LEFKI
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• Introduction • Map of the area • Villages • Pictures • Theme(picture) • Map of Crete |
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• Introduction • Map of the area • Villages • Pictures • Theme(picture) • Map of Crete |
The Municipality of Lefki is located on the South East end of the island of Crete. It is bounded to the west by the Municipality of Makris Gialos, to the North West by Sitia, to the North east by Itanos and by the Libyan Sea to East and to the South.
PAPAGIANNADES
The village of Papagianades is situated in the Municipality of Lefki at an altitude of 480 m above sea level. The village is approx. 90 km from Agios Nikolaos and 19 from the town of Sitia.
ARMENI
The picturesque hilly village of Armeni is situated at the plateau of Ziros, 27 km from Sitia through Handra and 23 km through the villages of Papagianades and Ethia.
Etia is a small settlement situated in the Municipality of Lefki. It's 2 klm away from the village of Papagianades driving to the village of Armeni.
The Agia Triada (Holy Trinity) Community is 35 km from the town of Sitia at the end of the plateau of Ziros, with a population of 156.
The Community of Apidia is in the Municipality of Lefki, driving past the village of Handras, 32 km from the town of Sitia.
ZIROS
The hilly village of Ziros spreads over the lower slopes that the locals call Egremno (the Cliff) at an alti-tude of 590 m. at the pictureque Armeni-Handras plateau.
XEROKAMPOS
Xerokampos is a beautiful coastal settlement in a place of natural beauty.
KOUFONISSI (LEFKI)
Koufonisi is a small island in the Libyan Sea just off the South East coast of Crete and the Cape of Goudouras.
The village of Handras is in the Municipality of Lefki at the Armeni-Handras plateau and 27 km from the town of Sitia.
The village of Voila is 1km away from the village of Handras. It is a medieval deserted village protected by the Archaeological Offices of Eastern Crete.
PAPAGIANNADES
ARMENI
ETIA
APIDIA
ZIROS
XEROKAMPOS
KOUFONISSI (LEFKI)
VOILA
It stretches within an area of 15.200 ha and has a population of 2.435.
The municipality's jurisdiction extends
over the (former) communities of Agia Triada, Apidia, Armeni, Ziros, Papagianades and Handra.
The seat of the Municiplity is in the town of Ziros with a population of 779.
Telephone :
0843 91201
Photograph:
It was first recorded in an egyptian census in 1834 with 8 Christian families. It was also recorded by Chourmouzi Byzantios in 1842. In the 1881 census the village is recorded with a population of 77 pertaining to the Community of Handras. Since 1940 the village of Papagianades became the seat of the Community with a population of 157.
The Ai Lias hill just before entering the village is of local interest as well as the Monastirakia, a ruined Minoan settlement.
There is also the church of Panagia Eleousa with frescoes dated back to the 14th century. The sightseer can sit and relax at the marvelous Panteli, a place in a gorge with lot of trees, joining the villages of Papagianades and Maronia. The chapel of Virgin Mary is worth visiting as well.
Photograph:
It was first recorded in a venetian census in 1583 with a population of 428.
Today the village of Armeni is administered by the Municipality of Lefki with a population of approx. 400. The sightseer is impressed by the numerous windmills in the area.
The church of Agia Sofia which used to be one of the most important churches of the Eastern Crete is also in Armeni. Amongst its icons, the Holy Mother presents interesting art features.
The Cave of Holy Spirit is also in the area of the village of Armeni. In the wider area you can also visit the Etia settlement.
In a Venetian census was recorded with a population of 564. The village of Etia was at peak of its power around the Venetian occupation and from the presence of the St. John and St. Aikaterini churches one assumes that the village also existed through the Byzantine period as well.
The village used to be private property of the De Mezzo family, a venetian family, where they built their three-storeyed house, the Seragio Serai House, which used to host Turkish officers as well during the Turkish occupation and can be seen nowadays. This House is considered to be one of the most important samples of the Venetian architecture in Crete.
The church of St. Aikaterini used to be occupied by the Turks as a mosque until the Cretan revolution in 1897.
At the south of village of Etia there is the hill of Etiani Kefala at an altitude of 715 m. where it used to be a sacred place but unfortunately nowadays looted.
Long ago, the village was called Tso and today it is named after the Cathedral.
Despite of the 8 km distance from the sea, its residents are very good fishermen.
The Agia Triada Community includes the smaller communities of Dasonari, Livari, Achladi, Stalos and Amigdali.
The archaeological search gave many indications of ancient features especially in Stalos where a Minoan settlement and some vaulted tombs were brought to light.
In the area of Livari there is a Minoan cave the Alogara.
The Community mainly includes two settlements, the Mesa Apidia settlement and the Ekso Apidia settlement. The Community of Apidia includes the settlements of Kalos Lakos, Drogari, Goudouras, Tsipa and Monastra most of them abandoned.
The community of Goudouras, which is near the Cape of Erythraio at the Libyan Sea, has a remarkable development. The village is developing to a sea resort, there are sandy beaches, taverns and lodgings and a small beautiful port for fishing.
Photograph:
The village is the seat of the Municipality of Lefki.
The village was first recorded as Siros in 1577 in the Venetian Barozzi's catalogue of the villages of Sitia. In a census carried out by the P. Castrofilaka it was listed under the same name in 1583, with a population of 448. In 1928 with the first census after the union of Crete with Greece, the population was 742. Today the population of the village is approx. 742 but diminishing.
The Ziros community includes the villages of Kalo Horio, Hametoulo, the coastal settlement of Xerokampos, the deserted Lamnoni and some settlements inhabited seasonally like Agrilia, Lethi, Achladias, Makri Livadi and Anargyros.
The Ziros area has many antiquities from all periods, however no methodical excavations have yet occured. Ancient sited can be found at Plakospilios (roman settlement and tombs), St. John (an Archaic set-tlement), Fonias (a Minoan settlement), Stalos (Minoan tombs and settlement), Katsoulianos (Minoan tombs), Pentalitro (Minoan Acropolis), Katergari Papa Pigadi (Minoan Settlement), Anemomilia (Minoan building), Pirgales (Minoan Villa), Vrisi Hametoulou (Minoan settlement), Limnia or Palaki Mantra Hametoulou (Minoan buildings).
An important peak sanctuary of the Middle Minoan period existed at the Plagia hill but now it is ruined.
The Ziros area is dotted with caves and also other geological features, the most important are: the cave of Agrilia, the cave of Lygias Spilios and the cave of Voevodas.
The Ziros area has also many remarkable churches to show with the most important from all the painted church of St. Paraskevi dated back to 1523. The St. Nikolaos church has graffiti dated back to 14th and 15th century.
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The distance from Ziros is 20 km and from Zakros 11 km. The wonderful beaches, the healthy climate and the important ancient places of interest attract both Greek and foreign visitors. The settlement offers a infrastructure of small hotels, apartments, taverns, super markets and supporting facilities.
Xerokampos is an old settlement. It is first recorded in the 1583 Venetian census. The ancients were certainly aware of the beauty of this place and its important position and the site has been inhabited since the Minoan times.
The settlement would appear to have been at the spot called Katsounaki and on Trahilas hill a peak sanctuary already looted was discovered. There are important ancient sites from Hellenic times on the hills of Antisternia and Farmakokefalo.
At Farmakokefalo where the excavations are under the authority of the archaeologist N. Papadakis an important town, mainly of the Hellenistic era was brought to light. It is possible that the town is Ambelos which various literary sources and correlation place in this area of Crete.
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It is also named LEFKI and gave its name to the municipality. There is a cluster of small islets in the area like Makroulo, Strogylo, Trahila and Marmara. The island is deserted and in many spots it is covered with sand reminding an African landscape.
Until 1976 the shepherds used to feed their sheep there but it was not inhabited.
Later the Archaeological Offices of Eastern Crete under the authority of N. Papadakis began the excavations and the island proved to be full of ancient sites.
A beautiful theater, made with stones, at the North West end of the island opposite the Marmaras islet was discovered. At the South East of the theater where a settlement was found, a villa with 8 rooms and a guest room was brought to light.
The excavations also showed a workshop where the famous purple robes of the Romans was made. They also dig out an astonishing building, the Public Baths, dated back to 1st and 4th A.D. and ruins of an old temple.
Unfortunately the transportation to the islet is not frequent and the visitor should rent a boat from the locals.
First recorded in a venetian census in 1583 as Candra and Chandra with a population of 399 like today.
Ancient Minoan sites were found at the Plakalonia area as well as at the Gras and Katrani places.
There is a peak sanctuary at the hill of Xykefalo between Handras and Kasteliona at an altitude of 705 m. In spite of its looting a lot of ancient objects were found.
The cave of Panagia Gouda is at the Handra region.
This region includes the communities of Voila, Agios Panteleimonas and Pano Panteli. At Pano Panteli there is an old church the Metamorfosis in which there is an inscription that says: Petro Abramo was here in 1486.
Passing through the village's alleys you can still see the ruins of old houses and their rooms, their venetian features and through this sacred silence of the place you have the impression that you hear the Byz-antine king, the medieval knight or the Turk fighter gallop away.
The name of the village probably comes from the Byzantine word VOILAS or VOLIAS meaning the nobleman, the land owner.
In a census carried out by Kastrofilaka in 1583, the village of Voila had a population of 301. Many elements show that the village belonged to the venetian family of Zenos which during the Turkish occupation adopted the Ottoman religion and was renamed.
The tradition says that he was the owner of a Castle in Voila which has an external inscription with the date 1153 equal to 1742 of the Christian diary. At the south of the castle there is a ruined church known as the church of Ginali.
Other attraction at the area is the old painted church of St. George dated back to the 15th century. From the inscription it is obvious that there is a family tomb of Salamons. The Solomons of the island of Zakynthos where our national poet Dionisios Solomos comes from, are believed to having been descended from the Salamons of Sitia.
At the top of the hill overlooking the village there is a fortress dated back to the Venetian occupation of the island of Crete.
