The village of Vrelli (or Agios Antonios) is located approximately 60 Km from Iraklion ,and is , together with the village of Gallia, administratively part of the municipality of Mires.
It is located north of Mires close to a small gorge, with springs and covered with trees (olive trees, fig trees, platans, etc). The gorge provides shelter to various wild animals (rabbits, weasels) and birds (blackbirds, sparrows).
The abandance of water helped the village in older times , become an important meeting point for the surrounding area, as evidenced by the ruins of the water mill in it.
The known history of the village start with the Turkish occupation. According to travellers of the times the village was first called Vrelli , from the name of the turkish settlement that existed there. Later on it was moved a bit further up the hill,centred to thurch of Agios Antonios whose name it took.
According to the traveller Barozzi in 1579 the village was called Paliohorio. The village is mentioned in the Turkish cencus in 1671 as settled by 18 families.
There are many churches in the villages the most important one being the church of Agios Nikolaos, a domed church dated to the 13th century.The walls of the temple are hand painted with biblical scenes and pictures of saints
|
|
