Sir!” as if the matter had been one on which his local information entitled him to pronounce with authority … I have already spoken of the loves of Apollo and Acacal-lis, the daughter of Carmanor: and we now behold their supposed locality. The meal furnished by the hospitality of my Samariote guide consisted chiefly of the flesh of a wild-goat, killed by him on an expedition from which he had only just returned. I ob-tained from him three pairs of the animal’s horns … On leaving these grand and most beautiful of Nature’s work, it is not without a feeling of regret that I have only been allowed to gaze on them for a few hours, and in all likelihood shall never again behold the glories which are now so rapidly vanishing from my view. I am indeed leaving.

Oft in glimmering bow’rs and gladesHe met her, and in secret shadesOf woody Tarrha’s inmost grove.

A Land whose azure mountain-tops are seatsFor gods in council; whose green vales, retreatsFit for the shades of heroes, mingling thereTo breathe Elysian peace in upper air.

Fig. 115: The entrance to the Gorge of Samaria, engraving by Antonio Schranz

(from Travels in Crete by R. Pashley)

CH

AP

TE

R 5

| T

HE

GO

RG

E A

S A

NA

TU

RE

AN

D T

OU

RI

SM

DE

ST

IN

AT

IO

N

PA

RT

ΙΙ

| T

HE

MA

NM

AD

E E

NV

IR

ON

ME

NT

172

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE ISLAND OF CRETE151

Victor Raulin

The thermometer in the shade showed 22 degrees … Following his advice, I rushed to climb the Gorge. There, the rain beat me almost immediately … Ke-falovrysi, which had also risen less, showed 13 degrees. Only five minutes had passed from the time I left the bed of the upper river to enter the plain of the Samaria valley, when I heard a thunderous sound. After a few seconds, I saw a yellow, muddy surging torrent coming, which filled the river bed within the Gorge. If I had stayed fifteen minutes longer in the Gorge I would have been forced to stop at some opening or wide section of it and stay there for two days, maybe even three, without a shelter to save me from the rain and the cold, and very little food before I could reach Samaria or even Ayia Roumeli.

Since the usual road to the village crosses the riverbed at many points, I was rather worried. Through side pathways on steep slopes, I managed to reach a village at a lower level, after which some communication, done with difficulty since I knew little Greek, I was welcomed by a widow with two large boys … I spent these two days sadly, making a few notes on a board and with a fleece for a bed, table and seat, and, for food, hard brown barley bread and white cheese, somewhat sour. I was also afraid that M. Hitier might believe that I had had some accident in these wild mountains … During this stay, the temperature did not change much from one day to the other, it rose from eleven to thirteen degrees. I was equipped with a fleece, a skull in bad condition and many pairs of wild goat – or agrimi – horns, which I deposited, along with all my other collec-tions, in the Paris Museum.

TRAVELS AND RESEARCHES IN THE CRETE OF 1850152

Thomas Abel Brimage Spratt

Tripiti is without doubt the site of the Procilassus153 of both Ptolemy and the “Stadiasmus,” although the former places it to the eastward instead of the westward of Tarrha, the next city to Poscilassus; for the author of the “Sta-diasmus” states that Procilassus had a port, and, although there not the least

151 English translation based on the original French and the unpublished Greek translation of Raulin by Roula Oikonomaki.

152 T.A.B. Spratt, Travels and Researches in Crete, London 1865, pp. 245-6 (Greek translation and commentary by Maria Psilaki, In the Crete of today following in Spratt’s footsteps, vol. II, Karmanor: Heraklion 2007).

153 In the Greek edition of Spratt by N, Psilakis (p. 323), the name Procilassus has been preserved in a slightly adapted form, as Voukilais or Voukelasi.

Victor Raulin, professor at the Uni-versity of Bordeaux, toured Crete in 1846. His two-volume work Descrip-tion Physique de L’Ile de Crète describes his journey, the purpose of which was to study the natural development of the island. He discusses the flora, minerals, meteorology, hydrography and everything relating to the physi-cal condition of the island, alongside the life, customs, social composition and living conditions of the Cretan people. It also provides important in-formation on religion, justice, educa-tion and the 1821 uprising.

173

indentation of the coast there now to give the least shelter, or even a beach at the mouth of the valley of Tripiti upon which to haul up a boat … yet, if we follow the sea-marks on the cliffs on either side, indicative of the upheaval since the historical period (which are very defined and about twenty feet high),154 and imagine a subsidence to that level, so as to bring the sea up to it, we have at once the port required, here as at Suia155 and Phalasarna … This is therefore another interesting verification of the descriptions given by early geographers, and another proof of the great upheaval along the coast having taken place since a late Roman period, the date of the “Stadiasmus” being considered to be about that time.

THE TRAVEL IMPRESSIONS OF THE GERMAN PRINCE BERNHARDOF THE CRETE OF 1873157

Prince Bernhard

We were near the exit of a Gorge of Alpine grandeur, whose giant sides stood completely straight up. We had not moved even one thousand metres from our night’s accommodation, and had so far passed over the stream of Samaria several times. We proceeded always on horseback through this large Gorge, whose rocks reach up to dizzying heights. One could compare this place with a valley in Upper Bavaria … Only here the two sides come much closer to each other … I do not repent having unstingtingly used all the cosmetic adjectives for the three Cretan gorges I have mentioned so far. And this because it is impossible to describe them with words. Man feels a pathetic weakness in front of the grandeur of nature, which can inspire awe but can also elevate him at the same time. The torrent with the crystal-clear, bluey waters takes over certain points throughout the whole width of the ravine, and becomes thus a road, enhancing the joy of these places. It’s true that at some point it very nearly forced us to return and seek another road. This happened when we suddenly found ourselves in front of a small waterfall which we could not pass. Our escorts were then obliged to take us on their backs, soaked to the waist, and to take us across. They removed the

The English Vice-Admiral Thomas Spratt (1811-1888), honourable mem-ber of the Archaeological Institutes of Berlin and Rome, joined the Navy in 1827 and specialised in cartography. Until 1865 he was involved in hydrog-raphy research in the Mediterranean. The results of his research in Crete in 1850 were published in London in 1865 in two volumes. Aside from the archaeological, historical, geologi-cal and geographical information he provides, Spratt identified some of the most important archaeological sites and provides valuable material on the folklore and anthropology of Crete.

154 6,10 m.155 Suia: Sougia.156 3,66 m.157 Rare travel texts on Crete in the 19th century, reprint of no. 11, in Kritikos Aster (1906), ed. Y. Ekkekkakis,

Rethymno 2006.

The philhellene German Duke of Saxe-Meiningen Bernhard III (1851-1926) travelled through Crete in the spring of 1873 at the age of 22, publishing his impressions in a German periodi-cal in 1874. The first Greek translation was done by the academician Ioannis Kallitsounakis for the Athenian peri-odical Panathenaia with the title Two weeks in Crete.

CH

AP

TE

R 5

| T

HE

GO

RG

E A

S A

NA

TU

RE

AN

D T

OU

RI

SM

DE

ST

IN

AT

IO

N

PA

RT

ΙΙ

| T

HE

MA

NM

AD

E E

NV

IR

ON

ME

NT

174

saddles from the animals and then dragged them through the water. Something like this only the mules of Crete led by Cretans can do … To remember our own German Alps we passed through a forest of pines and cypresses which must have been very old, as one can conclude from their wonderful trunks … We then went down to the little hamlet of Lagos,158 which has only three houses, where we spent the night. When the perplexed villages saw us, they said: “You should have come before the Revolution.” This revolution, the fourth this century, seems to have been fearsome, judging by what we see here.

THE GORGE OF AYIA ROUMELIThe hunting memoirs159 of “Lasthenis”

To my dear TAKIN AL. ILIADIN, Good hope

Feeling melancholy at the memory of beloved friends, whom the past gave me dur-ing my schooldays, and seeking to entertain my boredom on the evening of 13th May 1905 at the sanctuary of Apollo Tarraios, where you “remove your shoes, cover your head and enter,” in trapping wild goats, who come to quench their thirst on the banks of the gushing torrent. I hid within the evergreen shrubbery and seduced by the environment, allowed myself to see brave fantasies … It was a moment most holy, when the night spread her starry wings over my eyes. The greatness of God surrounded everything in the magical valley of Samaria (Ayia Roumeli) Sfakia. The shadows creep along despite the clarity of the streams, and I then made out under the light of the flickering moon three wild goats! Two female and one male, with the aforementioned large horns and his serious beard. He was on a rock by the rover, whilst the females were quenching their thirst. He clearly felt that he was being trapped, and anxiously rotated his grand head. Succumbing to the hunting instinct, I shot him at a moment when the smell of my presence gave the sign of danger for the females. The beautiful animal bled around the shoulders, jumped up violently and fell by the stream, the terrified females disappeared scared into the depths of the valley, whilst I felt – feu! too late! – that I am a disrespectful, vandal disrupter of the holy sacrament of nature.

Lasthenis

158 He perhaps means Lakkos – Lakkoi – as he is discussing Omalos.159 A. Plymakis, “In Samaria 94 years ago”, in Chaniotika Nea, 21/12/2000, p. 35.

175

THE GORGE OF SAMARIAS. Polides

Greek outdoors160

In this village, a little above the gully, in amongst the very tall cypresses, a beauti-ful little church appears white like the lily, with the background of the surround-ing black-green vegetation – Ai Nikolas.

For our sake, an hour earlier a whole flock had been milked in the nearby pen. This is a rare sight for us, and even more interesting for certain useful observations. Here we met Yiannis’s father, a truly fine old man, who has so far managed to keep his seventy years under control, a whole lifetime.

The warm, full-fat milk – ah! poor Athenian milk! – and the rest under the cy-presses gave us new strength to start off.

Our guide now is a barefoot kid, twelve, maybe thirteen years old. Our Nikos.

Crossing a small wooden bridge, we reach further on, leftwards, to the only vil-lage in the Gorge, Samaria 30 minutes from Ai Nikolas. Men, women and children welcome us politely, simply and with a smile. The men make a particular impression. Dressed in black and with the characteristic headscarf, they were all armed. All around their waists and across their chests, cartridge belts, and with a weapon in hand. Many also had binoculars. They welcomed our greeting by giving us a group invitation to stay in their houses. It must be said, all in all, there were exactly seven houses in Samaria. We were hosted in the first. All were on hand to look after us. Goat’s milk – with the aroma of thyme – with honey and walnuts, fol-lowed by tasty pies, wonderful food which we literally wolfed down. They told us, the Samariots, of their struggle against the Germans and revealed to us that all this stuff they wore (boots, weapons, binoculars) was German booty.

We had a good rest … The village of Ayia Roumeli welcomed us with the aroma of its trees. We were hosted here just as at Ai Nikolas. Instead of milk … true tsikoudia spirit, fresh figs, pears and grapes … We had to get to the beach before the sun set. We weren’t late. After a few minutes’ journey we had returned to our base and thought yet one more time of those words of the veteran moun-taineer about the Samaria Gorge. “It’s one thing to see and feel it yourself, and another to describe it to others!”

160 S. Polides, “The Gorge of Samaria”, in Elliniko Ypaithro. Meniaio physiolatriko – oreivatiko periodiko, Athens 1947, EOF.

CH

AP

TE

R 5

| T

HE

GO

RG

E A

S A

NA

TU

RE

AN

D T

OU

RI

SM

DE

ST

IN

AT

IO

N

PA

RT

ΙΙ

| T

HE

MA

NM

AD

E E

NV

IR

ON

ME

NT

176

Fig. 116: Portes, group of European travellers, 1896 (M. Manousakas collection) Fig. 117: Portes, woodprint fromÜber Land und Meer, 1896 (Ekkekakis collection)

177

Fig. 118: Portes, photograph by R. Behaedhin, 1900 (M. Manousakas collection)

CH

AP

TE

R 5

| T

HE

GO

RG

E A

S A

NA

TU

RE

AN

D T

OU

RI

SM

DE

ST

IN

AT

IO

N

179

THERE IS ONE GORGE*Yiannis Drenoyiannis

Today, I too was one of the 1,100 people to cross the Samaria Gorge. If the number sounds overwhelm-ing to you, I must say that in the summer the daily number of Gorge visitors/walkers reaches 2,500! There is a little panic at the beginning, dust flies everywhere, but it appears that the 2,500 get through it easily and peacefully. Thousands of people cross the Samaria Gorge daily from 1 May to 31 October, few, however, know quite why they made this arduous six-hour journey on foot. Most want to see one of Europe’s most beautiful landscapes at first hand, some simply want to test their endurance and say that they too did it. Others are influenced by its global reputation and, despite being faint of heart from the first kilometre, they reach the end moan-ing and with swollen feet. Few are those who cross the Gorge to see Crete condensed into a route of 16 kilometres. Even fewer are those who come to “worship” at silver Gingilos, to greet the green-blue stream, to “talk” with Hosia Maria, to touch the ruins of Samaria village, to smile at the free agrimia, to quench their thirst with water from melting snow, to smell dittany, to pass religiously through the stone Portes and to be saved with a dip in the crystalline Libyan Sea.

Fig. 119: Portes (drawing by S. Vlazaki, 2008, from an 1896 photograph)

Fig. 120: Portes, 1950 (photo: Angelakis-Fantakis archive)

Fig. 121: Portes (photo: M. Toubis SA archive)

* Άrticle from the online edition of TA NEA (http://ta-nea.dolnet.gr, 9-6-2000).

CH

AP

TE

R 5

| T

HE

GO

RG

E A

S A

NA

TU

RE

AN

D T

OU

RI

SM

DE

ST

IN

AT

IO

N

PA

RT

ΙΙ

| T

HE

MA

NM

AD

E E

NV

IR

ON

ME

NT

180

3. Tourism as an organised activity in the gorge Early studies

In the 1950s, under the Marshall Plan,161 broad-reaching research was carried out by the Rockefeller Foundation,162which documented in a scholarly way the eco-nomic, demographic and social conditions of the island, shattered by the war. Tourism to Crete became the subject of academic studies for the first time in the 1960s, establishing a framework for controlled development, with a strategy and specific goals.

The first study to treat the Gorge as a tourist destination was “On the Tour-ism Development of Crete”163 by the American engineer Frank Basil and his collaborators,164 commissioned by the Ministry of Coordination. This study fore-saw the utilisation and showcasing of Crete’s natural beauties, in particular the Gorge of Samaria, proposing specific measures and their corresponding budgets. More specifically (pages 90 and 91):

The expenses for the utilisation and showcasing of Crete’s natural beauties and its par-ticular characteristics are calculated as coming to 65 million drachmas for the period 1965-1975, divided as follows:1. In order to utilise the mountains, gorges, picturesque mountain ranges, create ref-uges, reforest the mountain areas and utilise the Samaria Gorge: 25,000,000 drachmas …2. The expenses for shaping the interior of the Samaria Gorge, the repair and manage-ment of the footpath, and exploration of the possibility of placing a small Lift vehicle between Xyloskalo and Ayia Roumeli, including the expenses for special infrastruc-ture works foreseen in Chapter 12.12 a.3. For the remaining works of utilisation of the Samaria Gorge, it is proposed 2,000,000 drachmas be made available.

The above study, at least the section relating to the Gorge, was not applied. It would be of interest, however, to explore how its philosophy influenced the subse-quent development of tourism in the Prefecture of Chania and Crete in general.

In 1966, a few years after the expropriation of Samaria, the Ministry of Coordi-nation and the Crete Regional Development Service (YPAK) once more com-missioned a “Regulating Study on the Tourism Development of Horia Sfakia and Utilisation of Samaria Gorge” from the architects and town planners Nikos

161 Marshall Plan: officially, the European Recovery Programme funded by the USA after WWII, on a proposal of Secretary of State George Marshall in 1947.162 Crete: A Case Study of an Underdeveloped Area by Leland G. Allbaugh, Director of Research on Crete at the Rockefeller Foundation, with the editorial assistance

of George Soule, Princeton 1953. Published in Greek by the Hellenic-American Chamber of Commerce, 1957.163 Crete, a Study of Tourism Development, vol. IV, Frank E. Basil, Inc., Engineering Consultants, Kingdom of Greece, Ministry of Coordination: Athens 1964. 164 Including the Chaniot civil engineer Manousos Manousakis.

St. Rumelie was a sweet-looking ro-mantic spot, and the scenery around it of the most sublime, empathic character; the verdant mountain “braes” seeming to stretch away up to the very heavens. When times be-come more peaceable, it will make a favourite place of resort for Candiote belles and negotiants.

Edward Postlethwaite, 04.07.1868

Postlethwaite, p. 113.

181

Hadjimichalis and Panayiotis Batalas, with the overall title “Sfakia-Samaria”. This study, one of the first in Greece, was considered exemplary and large sections of it were published in the first authoritative Greek architectural periodical.165 This study locates the two regions within the framework of the whole province of Sfa-kia, highlights their interdependence, documents the villages and proposes their organised and environmentally friendly growth.

Indicative of the philosophy of the study are the goals mentioned in the Introduc-tion (Volume II, Samaria, 1.1.1.):

The goal of this study remains the preservation of the character of the Gorge, every intervention must be subject to this rule, even to the disadvantage of comfort: to be absolutely identified with the landscape and for no reason to be noticeable. Every manmade work will, unfortunately, be inferior to the natural environment.

The study was also opposed to removing the residents. The authors state (Part II, Samaria, 3.0.0):

The continuation and reinforcement of the life – human, animal and plant – of the Gorge is of absolute necessity so that it does not become a sterile National Park and museum excursion. The purpose of this study is that the inhabitants should never be isolated from their place, as it is paradoxicalw for us to talk of development without the contribution of the inhabitants and utopian to divide the Sfakians from their “Gorge”.

These positions, progressive for their time, were accompanied by specific pro-posals for building and tourism development, not just for the two villages in the Gorge but also the whole seafront as far as Hora Sfakia.

This study was complemented in 1970 by the study of Aimilia Kladou for the Technical Chamber of Greece-West Crete Division, who proposed a typology for the houses of the new village of Ayia Roumeli, so as to preserve the local architec-tural idiom and the landscape of Ayia Roumeli (See p. 104.)

In her technical report, Aimilia Kladou notes (p.1):

The preservation of a human presence within the Park must be considered abso-lutely necessary as without it, it is probably certain that, after the completion of the Park development works with the construction of certain tourist facilities, the total will not differ from an emotional perspective from a technical park, and Ayia Rou-meli with its marine area could lie on any Mediterranean coast of Italy and Spain. The special character of the Park must be preserved at all costs.

165 Studies on the town planning and tourism development of Crete”, Introduction by S. Vagianos, architect, Architektonika Themata, Issue 2, Orestis Doumanis: Athens 1968.

Fig. 122: Cover of the “Revisionary study for the Tourism Development

of Hora Sfakia and best use of the Gorge of Samaria”, by N. Hadjimichalis

and P. Matalas, 1966-1967

EΘΝΙΚΟΣ ΔΡΥΜΟΣ ΣΑΜΑΡΙΑΣ αγγλικά 16A

CH

AP

TE

R 5

| T

HE

GO

RG

E A

S A

NA

TU

RE

AN

D T

OU

RI

SM

DE

ST

IN

AT

IO

N

182

In 1967 one further study was completed, which the Ministry of Agriculture’s Gen-eral Directorate of Forests had commissioned from the Studio Technico Agrario in Calabria on the subject of “The best use of the mountains of the Lefka Ori on the island of Crete.” 166

It is possible that other studies were written during the 1960s when development became a concern of the Greek government, yet none of the above studies was ever applied. One of the most serious reasons why this progress was cut off is the imposition of the 1967-1974 dictatorship. It would be interesting for this subject to be studied comprehensively by a historian of development.

DevelopmentDespite the studies, the Prefecture’s development has not happened in an organ-ised fashion. The dominance of the logic of mass tourism, the unchecked exploi-tation of nature and uncontrolled building, without strict regulations and the lack of the political will necessary to apply the already existing ones, have led to the creation of today’s situation.

The declaration of a National Park in 1962 contributed greatly to making the Gorge better known and one of Crete’s most popular tourism destinations. At the same time, the removal of its permanent inhabitants marked the start of a new era. This declaration protected the natural environment and the central core of the Park (the minor disturbances are limited to the sides of the footpath), but not, however, the region of Ayia Roumeli, which is outside the area of expropria-tions. This development was anarchic – despite the efforts of individual commu-nity presidents and residents. The degrading of the habitat of Ayia Roumeli raised questions about the effectiveness of a policy that allows moving from a situation of complete protection to one of an almost complete lack of protection.

The development studies conducted in the 1990s introduced for the first time the contemporary notion that development must respect the environment and the principles of sustainable development, whilst adventure tourism was proposed in place of mass tourism.

The Study for the Development of Microzones in the Province of Sfakia167 foresees the extension of the Park core and the creation of a perimeter zone (within which habitat control zones shall be delineated), with a different protection status. This will provide the opportunity for ecotourism in the wider region and for the res-

166 Studio Preparatorio per la valorizzazione del grupo montano di Lefka Ori, nell isola di Creta, Italia 1967, Studio Technico Agrario Reggio Calabria.

167 Study for the Development of Microzones in the Province of Sfakia, Preliminary plan, November 1994, p. 91.

Fig. 123: At the bridges of Samaria (photo: S. Pratsolis)

Fig. 124: Rest at Samaria (M. Toubis SA archive)


183

toration of the buildings not only in the traditional village of Ayia Roumeli, but also Aradaina, Livania, Mourios, etc. The Study for the Sfakia Regional Develop-ment Programme168 also proposes preserving the balance between basic production activities (farming, tourism) and reinforcing their connections and compatibility, the restoration and showcasing of archaeological sites and other monuments, use of renewable energy, upgrading tourist accommodation and incorporating it into the broader network of bookings, the creation of complementary forms of income for the permanent population, and stabilising the region’s demography.

The non-application of development plans and the delay or fragmentary appli-cation of isolated measures have so far not been able to create a dynamic for balanced and sustainable development in contrast to the dominant development model. Moreover, the low quality of the works that have been implemented, even for the protection of the natural and cultural heritage, does not upgrade the habi-tat environment, as such standards ceased being desirable long ago. For the Park itself, the first management plan was drawn up only in 1996, whilst the updating of the Special Environmental Study of the Lefka Ori is currently under way169 (See p.36).

168 Sfakia Regional Development Programme Study, Final Report, Μay 1994, pp. 59-60.169 OIKOM Update.

Fig. 125: Ayia Roumeli (Aeroclub of Chania archive)

CH

AP

TE

R 5

| T

HE

GO

RG

E A

S A

NA

TU

RE

AN

D T

OU

RI

SM

DE

ST

IN

AT

IO

N

PA

RT

ΙΙ

| T

HE

MA

NM

AD

E E

NV

IR

ON

ME

NT

184

Contemporary tourism development in the Park and Ayia Roumeli

Aside from the scientific studies that have been done, the only use of the Gorge since its declaration as a National Park has been as a place visited by thousands of tourists, who reach Xyloskalo by road, cross the Gorge as far as Ayia Roumeli on foot, from where they are transported by boat to Hora Sfakia, and from there return to their starting point by road.

This movement of people due to the Gorge benefits and affects not only Ayia Roumeli and Hora Sfakia but the whole province. The local economy, based on various activities and which in the past was almost self-sufficient, is now one-di-mensional, almost exclusively focused on tourism. The number of people in Ayia Roumeli employed in economic activities other than tourism has declined and there is immobility in production in the primary sector (immobility in farming, reduction in the production of dairy products and milk). The economic struc-ture of this society is changing. Today, very few are systematically employed in livestock rearing and beekeeping, whilst of the approximately 100 employed in tourism around half are foreign economic migrants.

170 Sfakia Regional Development Programme Study, Table, 7.8.171 National Statistical Service of Greece. 172 Details from the Sfakia Regional Development Programme Study, Table 10.1173 Op. cit. Table 10.2.174 2001 statistics, Chania GNTO office. 175 2008 statistics, Chania GNTO office.

TABLE 2 AYIA ROUMELI: EMPLOYMENTPRIMARY SECTOR 2 SECTOR TERTIARY SECTOR

YEAR Crops Livestock rearing Beekeeping Fishing TOTAL Trade Tourism Services TOTAL

1993170 10 38 4 5 57 (59,4%) 0 4 34 1 39 (40,6%)

2001171 15 (31,25%) 0 33 (63,40)

At the same time, the village has started to lead a “double life” with very few in-habitants remaining permanently throughout the winter and very many during the tourism period (April to October), during which the regular boat connections for Hora Sfakia and Palaiochora start again.

The number of beds was 106 in 1981 and 400 in 1991, according to a question-naire, whilst in 2008 it was estimated at 500. The corresponding numbers of the Greek National Tourism Organisation (GNTO) for 2001 and 2008 is 210 beds. The above figures do not include free campsites.

185

Tourism in Ayia Roumeli, which is on European Footpath E4, is marked by an inability to retain passing tourists (the average stay is two days), demonstrating that tourism is directly dependent on the Gorge, despite the fact that Ayia Roumeli has the potential, if properly developed, to evolve into an autonomous tourist destination. The slogan “Ayia Roumeli, not just the exit from Samaria,” found on Ayia Roumeli accommodation web-sites, has not brought any results. The Samaria Gorge is always a popular destination for foreign tourists, whose number is always greater than the number of Greek tourists. In the 1980s, foreign tourists left more currency in the region, whereas in the 1990s it was the Greeks.176

The tourism infrastructure within the Gorge is continuously improving, with the res-toration of dilapidated buildings in Samaria village, which house areas for services, rest and information, and with the completion of the signposts and continuous maintenance of the footpath and the walking areas.

176 Details Matthew Stavroudakis, President of the Municipal District of Ayia Roumeli.

Fig. 126: Ayia Roumeli, 2008 (photo from Sandro Mancuso’s photostream at www.flickr.com)

TABLE 3: AYIA ROUMELI: NUMBER OF BEDSYEAR

ACCOMMODATION 1981172 1991173 2001174 2008175

HOTELS 120 (CATEGORY 2 HOTELS) 44 44RENTED APARTMENTS 20 20RENTED ROOMS 280 146 146TOTAL 106 400 210 210

CH

AP

TE

R 5

| T

HE

GO

RG

E A

S A

NA

TU

RE

AN

D T

OU

RI

SM

DE

ST

IN

AT

IO

N

PA

RT

ΙΙ

| T

HE

MA

NM

AD

E E

NV

IR

ON

ME

NT

186

177 See the MAICh-Prefecture project Establishing common models of integrated sustainable monitoring, plan-ning and management of high environmental value areas to control natural resources degradation, within the INTERREG IIIB ARCHIMED EU programme.

The number of tourists has been systematically recorded since 1981. The largest monthly number was 71,368 in Au-gust 1993, i.e. an average 2,300 a day. The largest number of tourists in a year (from April or May to October) was recorded in 1990 and came to 297,680, as shown in the table 4. Since then, there has been a fall (see diagram), which has already began to concern researchers177 and, most of all, the inhabitants, who worry about their drop in income.

TABLE 4 GRAPH OF VISITOR NUMBERS

Entrance tickets were introduced in 1989. Income from the Park is paid to the Central Fund for Farming, Animal Husbandry and Forests of the Ministry of Rural Development and Food. Of this amount, 70% is retained whilst the remaining 30% is distributed to neighbouring Municipalities: 10% to Ayia Roumeli Municipal District (DD) (Municipality of Sfakia), 10% to Lakkoi DD (Municipality of Mou-soures) and the remaining 10% is distributed equally to Ai Yianni DD in Ano-poli (Municipality of Sfakia), Sougia DD (Municipality of East Selinos), Therisos (Municipality of Therisos) and Mesklon DD (Municipality of Mousoures).

YEAR TOTAL

1981 132.794

1982 140.796

1983 198.973

1984 195.412

1985 213.446

1986 223.267

1987 209.410

1988 243.232

1989 234.833

1990 297.680

1991 272.298

1992 291.136

1993 297.369

1994 290.401

1995 270.100

1996 247.232

1997 244.584

1998 228.970

1999 248.514

2000 232.351

2001 242.134

2002 211.596

2003 187.234

2004 181.485

2005 183.561

2006 177.263

2007 158.830

2008 156.557

Nu

mb

er o

f vi

sito

rs

Year

187

From this income, no amount is directly returned for the management of the National Park, which would otherwise be self-financing.

The Chania Forestry Service is financed by the Ministry of Rural Development and Food for the upkeep of the footpath and hiring seasonal staff. Work for up-keep needs to take place every year, and the Samaria National Park staff is hired every April. The problem, which unfortunately repeats itself every year, is that there is particular delay in approving these expenses. In the past few years, the procedure of “exceptional approval” for these expenses has been established yet even this is not completed on time, with the result that there are delays in open-ing the Park, and hiring and paying staff. The Region of Crete has funded the Chania Forestry Service on occasion for emergency purposes, but this cannot be a permanent or effective solution. This situation creates insecurity for the bodies responsible for the operation of the Gorge and for local residents, who are directly affected and feel as though the government does not care about the proper func-tioning of the Park.

TABLE 5: SAMARIA NATIONAL PARK TAKINGS 178

YEAR TICKET PRICE NORTH ENTRANCE SOUTH ENTRANCE TOTAL

1989 200 drachmas 25,352,800,00 drs

1990 56,271,400,00 drs

1991 127,593,500,00 drs

1992 263,205,00,00 drs

1993 279,960,000,00 drs

1994 238,191,000,00 drs 30,928,000,00 drs 269,119,000,00 drs

1995~ 270,000,000,00 drs(precise details not available)

1996 1200 drs 216,618,000,00 drs 47,148,000,00 drs 263,766,000,00 drs

1997 1200 drs 225,324,000,00 drs 49,704,000,00 drs 275,028,000,00 drs

1998 1200 drs 222,862,721,00 drs 50,869,200,00 drs 273,731,921,00 drs

1999 1200 drs 226,689,600,00 drs 65,016,000,00 drs 291,705,600,00 drs

2000 1200 drs 218,229,600,00 drs 54,352,800,00 drs 272,582,400,00 drs

2001 1200 drs 228,267,600,00 drs 49,848,000,00 drs 278,115,600,00 drs

2002 3,50 € € 592,420,50 € 148,529,50 € 740,950,00

2003 5,00 € € 760,390,00 € 185,230,00 € 945,620,00

2004 5,00 € € 687,520,00 € 183,050,00 € 870,570,00

2005 5,00 € € 717,835,00 € 170,010,00 € 887,845,00

2006 5,00 € € 694,545,00 € 136,110,00 € 830,655,00

2007 € 729,615,00

2008 5,00 € € 619,995,00 € 105,185,00 € 725,180,00

178 Chania Forestry Service details.

CH

AP

TE

R 5

| T

HE

GO

RG

E A

S A

NA

TU

RE

AN

D T

OU

RI

SM

DE

ST

IN

AT

IO

N

PA

RT

ΙΙ

| T

HE

MA

NM

AD

E E

NV

IR

ON

ME

NT

188

ProspectsThere is an urgent need to gauge and respect the tourism carrying capacity179 of the Park area. Exceeding it, and the subsequent environmental degradation, are the greatest threat to tourism. Many believed until recently that nature is inex-haustible and are today surprised to discover that the natural landscape, the envi-ronment and local culture are sensitive, and non-replaceable goods...

Even so, another type of tourism that respects the environment is possible. Pro-tection of the ecosystem and support for long-term sustainable development solutions (continuous and mutually supporting, as they had been for thousands of years) are possible. Today there are specific opportunities that can transform tourism into an organic element of sustainable development. The European Un-ion has even drawn up a European Charter for Sustainable Tourism in protected areas. This knowledge is shared between environmental and tourism specialists (geologists, foresters, biologists, landscape architects, economists, cultural an-thropologists, etc.). What is needed is an awareness of the problem and a sincere desire for its resolution on the part of all stakeholders. The natural environment of the Gorge and the region is still unique, the inhabitants of Sfakia know how to give their word of honour and to honour it, tourism can be sustainable and the re-gion’s development an exemplary model of the modern harmonious coexistence of humans and nature.

179 Tourism carrying capacity: the maximum number of people that may visit an area and local community on the basis of the characteristics of this area, without resulting in the degradation of its environmental signifi-cance and change to its physiognomy.

189

Fig. 127: With a view of the Libyan Sea, 2008 (photo: E. Papavasileiou)

Fig. 128: The veranda of Samaria, 2008 (photo: I. Vlazaki)

Fig. 129: The beach of Ayia Roumeli, 2008 (photo from Fabrigio Simonelli’s photostream at www.flickr.com)

CH

AP

TE

R 5

| T

HE

GO

RG

E A

S A

NA

TU

RE

AN

D T

OU

RI

SM

DE

ST

IN

AT

IO

N

190

Part ΙΙΙ

Entrance, 2008 (Forestry Service archive) Guards at the north entrance (M. Manolioudakis archive)

191

PROTECTION AND MANAGEMENT OF SAMARIA NATIONAL PARK

Ayios Nikolaos guard house (old mitato) (photo: V. Kotrotsos) Porticoes from an anti-subsidence network, 2008 (photo: I. Vlazaki)

PA

RT

ΙΙ

Ι |

PR

OT

EC

TI

ON

AN

D M

AN

AG

EM

EN

T O

F S

AM

AR

IA

NA

TI

ON

AL

PA

RK

192

MAP OF PROTECTED AREAS OF LEFKA ORI

Legend

Boundary lines of the core of the National Park of Samaria (48,500 sq.m.)

Βoundary lines of the area “NATURA 2000” (523,349.66 sq.m.)

Road network

193


T H E D E C L A R AT I O N O F S A M A R I A A S A N AT I O N A L P A R K

A preliminary land registry table of those in the Gorge eligible was compiled and submitted for the year, whilst a topographic study, expropriation and forestry works amounting to total ex-penses of 7,000,000 drachmas have been programmed for the year 1963 … *Aerial photography was taken of the 30 square kilometres of the Lefka Ori National Park core by the Royal Hellenic Air Force. There was also an on-the-spot confirmation and completion of the aer-ial photography and ground details taken, whilst the compiled land registry, with map and report, is already with the compe-tent Forestry Department of the Ministry of Agriculture.**In the biotope of the wild goat, i.e. the core of the Lefka Ori Na-tional Park, works for water extraction, the forest footpath, etc. were constructed by the YDE-AN, and studies for technical works, bridges, etc. were submitted. The purchase of 48.5 square kilo-metres of the core/natural biotope is nearing completion, and private foresters have been commissioned to produce a man-agement study for the National Park. The prohibition of hunting wild goats on 90 square km of the Park, as well as all prohibition decrees, are applied and observed by the staff, primarily non-permanent, with the assistance of the gamekeepers. ***

* Yearbook of the Chania Forestry Service for the administrative year 1962, Chapter 8 (Thera), (Vasilis Plevrakis, Chania Forest Ranger).** Yearbook of the Chania Forestry Service for the administrative year 1963, Chapter 3 (Forest ownership), (Vasilis Plevrakis, Chania Forest Ranger).*** Yearbook of the Chania Forestry Service for the administrative year 1965, Chapter 8 (Thera), (Vasilis Plevrakis, Chania Forest Ranger.

Text:Harikleia Kargiolaki

Samaria was declared a National Park with Royal Decree 781/1962, and was defined with Royal Decree 74/1964, covering a total area of 48.48 square kilometres.

The goals of the foundation of the National Park are not mentioned in the above Royal Decree. The protection and preservation of the

Cretan wild goat population was considered one of the most important goals of this legislation. In conjunction, of course, with the protection and preservation of the Turkish pine forest and the rest of the region’s rich forests.

The management of the National Parks during the era when the Samaria National Park was declared is associated with the re-moval of humans and the tendency to absolute protection. This was applied in the National Park with the expropriation of all 48.48 square km and the relocation of the inhabitants of Samar-ia. The Yearbooks of the Chania Forestry Service indicate that the expropriations in this area ended in 1965. From that time, management of the area is done with regulations for absolute protection and the removal of all traditional activities (crops, livestock, logging, etc.) aside from beekeeping, for which a spe-cial licence is required.

In 1985 the Regulations governing the National Park were passed by Ministerial Decree. Just as now, these permitted en-trance for visitors exclusively to the Xyloskalo-Ayia Roumeli footpath from April to October, at specific hours and allowing overnight stays only with a special licence.

The establishment of a pro-tected area as a National Park is covered by Laws 998/1979 and 1650/1986. The declaration aims at the protection of the natural heritage and ecological balance, whilst it also offers the opportunity for envi-ronmental education and recreation for visitors.


PA

RT

ΙΙ

Ι |

PR

OT

EC

TI

ON

AN

D M

AN

AG

EM

EN

T O

F S

AM

AR

IA

NA

TI

ON

AL

PA

RK

194

Fig. 1: Logo of Samaria National Park

ROYAL DECREE NO. 781On the foundation of a National Park in the Lefka Ori of the island of Crete

PAULKING OF THE HELLENES

Having regard:a) Of articles 1, 3, 4, paragraphs 2, 6, 7 and 12 of Law 856/1937 “On National Parks”, b) opinion 787/1962 of the Technical Council of Forests and Mountain Water Regulator, and c) opinion 622/1962 of the Council of State and proposal of Our Minister of Agriculture, We decide and declare:

Article 1 A National Park is to be founded in the area of the Lefka Ori in the Province of Sfakia on the island of Crete, comprised of the core and surrounding forest and grassland.

Article 2 a) The core of the National Park, an area of approximately 30 square kilometres stretching around the central mass of the Lefka Ori of the island in Crete and coming under the general name of “Gorge of Samaria” is defined by the boundary lines as follows:From the neck of Xyloskalo and in a westerly direction then south-westerly it follows a second mountain crest, passing above the spring of Linoseli and reaching the peak of Strefomadi. From there in an easterly direction it follows the mountain crest as far as the Kingilos peak, where it turns south-east and comes down in the neck between Kingilos and Volakia, and with this south-easterly direction it comes to the peak of Volakia (altitude 2110 m), from there with a direction approximately southerly it descends from the peak and passes through the peaks of Psiristra (altitude 1485 m), Kefala (altitude 1454 m) and Katsoprinos, to end outside the village of Ayia Roumeli on the south edge (exit) of the Gorge (ravine), with the sudden and high, rocky slope of Samaria. From there, the boundary line bends towards the northeast and then to the north, where it comes to the opposite mountain ridge, pass-ing through the peaks of Kouvara, Mavron Dasos and reaches Avlimonaria, behind which it turns to the southwest and goes over this mountain ridge as far as the spot of Pyrgos, and to the crossing of the Xyloskalo and Melintaos streams. Here it follows the stream of the Melintaos mountain (altitude 1981 m) to the north. From there in a westerly direction it follows the peak defined by the Samaria catchment area, and comes through the peaks of Psarri (altitude 1883 m), Paliare (altitude 1677 m) and Pachnis, from where, in a south-westerly direction, it comes to the neck of Xyloskalo, where it began. The precise boundaries of the core are defined in detail on the map and marked on the ground by bound-ary markers.

b) The forest and grassland area around the core extends as far as the boundaries of the Province of Sfakia on the Island of Crete, under the authority of the Chania Forestry Service

Article 3The non-rare plant species that it is permitted to collect within the core of the National Park, according to article 4, paragraph 3 of Law 856/1937 “On the National Park”, are defined each time by police decrees of the Chania Forestry Service, issued on its proposal and with the opinion of the Forests Inspector and Technical Council of Forests and Mountain Water Regulation and the special approval of the Minister of Agriculture.We commission the Minister of Agriculture to publish and execute this Decree.

In Athens on 6 November 1962PAUL

The Deputy Minister of AgricultureP. Stavropoulos

“Forest areas of particular interest from the perspective of preserving the wild flora and fauna, geomorphic formations, subsoil, atmosphere, waters and natural environment in general, and for which the protec-tion, maintenance and improvement of the conditions, form and natural beauty is considered necessary” are declared National Parks according to the Forestry Code (Decree 86/69).

EΘΝΙΚΟΣ ΔΡΥΜΟΣ ΣΑΜΑΡΙΑΣ αγγλικά 17Β

195

A model Biosphere Reserve is comprised of at least three zones. A. One or more cores where only non-destructive (research, documentation, etc.) activities take place. B. A buffer zone that usually surrounds and unites the cores. Here ecologically acceptable activities can take place (education, recreation and research), whilst the human presence begins to become visible with the appearance of villages. C. A transition area that surrounds the other two zones and without outer boundaries. Here human pres-ence dominates, with crops, livestock rearing and other land uses.

C H A P T E R 1

I N T E R N AT I O N A L R E C O G N I T I O N O F S A M A R I A

Samaria has been honoured with more awards than any other part of Greece, and is a member of many international networks of protected areas. It is the only region in Greece to be awarded the European Diploma of Protected Areas (Coun-cil of Europe), an authoritative title given to protected areas of special European importance, after an exhaustive appraisal of the region and the way in which it is managed. The award is subject to regular review and the Diploma is renewed every five years by a decision of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, on the recommendations of a team of experts. They examine the annual reports sent by the area’s management body (Chania Forestry Service, so far) and the evaluation report along with the recommendations and requirements sug-gested by an independent evaluator, appointed by the Council, after an on-the-spot appraisal.

Samaria is also part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves, for sites recog-nised as such by UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere (MAB) programme. From Greece, the Olympus National Park is also in this network. The Biosphere Re-serves network is comprised of areas of excellence, which also operate as manage-ment models. Management of the region must bridge the often conflicting views on the protection of biodiversity (genetics, species, ecosystems and landscape) and development (economically viable but with respect for natural resources), and at the same time preserve and respect the region’s specific cultural values. A Biosphere Reserve is obliged to be in a continuous collaboration and network with other Reserves in Greece and abroad, exchanging views and providing sup-port for scientific research as well as management of the Reserve. UNESCO has

Fig. 2: Council of Europe logo

Fig. 3: MAB logo (Man and the Biosphere)

PA

RT

ΙΙ

Ι |

PR

OT

EC

TI

ON

AN

D M

AN

AG

EM

EN

T O

F S

AM

AR

IA

NA

TI

ON

AL

PA

RK

196

adopted the Seville strategy and the Statutory Framework of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves (1995), which give clear guidelines on how these operate and with periodic reviews every ten years.

The Biosphere Reserves are not separate islands in space, but parts of a broader landscape exposed to similar nuisances (climate change, etc.). Yet, here there is a management model that aims at protection and sustainable development.

Samaria also belongs internationally to the network of regions of the Barcelona Convention, it has been declared a Biogenetic Reserve by the Council of Europe, and is one of the Important Bird Areas of Greece (Directive 79/409/EEC).

The European network of protected regions (NATURA 2000) includes the Sa-maria National Park, with reference code GR4340014 (it has been characterised as a Special area of Conservation, or SAC). The broader area of the Lefka Ori is also included in the NATURA network, with reference code GR4340008 (Site of Community Importance).

Fig. 4: Near Xyloskalos, 2008 (photo: V. Kotrotsos)

197

C H A P T E R 2

M A N A G E M E N T O F S A M A R I A N AT I O N A L P A R K U N T I L T O D AY

Responsibility for management of the area has so far been that of the Chania For-estry Service (initially a service of the Ministry of Agriculture and today of the Re-gion of Crete). All the protected areas of the Prefecture of Chania and the National Park are managed by the Department of Forest Administration and Management. Management is supported by an Action Plan based on an approved management plan for the area, which also determines the precise goals (long- and short-term). The last management plan for the Lefka Ori National Path was approved with decision reference number 1355/2-12-1998 of the General Secretariat of the Re-gion of Crete, with the basic goal of biodiversity (genetic, species, ecosystems, landscape), whilst also setting secondary goals and services for recreation and the environmental education of visitors.

1. Existing dangers and ways of dealing with them

Protection requires a thorough knowledge of the object being protected and the dangers to which it is subject. The object protected in this area is biodiversity on all levels (genetic, species, ecosystems, landscape), the natural resources (water, soil, air, etc.) and man (in the past as a permanent inhabitant with his structures and culture and, today, as a visitor). The previous chapters have given a view of the protected object, without always being able to define it absolutely, as even to-day precise and detailed studies on the species (flora and fauna) are missing. Also missing are studies which record changes to biodiversity over time, or because of the influence of particular environmental factors that the area experiences. Simi-lar studies require special funding and implementation bodies, which it has not been possible to find so far. We hope for the future best use of funding sources and human resources.

The main dangers facing Samaria and the ways of dealing with them are:

Fire: The danger of fire breaking out is increased due to Turkish pine vegetation as well as the aromatic brushwood of which there is plenty in the Gorge. These species are considered “fire friendly” (resin, essential oils, flammable dry leaves that do not decompose easily, etc.). From observations made over time we can say that the Turkish

The international conception of protect-ed areas has now changed. * Humans, especially if they have left the area, are now part of the process of protection, preserving the basic systems that sup-port life (water, earth, etc.), maintaining genetic diversity and securing sustain-ability for the species, ecosystems and landscape. The main reasons for reviewing the tra-ditional policy are:1. Total protection has created problems in the ecological balance, with the re-moval of traditional human activities.2. The policy of prohibition and the lack of motives for development have result-ed in the inhabitants of the wider area being hesitant about its protection.3. Modern life requires outlets onto na-ture for mental, spiritual and physical rest. * H. Kargiolaki, “Samaria Gorge: Principles and management problems in the South Aegean, Crete and Cyprus”, 2001, Collaboration on the en-vironment and development, Museum of Natural History and the Region of Crete, pp. 75-82.

PA

RT

ΙΙ

Ι |

PR

OT

EC

TI

ON

AN

D M

AN

AG

EM

EN

T O

F S

AM

AR

IA

NA

TI

ON

AL

PA

RK

198

pine population has especially increased, taking over areas where in the past there were terraces with the crops of Samaria as well as areas used for grazing before the inhabitants of Samaria were removed. The accumulation of flammable material (dry twigs, needles, etc.), which is now becoming visible, increases the risk of fire.

The danger of episodes of fire breaking out is mentioned in all the annual reports as documented in the Forest Ranger Yearbooks since 1973, in which there is a special chapter dedicated to the Samaria National Park. To prevent fires the footpath is cleared each year, which sometimes involves removing dry plant material. The difficult relief of the area as well as the management method (non-intervention) thus far do not per-mit a more broad-ranging removal of the layer of dry materials on the ground, which in some cases is over 40 cm thick. The layer of dry leaves prevents the natural rebirth of the area as the seeds cannot reach the ground, and the forest thus ages, at the same time creating a flammable situation. Fire extinguisher points have been set up along the footpath, with the necessary equipment, whilst fire sprinklers are scattered here and there. Water has also been transported from various springs within the Park, wa-ter cisterns and fire stations have been built, whilst there is a project currently under-way to modernise the network of small water cisterns, fire stations, fire extinguisher points, etc. on the footpath in order to deal with any outbreaks of fire.

Outbreaks of fire on the footpath have so far been successfully handled without the fire spreading and creating victims. There have been two fires, at 5 km (September 1981) and at 5.2 km (June 1998) along the footpath. The immediate mobilisation of the rangers and Forestry Service, the Fire Service and, with the second outbreak, volunteers who ran to the scene and extinguished the fires before they spread danger-ously. Seasonal fire fighters (Fire Service) and staff of the Chania Forestry Service, as well as, from this year, the seasonal staff of the Samaria National Park Management Body, have been positioned along the footpath with responsibility for, amongst other things, keeping an eye out for fires, whilst the Fire Service has drawn up an action plan for such problems.

The Prefectural Administration of Chania has also announced (with EPPER fund-ing) a “daily fire risk assessment study for the Lefka Ori” with the purpose of creating a fire risk model. When this model is supplied with specific data (meteorological data, flammable material data, etc.) it will be able to indicate the daily danger level. This model requires specific data, collated from:

1. Meteorological information collected at specific points on the footpath. 2. Cameras (digital with fire detectors and which can send messages to specific Con-trol Centres). 3. Control Centres.

Illegal hunting: The desire to end illegal hunting, in particular of the wild goat, was

199

one of the reasons why the Samaria National Park was created. The “unwritten” policy that had been implemented in the past by the Forestry Service, of employ-ing local hunters as rangers on a permanent basis, bore results in its day. Today, most have retired and it is not possible to implement a similar policy for various reasons (different hiring conditions). Arrests have been made of illegal wild goat hunters who illegally entered the Gorge from Poria, where the Forestry Service has built and seasonally operates a guard-post covering the north section of the Park. Unfortunately, however, the remains and traces (hides, etc.) of hunting, as well as the noise of hunting weapons being fired on occasion in certain parts of the Park, in combination with claims that wild goat meat is being sold, testify that illegal hunting of wild goats exists and perhaps at an increased rate. The use of modern technology by illegal hunters makes it more difficult to catch them red-handed (fig. 5). The condition of the wild goat population is not known, nor is the precise number that lives in the Lefka Ori. This lacuna will be filled by the “Study to observe the population and ecological needs of the Cretan wild goat in the Lefka Ori, with ensuing management proposals”, announced by the Prefectural Admin-istration of Chania, with EPPER funding. The appearance of particularly young wild goats in the old village of Samaria and along the length of the footpath has become more common in recent years. It is not known if this indicates an increase in the population, the animal’s need for food or the more open habitat provided to it by the old Samaria village.

Illegal plant collecting: The collection of seeds or plants is prohibited by the Rules and Regulations of the Samaria National Park, and can be done only with a special licence from the Ministry of Rural Development and Food, which allows the low-est number of samples. Unfortunately, however, in the past there have been cases of the destruction of plant populations, particularly of narrow endemic species, which have been collected by “scientists” who have then taken them to botanical gardens abroad and subsequently traded them. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES) provides internation-al protection against the trade and transportation of endangered species, and is implemented by management authorities. CITES protects twenty-five plant spe-cies in Samaria. Specifically, the two species of cyclamen (Cyclamen creticum and Cyclamen graecum) and all the orchid species. Malotera or ironwort (“mountain tea”) and marjoram are collected in the area for herbal tea, sometimes surrepti-tiously, and for this reason a special Forest Prohibitive Order must be issued, to regulate the conditions and volume of the herbs gathered.

Desertification: The phenomenon of climate change, now apparent globally, in combination with conditions of especial pressure, such as those found at high altitudes, lead to desertification, i.e. the formation of almost desert conditions,

200

with the disappearance of species and decline in living organisms. This phenomenon is being researched at the Alpine altitudes with international programmes, whilst the possible changes to the Park’s biodiversity will be studied with the programme “Study for the establishment of permanent sample surfaces in the Lefka Ori to docu-ment changes in biodiversity (flora and fauna)” also announced by the Prefectural Administration of Chania, with EPPER funding.

Tourism: The effect of visitors to the National Park on the Gorge itself and to the ecology of the organisms that live within it has not been fully ascertained. Studies must be done on the Park’s greatest ability to accept visitors and for their correct management, as, at present, there is congestion, particularly in the mornings.

2. Recreatianal services for visitors

From the first day of the creation of the National park, the Chania Forestry Service has carried out works for the upkeep of the footpaths and to serve visitors. Access was initially permitted not only to the main footpath, but also to some secondary ones, with a total length of 25 km.180 The Rules and Regulations of the National Park which exist today, however, permit access only to the main footpath. The Chania Forestry Service has set up facilities for visitors, such as viewing positions, recrea-tional areas now with a water supply, toilets, etc. In the village of Samaria there is a doctors surgery for emergency situations. The doctors staffing it are usually from the Armed Forces. There are also mules for transporting supplies and materials into the Gorge, and those with light wounds. The rubbish left by visitors is removed from the Gorge, Seasonal employees are positioned every two km along the route to oversee that regulations are adhered to and to manage incidents. Water has also been transported from the existing springs, and drinking water is now available at various points along the footpath.

Visitors to the Gorge enter from two entrances (north: Xyloskalo and south: Ayia Roumeli), according to the Rules and Regulations. Visitors cannot enter the Gorge during the winter period (November to late April). The main reason for having a specific period during which the Gorge is open is that in the winter it is impos-sible to cross the whole Gorge, as at narrow points (Portes) the river water reaches over three metres. Nature recovers when the Gorge is closed in winter, with particu-lar phenomena. Small and large waterfalls are formed and rock subsidence fills the footpath. Significant maintenance work is required each year before the footpath opens, so that it can receive visitors once more (cleaning, bridge work, maintenance

Fig. 5: Skin from an agrimi killed by illegal hunters, 2006 (Chania Forestry Service archive)

Fig 6: Photograph of a lake that had been created by subsidence on the Samaria footpath on 4 October 2005 (Chania Forestry Service archive)

Fig. 7: Conservation of walls and footpath, 2008 (photo: V. Kotrotsos)

Fig. 8: Emergency transportation, 1994 (Samaria Employees archive)

180 Yearbook of the Chania Forestry Service, 1973, Chapter 10 – Samaria National Park (Christos Kokkalis).

201

of wooden structures, etc.). Similar phenomena have also occurred recently (4/10/2005), when heavy rainfall caused rock subsidence. The rocks blocked the passage of the rainwater and a lake was created overnight, with visitors having to be transported by boat (fig. 5). Moreover, falling stones from breaking rocks, possibly due to contraction and expansion, have caused serious fatal accidents. In addition to marking these areas with warning signs, a network of wire porti-coes has been set up to protect visitors.

3. Environmental education services

Signs have been set up along the length of the footpath indicating the number of kilometres from the entrance, and with information on the surroundings (plants, animals, etc.). The Chania Forestry Service, in collaboration with various bodies, issues a pamphlet on the National Park as well as an information leaflet on the wild goat.

An Information Centre for the Samaria National Park a little before the entrance to the Gorge at Xyloskalo has been operating since 1995, with the aim of provid-ing environmental information to visitors and organised school groups. In the past there was also a reconstruction of the Gorge here with information on the place and environmentally friendly messages.

The need to modernise this area so that it is more visitor friendly has led Cha-nia Forestry Service to reconstructing it. A botanical garden and footpath have been created outside, containing endemic as well as mountain species. The ex-hibition inside has been redesigned from scratch and its museological design

Fig. 11: Guards in the Samaria Gorge (M. Manolioudakis collection)

Fig. 12: Michalis Borakis, guard in the guardhouse at Samaria village

(Borakis family collection)

Fig. 13: Samaria guards with the rural doctor (Samaria Employees archive)

Fig. 9: Information kiosk in the old olive mill of Samaria village


Fig. 10: “Man and Rock” Information Centre at the old Ayia Roumeli Primary

School (photo: V. Kotrotsos)

PA

RT

ΙΙ

Ι |

PR

OT

EC

TI

ON

AN

D M

AN

AG

EM

EN

T O

F S

AM

AR

IA

NA

TI

ON

AL

PA

RK

202

and exhibits arrangement are currently underway. The Crete Museum of Natural History has undertaken this task. The small botanic garden with local endemic species was made as part of the Microreserves programme (CRETAPLANT / LIFE04 NATURE – GR-000104) in collaboration with the University of Athens and the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania (MAICh). The old Samaria village olive press has been restored and is now an Information kiosk for the village, with old photographs of the Gorge and the people of Samaria. A thematic Information Centre on “Man and Rock” dedicated to the Gorge’s geology has been created in the old Primary School at Ayia Roumeli village, at the Gorge entrance.

4. Protecting biodiversity

The Samaria National Park, as mentioned, is considered a valuable genetic species reserve (plants and animals). For this reason, it has been used and continues to be used as a kind of databank from which material is occa-sionally drawn for the so-called ex-vitro protection of species in botanic gardens, sperm banks and zoos.

Wild goats have also been brought over from various uninhabited islands, such as Sapineza, Dia and Ayioi Theodoroi for the purpose of protecting the species. Evangelos Viglis, permanently residing in Samaria, became a guard, with responsibility for protecting the various species, particularly the wild goat. Until 1984, this guard was accompanied by two forest guards. In 1984 two seasonal contract employees became permanent guards, and in 1995 another ten, whilst the total number of employees, guards, who have been or are employed until today comes to around 217. Moreover, around 14 seasonal foresters, seven forest technicians and 19 administrative staff have worked in the Samaria National Park. All the above work seasonally for the Chania Forestry Service during the period when the National Park is open. Even today, the permanent staff of the Chania Forestry Service (for-est guards, etc.) have responsibilities for protecting biodiversity in terms of species (plant and animal) as well as forest ecosystems.

In the context of landscape protection, the project “Samaria: protection and restoration of the landscape in the old villages” was implemented, fo-cusing on repairing the old lanes, restoring the old walls that divided the gardens in the villages of Samaria and Ayia Roumeli, cleaning the pines in the old olive groves, pruning, etc.181 Yearbook of the Chania Forestry Service, 1975, Chapter 10 – Samaria National Park (Christos

Kokkalis).

203

We believe that the ringing and signing of various seed-producing Turkish pine trees along the length of the central artery by the Forest Research Institute after a Ministerial decree, should not be done as it is visually unpleasant for the visitor to see marked trees in an area such as the National Park*.

* Yearbook of the Chania Forestry Service, 1973, Chapter 10 – Sa-maria National Park (Christos Kokkalis).

Legislation for the protection of biodiversityIn addition to the general legislation that protects all natural resources (forests, water resources, etc.), mention shall be made here of legislation to protect specific species (plant or animal).*The Bern Convention (Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats) was voted by the Council of Europe with the aim of protecting rare plant and animal species and biotopes. The Convention includes lists of protected flora and fauna. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES), signed in Washington, is concerned with species threat-ened with extinction and focuses on their movement, particularly commercial (imports and exports). EU Council Directive 79/409, the Birds Directive, aims to protect birds in or migrating to the European Union. It protects their eggs, nests and bi-otopes. Many birds are also protected by the Bonn Directive.EU Council Directive 92/43/EEC includes species of EU interest. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) evaluates the condition of the preservation of each species and places them into categories (extinct, endangered, vulnerable, rare, indeterminate, least concerned and data deficient). Red Data Books of endangered species are published on flora and fauna, at an international level. Each country then publishes its own National List, thus recording the endangered species and setting priorities for protection. These lists are reviewed with new scientific data. The new National Red Book of the flora of Greece will be published in 2008, whilst the Red List for vertebrates has been issued. In Greek legislation, adventitious flora and wild fauna are protected by Presidential Decree 67/81 (Government Gazette A/23). The Presidential Decree covers issues relating to the collection of species, hunting, transporting and trade, and research.

* OIKOM Update, p.165.

5. The most important protected species (plants and animals) of Samaria

Analytic information for the protected species can be found in the Special Environmental Study of the region which is being compiled (phase I has been submitted). Here we document the protected species that one can find in Samaria.

The priority plant species according to EU Directive 92/43/EEC are: Hypericum aciferum* (grows to the west of Ayia Roumeli), Bupleurum kakiskalae* (rare plant found at Lenoseli), Nepeta sphaciotica* (type of oregano found in the alpine zone of Svourichti), and Cephalanthera cucullata* (orchids that grow at Ayios Nikolaos). All are endemic to the area and have been studied as part of the LIFE-CRETAPLANT programme. The study concluded that the govern-ment must declare those areas where these plants are found as wildlife refuges, a proposal which is currently being implemented. The endemic plants Eryngium ternatum, Helichrysum heldreichii, Zelcova abelicea, Sanguisorba cretica, and Teucrium cuneifolium are also protected by Greek law (Presidential Decree 67/81), and are included in the cat-egory of endangered species of both the IUCN and the European Red List of Globally Threatened Plants and Animals, where they are characterised as “rare”.182 Arum purpureospathum, found next to the footpath at Ayia Roumeli, the orchid Cephalanthera cucculata (Ayios Nikolaos) as well as five other plant species are protected by the Bern Conven-tion, as are 27 endemic Greek animal species.


CH

AP

TE

R 2

| M

AN

AG

EM

EN

T O

F S

AM

AR

IA

NA

TI

ON

AL

PA

RK

UN

TI

L T

OD

AY

204

The agrimi (Capra aegagrus) is protected by the complete prohibition of hunting, in accordance with Presidential Decree 67/81, the Bern Convention and the Red Book of Endangered Vertebrates of Greece. The bearded vulture (Gypaetus barba-tus), which does not nest in the Gorge but flies over it, is a species of bird under special protection (Directive 79/409/EEC, Bern Convention and the Red Book of Endangered Vertebrates of Greece).

According to the Red List (IUCN 2001, 2007), there are four vulnerable mammal species in Samaria (Cretan greater horseshoe bat, Geoffroy’s bat, spiny mouse, agrimi), a species which it is foreseen will become threatened in the immedi-ate future (Blasius’s horseshoe bat), two species which are near threatened and likely to be characterised as threatened in the near future (greater horseshoe bat, great mouse-eared bat), 13 species of least concern which are not likely to be characterised as threatened and six species not endangered. Of the above species, three species of chiroptera (Blasius’s horseshoe bat, lesser horseshoe bat, Geof-froy’s bat) and the Cretan wildcat have seen a reduction in their population sizes (IUCN 2007).

6. Studies and works

Each year the Chania Forestry Service carries out work within the Samaria Na-tional Park, implementing approved studies. This work concerns conservation work on the footpath, cleaning, creating anti-fire nests, transporting water to spe-cific points from springs, creation of water cisterns, positioning of information boards and signs, creating information centres and kiosks, etc.

Until today, the above tasks for the operation of the National Park were done by the Chania Forestry Service. As such, below we provide details of the Directors of the Forestry Service and the periods in which they served. The Directors have had responsibility for the design and management of the Samaria National Park until today. Their contribution must be acknowledged and recognised for the ad-ditional reason that the management of somewhere like Samaria is a particularly difficult task. Of course, someone can always be found to rise to the occasion, but Samaria, in today’s form, is the result of the actions taken by these Directors, as these were implemented by the scientific staff of the Forestry Service and by the dozens of workers and guards who have worked in difficult and often adverse conditions.

Fig. 14: Oregano species (Nepeta sphaciotica*) (photo: A. Sakouli)

205

NAMES OF CHANIA FOREST RANGERS PERIOD IN OFFICE

Alexandros Bletas Vasileios Plevrakis Antonios Pittas Panayiotis KonstantakisAthanasios Sakellariou Christos Kokkalis Konstantinos Vontzas Christos Kokkalis Vasileios GountanoudesGeorgios Tzimourtos Vasileios KasiotakisHarikleia Kargiolaki

January 1960 - July 1962 July 1962 – 13 November 1966 13 November 1966 – 23 December 196623 December 1966 – 15 August 1969 16 August 1969 – 14 May 1970 14 May 1970 – 2 November 1970 2 November 1970 – 31 December 1970 1 January 1971 – 17 November 1975 17 November 1975 – 28 February 1979 28 February 1979 – 24 May 1983 24 May 1983 – 10 January 2008 10 January 2008 - until present

The following table shows projects undertaken in the past four years as well as their funding bodies. In addition, the main studies (man-agement, Special Environmental Study) that have been completed or are underway along with the bodies that have implemented and funded them.

PROJECTS IMPLEMENTED (by the Chania Forestry Service)

STUDIES COMPLETED

Footpath maintenance and damage restoration (each spring, with funding from the YPAAT)Signs along the footpath with information boards (Crete ROP) Samaria: protection and restoration of the landscape in the old villages (EPPER) Improvement and modernisation of the indoor exhibition of the Lefka Ori National Park Information Centre (EPPER)Formation of the outdoor area of the Lefka Ori National Park Information Centre (EPPER)Samaria Information Kiosk (EPPER)Ayia Roumeli Information Centre – Restoration of operability (EPPER)

Management Plan for the Lefka Ori National Park (1355/1998 Decision GS Region of Crete)Special Environmental Study of the southwest massif of the Lefka Ori and study for the protection of the Cretan wild goat (Municipality of East Selinos)

Also: Study for the improvement and modernisation of the indoor exhibition of the Lefka Ori National Park Information Centre (EPPER)

PROJECTS UNDER WAY(by the Chania Forestry Service)

STUDIES UNDERWAY(by the Chania Forestry Service unless otherwise indicated)

Improvement of fire protection infrastructure of the central Section of the Lefka Ori National Park (Crete ROP)Infrastructure improvement (footpaths, guard houses, etc.) Samaria National park (EPPER – Programmatic with the Samaria National Park Management Body)

Management plan for the Samaria National Park (Programmatic, with the Samaria National Park Management Body - EPPER)Update of the Lefka Ori Special Environmental Study ((RC Environment and Public Planning department / EPPER) Study for the establishment of permanent sample surfaces in the Lefka Ori to document changes in biodiversity (flora and fauna (PAC Programmatic, with the Samaria National Park Management Body) (EPPER)Study to observe the population and ecological needs of the Cretan wild goat in the Lefka Ori, with ensuing management proposals (PAC Programmatic, with the Samaria National Park Management Body) (EPPER)Daily fire risk assessment study for the Lefka Ori (PAC Programmatic, with the Samaria National Park Management Body) (EPPER)Also announced and underway: Museological design and arrangement of exhibitions material in the Lefka Ori National Park (EPPER)

Abbreviations YPAAT = Ministry of Rural Development and Food (former Ministry of Agriculture)MINENV = Ministry for the Environment, Physical Planning and Public WorksRC = Region of Crete

PAC = Prefectural Administration of ChaniaCFS = Chania Forestry ServiceMB = Management BodyEPPER = EPPERAA = “Environment” and “Sustainable Development” Operational ProgrammeROP = Regional Operational ProgrammeGS = General Secretary


CH

AP

TE

R 2

| M

AN

AG

EM

EN

T O

F S

AM

AR

IA

NA

TI

ON

AL

PA

RK

UN

TI

L T

OD

AY

PA

RT

ΙΙ

Ι |

PR

OT

EC

TI

ON

AN

D M

AN

AG

EM

EN

T O

F S

AM

AR

IA

NA

TI

ON

AL

PA

RK

206

C H A P T E R 3 :

T H E S A M A R I A N AT I O N A L P A R K M A N A G E M E N T B O D Y

The needs of a body focused exclusively on each National Park, also giving them a development character, led the Ministry of the Environment to establish Management Bodies for specific National Parks, including that of Samaria. These bodies are legal persons of private law with a charity status and were established for the purpose of adminis-trating and managing certain areas. The Management Body (MB) of Samaria National Park was set up according to Law 2742/1999 (A 207), article 15 “Physical planning and sustainable development and other orders”, as added to by article 13 of Law 3044/2002 “Transfer of building coefficients and amendments to other Ministry of the Environment issues” (A 197).

1. Responsibilities

The legally-prescribed responsibilities of the Management Body are:

■ Drawing up and implementing management regulations and operation of their areas of responsibility.■ Care for the collection, classification and processing of environmental features and data for their areas of

areas of responsibility, as well as compiling the related evidence and data bases. ■ Provision of expert opinion prior to the pre-ratification of finding sites and ratification of environmental

terms and actions in their areas of responsibility.■ Assisting competent administrative and judicial authorities in controlling the implementation of environ-

mental law.■ Studies and research as well as the implementation of technical and other works included in the manage-

ment plan and which are essential for the protection, restoration and showcasing of the protected regions of their areas of responsibility.

■ Drawing up and implementing projects for national and European programmes and projects.■ Information, education and training of the public in environmental issues (creation of an Information

Centre, training programmes, convention, conferences, educational seminars, publications, etc.).■ The promotion, support, organisation and implementation of ecotourism programmes. The issuing of a

quality and collaboration sign to businesses within the protected regions. ■ The management of public land given to the Management Body or rented by it.

The Samaria National Park Management Body is based in Chania and is governed by an 11-member Board of Direc-tors, made up of:

The President of the Board, appointed by the Environment Minister, with representatives of: Ministry of Rural Devel-opment and Food, Ministry of Development, Region of Crete, Prefectural Administration of Crete, Municipality of Sfakia, Municipality of Mousoures, Municipality of Selinos, Non-Governmental Organisations, and, two scientists.


207

The composition of today’s Board of Directors was determined by decision no. 18070/2006 of the Ministry of the En-vironment. The Management Body has expanded responsibilities in relation to a broader area whose precise borders shall be determined after introduction of the proposals to be made by the Special Environmental Study currently underway.

Fig. 15: Moments of rest at Samaria, with the expert assessor Joe Sultana during the assessment for the renewal of the Diploma of the Council of Europe (photo: V. Kotrotsos)

2. The situation today

The Management Body (MB) of the Samaria National Park has so far voted all the Regulations (operation, staff, projects) which make up the framework in which it shall operate. The Regulations relating to the staff foresee 12 positions for scientists and eight employees. The MB is funded by decision no. 108550/2-10-2007 of the General Secretariat of the Ministry of the Environment and EPPER, to the tune of €1,729,980, which relates to the project “Management and Operation of the Samaria National Park”, and is divided into 17 specific sub-projects. The Manage-ment Body has hired five scientists and ten employees to work in the National Park. The employees have been taken on with eight-month contracts, which can be renewed until the end of the project (end of 2009). It is not know how it will operate after the end of the project, as its permanent funding has not yet been finalised.

There have also been problems in implementing the projects and the studies for which it has been funded. The Man-agement Body does not have the so-called “decision-making organs”, essentially the administrative mechanisms, nor the experience in ratifying and implementing projects and studies. The problem was resolved for the project funded by EPPER and currently being implemented by the signing of a Programme Contract between the Region of Crete, the Prefectural Administration of Chania and the Samaria National Park Management Body. All the sub-projects relating to projects and studies were thus undertaken by services of the Region (Chania Forestry Service) and the Prefectural Administration of Chania (Programming Department, Department of Culture, Sport and Youth).

PA

RT

ΙΙ

Ι |

PR

OT

EC

TI

ON

AN

D M

AN

AG

EM

EN

T O

F S

AM

AR

IA

NA

TI

ON

AL

PA

RK

208

3. Prospects

The legal framework by which the Management Body was formed foresees a dynamic role for it in the life and events of the Samaria region. It foresees income from ticket sales, book sales, etc. as well as a participation in national and international programmes for the protection and showcasing of the region. Collaboration with the administrative bod-ies (Forestry Service, local Municipalities, etc.) who are responsible for the legislation through their areas of competence must be conducted within a clear legal framework that will not permit interpretations and misinterpretations. There should also be a two-way communication with science bodies (universities, research institutes, etc.).

The Management Body of the Samaria National Park was formed so as to bridge the gap between the protection, management and development of the region. In order to be able to function in this way, it must have experience of the object it is protecting, i.e. to employ scientists who know what they are protecting and the ways in which they will protect it. Also, experienced staff who will be able to implement this work successfully. The funding provided for implementing the goals of the Management Body should be made available on a permanent basis, so as to resolve the annual problem of hiring seasonal staff which the Chania Forestry Service has faced each year since 1966 when the Samaria National Park was opened. Permanent funding of the Management Body as well as staffing it with experienced personnel (scientific as well as employees) are necessary prerequisites for its proper functioning.

The Management Body has come to as-sist in the work that the Chania Forestry Service has so far being doing. To estab-lish a better relationship with the local inhabitants by educating them, bring-ing them into contact with the inhab-itants of similar regions in Greece and abroad. To instil in visitors the desire to contribute personally to protecting the environment, through their personal experiences with the Gorge. The dream for the Management Body to function in a way so as to take responsibility for the sustainable development of Samaria and the Lefka Ori in general, to make the area a model for management and development, still exists. Samaria is a jewel that demands and is worthy of protection and showcasing.

Fig. 16: The guards know… (Michalis Athitakis, old Samaria guard) (Samaria Employees archive)

209

A P P E N D I X

210

Fig. 17: Guidelines for visitors, 1980s (Chania Forestry Service archive)

211

R U L E S A N D R E G U L AT I O N S O F S A M A R I A

N AT I O N A L P A R K

Dates and opening hours

The National Park opens on 1st May until 15th October each year, from 6 am until 4 pm, with entrances at Xyloskalo and Ayia Roumeli.

Guidelines for visitors

Visitors can walk along the length of the main footpath. All those who wish to walk beyond the main footpath require a special licence.

THE FOLLOWING ARE PROHIBITED

1. Destroying or removing Park technical works and materials.2. Cutting trees and bushes, uprooting and collecting plants and seeds.3. Collecting and transporting plant soil and firewood.4. Lighting fires in general and smoking in all areas apart from the recreational areas.5. Camping in any form and staying the night within the Park.6. The free movement of any animals accompanying visitors.7. Displaying and erecting boards and signs.8. Selling food and other items as well as their display or distribution.9. Consumption of alcohol.

10. Hunting of all animals. 11. Removal or destruction of all nests, eggs and newborns and the general disturbance or destruction of wildlife.12. Swimming in the Park’s rivers and streams.13. Annoying other visitors.14. Dumping waste in areas other than the waste bins.15. Damage to the geological formations and cultural monuments.16. Photographing visitors for commercial purposes.17. Grazing of animals.18. Setting up beehives without a licence from the Forestry Service.

213

BOOKS AND ARTICLES

Alibertis, A. (n.d.) Θεραπευτικά, αρωματικά και εδώδιμα φυτά της Κρήτης (Me-dicinal, aromatic and edible plants of Crete), Heraklion: Mystis.

Allaby, Μ. (1994) Oxford Dictionary of Ecology, Oxford University Press.

Antourakis, V. (July 1968) “Η Σαμαριά” (“Samaria”), Kritiki Estia, Meniaion Peri-odikon en Chaniois, issue 184, pp. 299-302.

Antrop, M. (2000) “Background concepts for integrated landscape analysis”, in Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 77, pp. 17-28.

Apostolakis, S. (1993) Ριζίτικα. Τα δημοτικά τραγούδια της Κρήτης (Rizitika. The demotic songs of Crete), Gnosis: Athens.

Vasileiades, D. (1976) Το Κρητικό Σπίτι (The Cretan house) Athens: Estia, 2nd edi-tion.

Barozzi, F. Descriptione dell’isola di Creta (Description of the Island of Crete) (1577/8). Introduction, editing, commentary and translation into Greek by Stephanos Kaklamanis, Vikelaia Municipal Library: Heraklion, 2004.

Baud-Bovy, S., A. Ayoutanti and D. Mazaraki, (1972) Chansons Populaires de Crète Occidentale, Genève, ed. Minkoff.

Baud-Bovy, S., A. Ayoutanti and D. Marzaraki. Μουσική Καταγραφή στην Κρήτη, 1953-1954 (Musical Documentation in Crete), vol. I, Athens 2006, Cen-tre for Asia Minor Studies, Melpo Merlier Musical Folklore Archives.

Bérard, V. (1898) Les Affaires de Crete.

Buondelmonti, C. Ένας γύρος της Κρήτης στα 1415. Περιγραφή της Νήσου Κρήτης (A tour of Crete in 1415. Description of the island of Crete). Prologue by Styliana Alexiou, translation and introduction by Martha Aposkiti, Heraklion Cultural Society: Heraklion 1983, Map, Mikros Naftilos, 1996.

Burgel, G. (1965) POBIA, Étude Géographique d’un Village Crétois, Centre des Sciences Sociales d’Athènes.

Grammaticus, S. (1849) Ethnika (epitone), A. Meineke: Berlin-Reimer.

Gregorakis, M. (2003) “Τα Χανιά όπως τα είδαν οι ξένοι” (“Chania as foreign-ers saw it”), in Chaniotika Nea.

Detorakis, T. (1986) Ιστορία της Κρήτης (History of Crete), Athens.

Defner, M. (n.d.) Οδοιπορικαί εντυπώσεις από την Δυτικήν Κρήτην μετά πολλών εικόνων (Travel memories from Western Crete), Syllogos pros Diadosin Ofeli-mon Vivlion: Athens.

Embiricos, A. (1980) Οκτάνα (Oktana), Ikaros: Athens.

EOS (publisher) (1983) 1930–1980. 50 χρόνια ζωής και δράσεως του ελληνικού ορειβατικού συλλόγου Χανίων (50 years of life and action of the Greek Moun-taineering Club of Chania).

EOS (publisher), July 1985, “Η πρώτη οργανωμένη διάβαση του φαραγγιού της Σαμαριάς” (“The first organised crossing of the Samaria Gorge)” in Ma-dares, newsletter of the Chania Mountaineering Club.

Government Gazette, Issue One, 1962.

Εφημερίς των Συζητήσεων της Βουλής, Περίοδος Ε΄ - Σύνοδος Β΄, Συνεδρίασις 64η της 15ης Μαρτίου 1960 (Papers of the Parliamentary Debates, Period V, As-sembly II, 64th Meeting, 15th March 1960) Athens 1961.

Iliakis, L. (2002) Ο εμφύλιος πόλεμος στην Κρήτη (The civil war in Crete), Cha-nia.

Kargiolaki, H. (2001) “Φαράγγι Σαμαριάς : Αρχές και προβλήματα διαχείρισης, Νότιο Αιγαίο – Κρήτη – Κύπρος, Συνεργασία για το περιβάλλον και την ανάπτυξη”, (“Samaria Gorge: Principles and management problems in the South Aegean, Crete and Cyprus”), Museum of Natural History and the Re-gion of Crete, pp. 75-82.

Kassimatis, P. (1953) Ιστορική επισκόπησις της εν Κρήτη εκπαιδεύσεως (Histori-cal review of education in Crete), Athens.

Kelaides, P.S. (1982) Αρχαίες Πόλεις στα Σφακιά (Ancient cities in Sfakia) Karavi and Toxos: Athens.

Kokkinanos, Y. (26/01/2008) “Ο μονιάς (δεύτερη ανάγνωση)” (The monias (second reading)), in Chaniotika Nea.

Kokovlis, A. and N. (2002) Άλλος Δρόμος Δεν Υπήρχε (There was no other road), Polytopo: Athens.

Council of Europe(2000) “The European Landscape Convention”, in the For-mal and Explanatory Report, Strasbourg.

Kroh, P. (1972) Lexicon der antiken autoren, Stuttgart.

Lassithiotakis, K. (1958) Σφακιανά Σπίτια (Sfakian houses), Kalokairinos: Her-aklion.

Loupasis, Y.I. (2000) “Ετυμολογία τοπωνυμίων από το νομό Χανίων” (“Ety-mology of toponyms from Chania Prefecture”), in Τα Κρητικά Τοπωνύμια. Πρακτικά διήμερου επιστημονικού συνεδρίου (The Cretan Toponyms. Pro-ceedings of a two-day conference), vol. II, Historical and Folklore Society of Rethymni: Rethymno, pp. 389-401.

Loupasis, Y.I. (2000-2001) “Μικροτοπωνύμια και μακροτοπωνύμια: το παράδειγμα του Νομού Χανίων” (“Microtoponyms and macrotoponyms: the example of Chania Prefecture,” in Kritiki Estia 8, 2000-2001), στο in Kritiki Estia 8, pp. 207-21.

Makridakis, A. (1959), Τουριστικός Οδηγός της Πόλεως Χανίων και της Υπαίθρου του Ν. Χανίων (Tourist guide of the town of Chania and the countryside of the Prefecture of Chania).

Makridakis, A. (1961) Σαμαριά, το βασίλειο του αγριμιού της Κρήτης (Samaria.

Sources

214

The kingdom of the Cretan agrimi), Chania Hunters Association: Athens.

Maltezou, C.A. (1988) “Η Κρήτη στη διάρκεια της περιόδου της Βενετοκρατίας (1211-1669) (Crete during the period of Venetian rule), in Κρήτη Ιστορία και Πολιτισμός, (Crete. History and civilisation), vol. II, Union of Local Authorities of Crete: Heraklion 1988.

Μanousakis, G. (1980) Το οδοιπορικό των Σφακιών (Travelogue through Sfakia), first edition Kedros: Athens 1980, second edition Mitos: Rethymno 2002.

Manoutsoglou, E., E. Spyridonos, D. Mariolakos, K. Tzanakaki, H. Kargiolaki, T. Markopoulos and I. Mariolakos, (November 1999) “Οι πηγές της αρχαίας πολιτείας Τάρρας, που βρίσκεται στον Εθνικό Δρυμό Λευκών Ορέων (Φαράγγι Σαμαριάς), Κρήτη”, (The springs of the ancient city of Tarra, located in the Lefka Ori (Samaria Gorge) National Park, Crete), in Το Αθάνατο Νερό (The undying water), pp. 18-21.

Maria, E. A. & A. Barnias (July 3-7, 2006) “A Comparative Approach of the Meaning of Landscape and its Legal Aspects in the European Landscape Convention”, Proceedings of the International Conference ‘Protection and Res-toration of the Environment VIII’, Chania – Crete – Greece.

“Μελέτες πολεοδομικής και τουριστικής αναπτύξεως Κρήτης”, (“Studies on the town planning and tourism development of Crete”), Introduction by S. Vagianos, architect, Architektonika Themata, Issue 2, Orestis Doumanis: Ath-ens 1968.

Babiniotis, G. (2002) Λεξικό της Νέας Ελληνικής Γλώσσας (Lexicon of Modern Greek), Athens 2002, Kentro Lexikologias, 2nd edition

Barba Pantzelios: the Ballad of Daskaloyiannis, Heraklion 1947.

Niniou-Kindeli V. and K. Tzanakaki. (2004) “Κεραμική με τοπικές ιδιαιτερότητες από την περιοχή της Ομοσπονδίας των Ορείων”, (“Pottery with local features from the region of the Mountain Commonwealth”), in the VI Academic Meet-ing on the Hellenistic Period (Volos, 17-23 April 2000), Athens pp. 341-56.

Drenoyiannis, Y. (09-06-2000) “Ένας είναι ο Φάραγγας!” (“There is one Gorge!”), at Ta Nea On Line (www.tanea.gr), p. N81. (article ref. no.: A16762N811 ID:216865).

Xanthinakis, A. (2001) Λεξικό του δυτικοκρητικού γλωσσικού ιδιώματος (Lexi-con of the west Cretan idiom), Heraklion: Cretan University Press.

Papadopetrakis, F. (1877) Ιστορία των Σφακίων, ήτοι μέρος της Κρητικής Ιστορίας (History of Sfakia, or a part of Cretan History), Vardinoyiannis Bros reprint, Athens 1971.

Papahadjis, N. (1974) Παυσανίου Ελλάδος Περιήγησις (Pausanias’ Tour of Greece), Ekdotiki Athinon.

“Οι Περιηγητικές εντυπώσεις του Γερμανού πρίγκιπα Bernardo από την Κρήτη του 1873,” (“The Travel impressions of the German prince Bernhard of the Crete of 1873”) in Rare travel texts on Crete in the 19th century No. 11 – Kritikos Aster 1907, Rethymno 2006.

Pashley, R. (1837) Travels in Crete, vol. II, London 1970.

Pashley, R. (1837) Ταξίδια στην Κρήτη (Travels in Crete), translation and com-mentary, Daphne G. Gondica, vol. I, Municipality of Heraklion 1991, Vikelaia Public Library, vol. II, TEDK Crete.

Patroudakis, G. (May-June 2006) “Χώρα Σαμαριάς” (“Hora Samaria”), in Kri-tiko Panorama, issue 15.

Petrides, L.G. (1963) Η Κρήτη: τοπίον, άνθρωποι, γεγονότα, θρύλοι (Crete: land-scape, people, events, legends), Athens.

Platakis, E. (1987) “Κακόηχα και φοβητά ονόματα σπηλαίων της Κρήτης” (“Ter-rible sounding and scary names of Cretan caves”) in Eilapine, vol. I, volume in honour of N. Platanos, Vikelaia Municipal Library: Heraklion.

Plymakis, A. (21-12-2000) “Στη Σαμαριά πριν 94 χρόνια” (“In Samaria 94 years ago), in Chaniotika Nea, p. 35.

Plymakis, A. (2001) Το αγρίμι της Κρήτης: Capra Aegagrus Cretica (The agrimi of Crete), Chania.

Plymakis, A. (2006) “Η Χρυσομαλλούσα στη μυστηριώδη χώρα της Σαμαριάς” (“Goldilocks in the mysterious land of Samaria”), in Kritiko Panorama, issue 15.

Polides, S. (1947) “Το φαράγγι της Σαμαριάς”, (“The Gorge of Samaria”) in Elliniko Ypaithro. Meniaio physiolatriko – oreivatiko periodiko, Athens 1947, EOF.

Postlethwaite, E. (1868) A Tour in Crete, John Camden Hotten: London.

Pratikakis, M. (1990) Η μαγεία της μη διεκδίκησης (The magic of non-venge-ance), Kastaniotis: Athens.

Prevelakis, P. (1945) Παντέρμη Κρήτη (Deserted Crete), Athens, 4th edition, in Aimilia Kladou-Bletsa, “Κουλέδες της Κρήτης” (“Towers of Crete”, in Diastasi, Newsletter of the Technical Chamber of Greece, West Crete Division, issue 13, 1995.

Prince Peter (1997) Ημερολόγια Πολέμου, 1940–1941 (War Diaries), vol. I, Id-ryma Goulandri-Horn: Athens (sections first published in Acropolis newspa-per in 1978).

Prombonas, I. “Το ομηρικό άπαξ χαλκέω εν κεράμω και το σημερινό κρητικό τοπωνύμιο κέραμος” (“The Homeric apax halkeo en keramo and today’s Cretan toponym of keramos”), in Τα Κρητικά Τοπωνύμια. Πρακτικά διήμερου επιστημονικού συνεδρίου (Cretan toponyms. Proceedings of a two-day confer-ence), vol. II, pp. 207-12.

Rackham O. and J. Moody (1997) The making of the Cretan landscape, Man-chester.

Raulin, V. (1869) Description physique de l’île de Crète, Paris, Arthus Bertrand.

Regos, A. (1995) Τα κρίσιμα χρόνια. 1935-1941 (The crucial years), vol. II, Pa-pazisis: Athens.

Semanderaki, Z. (2007) “Τοπωνύμια σε ιδιωτικά δικαιοπακτικά έγγραφα 18ου και 19ου αιώνα” (“Toponyms in private contracts of the 18th and 19th centu-ries”), in En Chaniois 2007, Municipality of Chania Annual Publication-DIPEH, pp. 51-68.

Sieber, F. W. (1823) Travels in the Island of Crete in the Year 1897, London, εκδ. Sir Richard Phillips & Co.

Spanakis, S. (n.d.) Κρήτη (Crete), vol. II, Vangelis Sfakianakis: Heraklion.

Spanakis, S. (1969) Μνημεία της Κρητικής Ιστορίας (Monuments of Cretan His-tory), vol. V, Heraklion.

Spanakis, S. (1993) Πόλεις και χωριά της Κρήτης στο πέρασμα των αιώνων (Towns and villages of Crete over the centuries), vol. II, Heraklion: Graphikes Technes G. Detorakis.

Spratt, T.A.B. Travels and Researches in Crete. Trans. Maria Psilaki, Commen-tary: Nikos Psilakis, Στην Κρήτη του σήμερα ακολουθώντας τα βήματα του Tho-mas Spratt (In the Crete of today following in Thomas Spratt’s footsteps), vol. II, Karamanor: Herakion 2007.

Stamatelatos, Μ. and F. Vamas. (2001) Επίτομο Γεωγραφικό Λεξικό της Ελλάδος (Concise Geographical Lexicon of Greece), Hermes: Athens.

Stavrakis, N. (1890) Στατιστική του πληθυσμού της Κρήτης (Statistics of the population of Crete), Paligenesia: Athens.

Stefanakis, M. (2000) “Πολυρρήνια, Όρειοι και Κάνδανος. Μια νομισματική σχέση του δεύτερου μισού του 3ου αιώνα π.Χ.” (“Polyrrhenia, Oreioi and Kan-danos. A numismatic relationship of the second half of the 3rd century AD”), in Proceedings of the VII International Cretology Conference (Heraklion 1996),

215

Heraklion 2000, A 3, pp. 249-61.

Strid, Α. (1993) “Phytogeographical Aspects of the Greek Mountain Flora”, in Frag Floristica Geobot Suppl. 2, pp. 411-33.

Stürzl, E. and Feichtenberger, Α. (1948) Kreta, die Insel im Herzen der alten Welt. Textliche Darstellung von Erwin Stürzl, Vier Farbtafeln und 96 einfarbige Bilder nach Photos von Alois Feichtenberger, L.W. Seidel & Sohn: Vienna.

Tatakis, V. (1937) “Το νόημα της φυσιολατρίας», στο Ύπαιθρο (“The meaning of love for nature”, in Ypaithro), issue 26, Athens, pp. 42-9.

Tzanakaki, K. (2000) “Ομάδες κεραμικής από το νεκροταφείο της αρχαίας Τάρρας” (“Ceramic groups from the cemetery of ancient Tarra”) V Academic meeting on Hellenistic Ceramics (Chania, 6-13 April 1997), Athens, pp. 17-24.

Tzanakaki, K. (27-29/01/2006) “Αγία Ρουμέλη 1970 (Τάρρα): οι αρχαϊκές ταφές”, “Ayia Roumeli 1970 (Tarra): the ancient tombs,” Crete in the Geometric and Archaic periods, International Colloquium (Athens, 27-29 January 2006), German Archaeological Institute (forthcoming).

Tzedakis, G. (1971) Archaiologiko Deltio 26, B2, p. 511.

Tzombonaki, Ch. (October 2007) Η αρχιτεκτονική στην Κρήτη. Περίοδος των νεοτέρων χρόνων. Ταξίδια των Ανέμων, Ταξίδια των Υδάτων, Ανεμόμυλοι και Νερόμυλοι της Κρήτης, Αντλητικοί Ανεμόμυλοι του Οροπεδίου Λασιθίου (Archi-tecture in Crete. Modern Period. Journeys of the winds, journeys of the waters, windmills and watermills of Crete, pumping windmills in the Lasithi mountain range) vol. A2, Chrysoulla Tzombonaki: Heraklion.

Trevor–Battye, A. (1913) Camping in Crete, with Notes upon the Animal and Plant Life of the Island, London.

Trivan, A. Vari cose di Candia 1182-1669. Unpublished translation into Greek by Georgios P. Portalis of Chania, 1930.

Tsanteropoulos, A. (2004) Η βεντέτα στη σύγχρονη ορεινή κεντρική Κρήτη (The vendetta in contemporary mountain Crete), Plethron: Athens.

Turland, N. J., L. Chilton, and J.R. Press (1993) Flora of the Cretan Area: Anno-tated checklist and Atlas, London: HMSO.

Tomadakis, N.V. (1992) “Γλωσσική στρωματογραφία της Κρήτης εις την τοπωνυμικήν και ονοματολογικήν της παράδοσιν” (“Linguistic stromatogra-phy in Crete in the toponymic and naming tradition”), Modern Greek Essays and Studies, vol. III, Athens, p. 405.

Fasoulas, H.Y. (2004) “Η γεωλογία των Λευκών Ορέων” (The Geology of the Lefka Ori), in Fourogatos 54.

Haralambakis, C. (2000) Τα Κρητικά Τοπωνύμια. Πρακτικά Διήμερου Επιστημονικού Συνεδρίου (The Cretan Toponyms. Proceedings of a two-day conference), vol. II, Historical and Folklore Society of Rethymni: Rethymno.

Haroniti, V. and A. Droudaki, Ιστορικοί τόποι της Κρήτης (Historic places of Crete), Smyrniotaki: Athens.

Hadjiangelis, V. (1986) Το Αντιδικτατορικό Κίνημα της Κρήτης (The anti-dicta-torship movement of Crete) Chania.

Psarakis, K. (28/08/2000) “Σαμαριά: τόπος μυστηρίου και λατρείας” (“Samaria: place of mystery and worship”), in Chaniotika Nea.

Psilakis, V. (n.d.) Ιστορία της Κρήτης (History of Crete), vol. III, Minotaur: Athens.

Psilakis, V. (n.d.) Ιστορία της Κρήτης (History of Crete), vol. IV, Minotaur: Athens.

Psilakis, N. (1996) Κρητική Μυθολογία (Cretan mythology), Karamanor: Heraklion.

Weinberg, G. D. (1959) “Excavations at Tarrha”, Hesperia 29, 1960, pp. 90-108.

STUDIES

Update of the Special Environmental Study of the Lefka Ori, Phase I, Contrac-tor: OIKOM-Meletitiki Perivalontos Ltd, Region of Crete, Department of the Environment and Public Planning, Athens 2008.

Crete, a Study of Tourism Development, vol. IV, Frank E. Basil, Inc. - Engineering Consultants, Kingdom of Greece, Ministry of Coordination: Athens 1964.

Crete: A Case Study of an Underdeveloped Area by Leland G. Allbaugh, Direc-tor of Research on Crete at the Rockefeller Foundation, with the editorial assistance of George Soule, Princeton 1953. Published in Greek by the Hel-lenic-American Chamber of Commerce, 1957.

Study for the Development of Microzones in the Province of Sfakia, Preliminary plan, November 1994.

Regional Development Programme Study, Sfakia, Chania, final report, May 1994, Sfakia Development Association.

Proposed housing types for the new village of Ayia Roumeli, Technical Report Aimilia Kladou-Bletsa, architectural engineer, Kostas Vardakis, President, Technical Chamber of Greece-West Crete Division, Chania 1970.

Studio Preparatorio per la valorizzazione del grupo montano di Lefka Ori, nell’ isola di Creta, Italia 1967, Studio Technico Agrario Reggio Calabria.

Water supply of Ayia Roumeli: Study of environmental consequences, Pre-fecture of Chania Technical Service, Community of Ayia Roumeli, Chania, May 1995, Researchers: Aimilia Kladou-Bletsa, architect; Christina Kotsifaki, chemical engineer; Katia Pavlaki, geologist.

“Flora, fauna, endemic, endangered, rare and protected species”, by H. Four-naraki, P. Gotsiou and P. Galani, in the Update of the Special Environmental Study of the Lefka Ori (OIKOM), Meletitiki Perivalontos Ltd, Region of Crete, Department of the Environment, Physical Planning and Public Works, Ath-ens 2008.

Hora Sfakion-Samaria, study by N. Hadjimichalis and Pan. Matalas, Ministry of Coordination, Development of the Region of Crete Service.

SERVICE ARCHIVES History Book of the Ayia Roumeli Primary School, 1961.

Yearbook of the Chania Forestry Service for the administrative year 1961, Chapter 8 (Thera), (A. Bletas, Chania Forest Ranger).

Yearbook of the Chania Forestry Service for the administrative year 1962, Chapter 8 (Thera), (Vasilis Plevrakis, Chania Forest Ranger).



216

THE BOOKTHE GORGE OF SAMARIA

SHELTER FOR LIFE – DEN OF FREEDOM

COLLECTED VOLUME EDITED BY EMMY PAPAVA-SILEIOU, PRINTED AND BOUND IN DECEMBER 2008 AT THE FACILITIES OF THE PUBLISHERS M. TOUBIS SA. 2000 COPIES WERE PRINTED IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, ON GARDAPAT PAPER CERTIFIED BY THE FSC FOR THE SAMARIA NA-TIONAL PARK MANAGEMENT BODY AND THE PREFECTURAL ADMINISTRATION OF CHANIA. PUBLICATION EDITOR, DIMITRIS ANANIADES.

EΘΝΙΚΟΣ ΔΡΥΜΟΣ ΣΑΜΑΡΙΑΣ αγγλικα 1Α · Technical Chamber of Greece-West...

Documents

Transcript of EΘΝΙΚΟΣ ΔΡΥΜΟΣ ΣΑΜΑΡΙΑΣ αγγλικα 1Α · Technical Chamber of Greece-West...