Who is that boy with St. George? 18 km north of Paleochora, just outside Kandanos, lies the village of Plemeniana and tucked away on the left hand side of the road as one travels towards Kandanos is the church of Agios Giorgos –St George – the frescoes in which have been dated to around the …
One of the crucial events of the Cretan insurrection of 1866-68 was fought out just off the coast of Paleochora. The insurrection was sustained with arms and men from Greece and elsewhere delivered to the island by means of a number blockade runners; boats specially designed to be fast enough to elude the blockading Ottoman …
As you a queuing up to grab your bags or queuing up to check bags in at Chania Airport coming to or from Paleochora, you may notice that the airport’s proper name is Daskalogiannis Airport. You may also have been on the ferry from Agia Roumeli to Sfakia and noticed that the boat was also …
The Cretan insurrection of 1866 is primarily remembered today for the self sacrifice of the Christian Cretans rebels at the Monastery of Arkadi who, in March of that year, rather than surrender to the Ottoman troops storming the building, killed themselves and their dependents by exploding the gunpowder magazine; the fighting and the resulting explosion …
Here is what became known as “The Battle of Paleochora”. Speaking in the House of Commons on 10th March 1897, George Curzon, Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, reported that a telegram had been received from Sir Alfred Biliotti, the British Consul in Canea which read: “Successfully rescued to-day, but not without the greatest …
Just came across this great video about the fall of Crete. Enjoy!
A short(ish) journey by car or boat to the north west of Paleochora is the island of Elaphonissi, famed these days for the quality of its beaches and its wildlife sanctuary. However, exactly 105 years ago from the date and time that this post is being published, Elaphonissi was the scene of a major maritime …
A year or more ago, one of my kids came running in from the back garden full of excitement. “I’ve found a bullet, I’ve found a bullet!” he was shouting. Now, round here, that’s not as unusual as it sounds. There are plenty of 9mm casings and even the occasional spent round lying about the …
Paleochora (Selino Kastelli) Until the late nineteenth century the history of Paleochora was, to all intents and purposes, the history of the fortress that dominates the village and the skyline. Although the area surrounding the village contains many remains of early settlements, Greek and Greco-Roman towns and cities, and although there is some evidence of …
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