Crete Greece, Psiloritis the white mountains in Anogia Rethymno
Crete, Greece's largest island, is known for its varied terrain, which ranges from fine-sand beaches at Elafonisi to the White Mountains. Mt. Ida, the tallest of the range, is home to the Ideon Cave, which was the birthplace of Zeus, according to Greek mythology. The capital, Heraklion, is home to the renowned Heraklion Archaeological Museum, housing Minoan artifacts, and Knossos, a Bronze Age settlement.
The White Mountains, or Lefka Ori, is the largest massif on the island and its highest summit is Pahnes (2.453 m). The heart of this imposing range includes the Mountain Desert, where more than fifty peaks named Sori (piles), reminding of cones, exceed the altitude of 2.000 m. Dolines, reminding of upturned cones are formed at the foot of Sori peaks. This creepy and haunting landscape is a unique geological formation in the entire northern hemisphere.
Hiking in the White Mountains requires fitness, experience and a good sense of orientation. There are several mountain shelters where mountaineers can spend their night.
The highest mountain areas are covered by snow till late June. There are numerous caves, precipices, sinkholes and canyons. The most famous gorge is Samaria in the White Mountains National Reserve, but there are many more: to the south, the gorges of Aradena, Tripiti, Klados, Agia Irini, Imbros and Kallikratis, and to the north, the gorge of Vrissi, Therisso, Cyclamen, Boriano, Dittany, Kidoni and more.
The White Mountains are home to the deepest caves in Greece. These include the dark sinkholes of Gourgouthakas and Leon. The most well-known plateaus include Omalos, Anopolis, Askyfou, Tavri and Niato.
The White Mountains host a great variety of flora and fauna species, which are exclusively endemic (stenoendemic), not to be found anywhere else –not even in other parts of Crete. The areas on the southern side of the mountain range are covered with cypress, oak and pine trees, whereas humid areas favour the development of chestnuts, planes and other aquatic plants.
Hellas Crete On the way from Rethymnon to Anogia mount Psiloritis
On the way from the old national road from Rethymnon to Anogia
Psiloritis Mountain - Crete, Greece - 2.456 m. - 20.07.2014
74η Πανελλήνια Ορειβατική Συνάντηση, 20 Ιουλίου 2014 - ...λίγο πριν την κορυφή με 9 Μποφόρ και 5 Βαθμούς Κελσίου
Crete | Anogia Village
Crete | Anogia Village. Anogia is a large village in the northern foothills of Mount Psiloritis, the highest mountain in Crete. It's a place where you can still detect the rural Crete of old. Anogia has been the centre of a local wool industry, and many homes still have weaving looms.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Follow us in Facebook:
---------------------------------------------------------------------
For more information:
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Road Tylissos - Gonies - Anogia ...
A relaxing drive to the Ida mountains ...
Crete Anogia
Anogia (Ανώγεια) is a municipality in the Rethymno regional unit, Crete, Greece.
When exactly Anogia was founded and by whom, is not accurately known. Many[who?] believe that the original settlement was founded by villagers from the village Axos, which is west of Anogia, where the Minoan city Oaxos was.
According to a legend, a shepherd from Axos found one day on one of the slopes of Psiloritis an icon depicting Saint John the Baptist. Pious as he was, he picked it up carefully, wrapped it in a towel, took it to his home and placed it there alongside the other icons. On the following day he was astonished to find out that the icon had disappeared. Terrified, he went back to the place he had found it on the day before, where he was exhilarated to discover that the icon was exactly at the same place. This inexplicable phenomenon was considered to be an order from the heavens, to build there a temple dedicated to Saint John the Baptist.
The church of Saint John seems to be the first building of the settlement, which later came to be known as “Anogia”. Within the temple of Saint John are remains of Byzantine drawings on the walls, which can be dated back to the 11th century.
The historian Stelios Spanakis, summarily provides geographical, as well as historical information about Anogia,: “Anogia is a town –municipality in the Mylopotamos Province of the Prefecture of Rethymno. In the 1981 census it numbered 2.449 citizens. It is in the northern reaches of Psiloritis, at an altitude of 700-790 meters. When in 1182 Crete was divided among the 12 Young Princes of Byzantium, Anogia were given to the family of Fokas. Anogia are referred to by Venetian and Greek scholars and historians as Anogia, or Anoia. In 1593 it was already a significant settlement, numbering 911 citizens. Anogia are referred to as a revolutionary place during the years of Turkish occupation. In 1822, when the Anogians were fighting the Turks in Messara, Serif Pasha found the village empty and put it to the torch. In November 1866, during the Great Cretan Revolt, Resit Pasha tried to capture Anogia, but he was repulsed by the Anogians and other villagers from Mylopotamos.” [3] This tradition continued during the German occupation and in August 1944 the village was once again razed to the ground in reprisal for the local's participation in the resistance.
The living conditions of the people of Anogia, as well as those of other mountain villages in Crete, were extremely difficult. Anogians of old times were mainly shepherds, goatherds and not so many of them were farmers. The barren soil, the harsh winters, the frequent revolts and the constant purges from the conquerors contributed to the primitive living conditions, to the great poverty and the lack of even the most basic of comforts. The French historian Victor Berard (1897) during his journeys in Crete, dedicated but a few lines for the village of Anogia, where with a raw and laconic way describes the hopeless living conditions of the time: “The village Anogia, resembles the outposts on the remote peaks of old, where men and animals live together in miserable hovels”. The Italian Vittorio Simonelli who visited Crete in 1893, was much more generous in his descriptions. First, he was put up at a “tolerable inn”. As for the villagers themselves, both men and women, made a great impression on him, when on a Sunday he saw them going to the church. He wrote: “Anogian women are beautiful, with red cheeks and faces that are lit up by eyes black and shiny, like agate. Their traditional clothing, accentuates the health and beauty that characterize the ancient Cretan archetype. The men are also handsome, being tall, lean, and easy in their movement, proud, but without even a trace of ferociousness”.
In recent years, the Yakinthia (Hyacinthia) cultural festival is held at an altitude of 1200m in the Nida Plateau, south of Anogia. The festival is held annually every July and focuses on the Cretan folk tradition and its blending with the traditions of Greece and the Mediterranean.
Ierapetra, Crete (Video 4K)
Ierapetra is located 30km south of Agios Nikolaos, in the narrowest part of Crete, and is the southernmost city of Greece. It is a modern city of 12,500 residents, who mainly deal with agriculture, as Ierapetra produces vast quantities of vegetables that are exported mainly to Europe. The city is also very well organized touristically with large and small hotels along its beaches, many facilities for eating and entertainment. Most cafés and taverns are located in the city's seafront promenade, bustling throughout the summer.
My drone:
................................................................................................
My camera:
................................................................................................
Instangram:
.................................................................................................
Instangram:
.................................................................................................
Facebook:
.................................................................................................
#drone #mavicair #ierapetra #crete #greece
CRETE, Discover The House Of Zeus in Rethymno, GREEK MYTHOLOGY
The Ideon Cave or Ideon Andron is found on Mt Ida or Psiloritis, the highest mountain in Crete.
The Ideon Cave is one of the greatest cave sanctuaries in Crete, as important as the major Greek temples. It flourished in antiquity (4000 BC to the 1st century AD).
The Ideon Cave was famous for being the place where Zeus, the Father of the Gods, was born and grew up.
The Ideon Cave is on the east side of Mount Ida in central Crete, at an altitude of 1,498 metres. The cave is 20 kilometres after the village of Anogia and a few metres higher than the Nida Plateau.
On entering the Ideon Andron Cave you find yourself in the main chamber, which is 40 metres long and 50 wide. The chamber has been excavated twice, the first time by Federico Halbherr in 1885 and the second by Yannis Sakellarakis in 1982.
We must note that the Ideon Cave is not particularly impressive as a cave, unlike the Dikteon Cave, which is visited by thousands of people each year.
However, it is no coincidence that the Ideon Cave was chosen as the birthplace and place of worship of the most important god in ancient Greece. The Ideon Cave lies on the mountain-emblem of Crete, Mount Psiloritis, on the south side of which lies another important cave sanctuary, the Kamares Cave. Even today, on the highest peak of Psiloritis, at an altitude of 2,456 metres, there is a tiny stone church dedicated to the Holy Cross, where services are held once or twice a year
Legend has it that Mount Ida has the privilege of seeing the sun before the dawn. It is true that on clear days you can see almost the whole of Crete from here, as well as the Cyclades and even Mount Taygetus in the Peloponnese.
The myth of the birth of Zeus
According to a prophecy, the son of Cronus and Rhea would overthrow his father, who defended his position by devouring his children. Mother Rhea, however, could not bear this, so she tricked her husband and gave him a rock wrapped in swaddling clothes to swallow instead of her last-born son.
She hid the infant deep in a cave where he was nursed by the nymph Melissa and the goat Amalthea, whose horn produced all manner of goods. The baby’s cries were covered by the legendary Curetes, who beat drums and clashed their shields as they danced. Thus the prophecy came true, and when Zeus came of age he overthrew his father Cronus and claimed his power.
Read the whole myth of the birth of Zeus in Crete
Other names of the Ideon Cave
The Ideon Cave, or cave of Ida, is also known as the Spilia tis Voskopoulos (Cave of the Shepherdess). The locals say that near the cave was buried the wife of Charidimos (the lord of Gortys and rival of Erotokritos), who accidentally shot her with an arrow while hunting on Mount Psiloritis, as Vicenzos Kornaros says in his narrative poem Erotokritos (a classic work of Modern Greek literature written in the Cretan dialect).
Another name of the Ideon Cave is the Arkession Andron (Cave of Aid). Worshippers came to the cave to seek the aid of Zeus, who, legend has it, had also received aid in the past and escaped death.
References and myths of the Ideon Cave
One of the pilgrims to the Ideon Cave was the great ancient sage from Samos, Pythagoras. It is said that he took part in the ceremonies at the cave and was even initiated into the mysteries of the Cretan Zeus. We do not know details of the mysteries of the Ideon Cave, because initiates were forbidden to speak of them to the general public.
Pythagoras described an altar carved in the natural rock at the cave entrance, which can still be seen today. Inside the cave was a large ivory throne in honour of Zeus, but this has now been lost.
Festivals were held at the Ideon Cave each year, originally in honour of the god of vegetation, who died and was reborn in the cycle of the seasons. The Minoan god of vegetation was later replaced by the Cretan-born Zeus, the local young Zeus, who according to local myth also died and was reborn each year. Theophrastus tells us that during the ceremonies, worshippers hung offerings from the branches of a poplar in front of the entrance to the cave
Even Minos, the legendary king of Crete, came on pilgrimage to the Ideon sanctuary every nine years to receive the renewed laws from his father Zeus.
Olympus the mountain of Gods by Tsiliogreek
Olympus Mountain of Gods by Tsiliogreek
Psiloritis Mountain - Crete, Greece - 2.456 m. - 1
Ανεβαίνοντας στην κορυφή από τον Λάκκο του Μυγερού (ο πιο σύντομος δρόμος είναι η ευθεία)
Crete ANOGIA - ZONIANA ΑΝΩΓΕΙΑ - ΖΩΝΙΑΝΑ
Στις βόρειες υπώρειες του Ψηλορείτη περπάτησε ο Πεζοπορικός Όμιλος Ηρακλείου.Ξεκινήσαμε απο Ανώγεια για την δασωμένη Ρούσσα Λίμνη και κατηφορίσαμε μέσα απ'το Φαράγγι Ζωνιανών για τα Ζωνιανά. Ευχαριστούμε τον αρχηγό της εκδρομής Καπετανάκο Νίκο και τον Δήμο Ανωγείων για την διερεύνηση και πραγμάτωση της εκδρομής.
Koudouni Mt Ida Crete Greece ski touring 2 Jan 2017
With Yannis, enjoying powder skiing on Koudouni peak, Mt Ida (Psiloritis), Crete, Greece, 2 Jan 2017
Crete mountains Psiloritis Ψηλορείτης with Subtitles
Crete Psiloritis Anogia Zoniana Timios Stavros Nida
Ανάβαση από Ζωνιανά σε Τίμιο Σταυρό ( 2456 μ) κατάβαση σε Νίδα
friendsofnature.gr
JEEPSAFARI ROND ANOGIA FODELE.wmv
Jeepsafari op Kreta tussen Anogia en Fodele met Yanniz. Bezoek onze website Yanniz.eu voor onze andere activiteiten rond Chersonissos. Online boeken mogelijk.
visit Anogia village highlands mitata shepherd's hut
VISIT ANOGIA TRADITIONAL CRETAN VILLAGE ON THE HIGHLANDS OF PSILORITES MOUNTAIN.
Psiloritis - the highest mountain in Crete
ascent on Psiloritis 2456 m from Nida plateau; vystup na nejvyssi horu Krety 2456 m n.m. z planiny Nida
Crete 2019 | Anogia The Highest Town
Driving through the highest town in Crete and and the old capital city of the island. Taken on Easter Monday 29/04/19.
Psiloritis Mountain - Crete, Greece - 2.456 m. - 17.08.2014
17.08.2014
Mission with the Hellenic Red Cross Rescue Team - Rethymno Branch
anogia highlands crete - original cretan traditional wedding
ANOGIA HIGHLANDS ORIGINAL TRADITIONAL WEDDING IN CRETE
23 12 2007 CLIMBING THE MOUNTAIN TOP TIMIOS STAVROS 2456 M PSILORITIS GREECE CRETE
23 12 2007 CLIMBING THE MOUNTAIN TOP TIMIOS STAVROS 2456 M PSILORITIS GREECE CRET
Exploring the mountains and canyons of Crete, the land of the Minoans. Trekking, hiking, alpine missions.