Myrtos
Encyclopedia
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
in the west of the municipality of Ierapetra
Ierapetra
Ierapetra is a town in the southeast of the Greek island of Crete and a municipality of Crete region.-History:The town of Ierapetra is located on the southeast coast of Crete, along the beach of Ierapetra Bay. It lies south of Agios Nikolaos and southwest of Sitia and is an important regional...
, in the prefecture of Lasithi
Lasithi
Lasithi is the easternmost regional unit on the island of Crete, to the east of Heraklion. Its capital is Agios Nikolaos, the other major towns being Ierapetra, Sitia and Neapoli. The mountains include the Dikte to the west and the Sitia Mountains to the east...
on the island of Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. It is located 14.5 km (9 mi) from Ierapetra
Ierapetra
Ierapetra is a town in the southeast of the Greek island of Crete and a municipality of Crete region.-History:The town of Ierapetra is located on the southeast coast of Crete, along the beach of Ierapetra Bay. It lies south of Agios Nikolaos and southwest of Sitia and is an important regional...
, the most southern town of Europe and 50.5 km (31.4 mi) from Agios Nikolaos
Agios Nikolaos, Crete
Agios Nikolaos is a coastal town on the Greek island of Crete, lying east of the island's capital Heraklion, north of the town of Ierapetra and west of the town of Sitia. In the year 2000, the Municipality of Agios Nikolaos, which takes in part of the surrounding villages, claimed around 19,000...
, on the road to Viannos
Viannos
Viannos is a municipality in the Heraklion peripheral unit, Crete, Greece. Population 6,463 . The seat of the municipality is in Ano Viannos....
. Myrtos is situated at the Libyan Sea
Libyan Sea
The Libyan Sea is the portion of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the African coast of ancient Libya, i.e. Cyrenaica and Marmarica...
.
The population of the village in 2010 is about 600 people.
Myrtos has a rich history, and although many think it is a poor town it has prospered with the advent of tourism. The town (village) is full of tavernas although there is also a little jewellery shop, 2 supermarkets, a few souvenir shops and a bakery. There are a few hotels, apartments and studios.
History
The area surrounding Myrtos was already inhabited in the Minoan periodMinoan civilization
The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age civilization that arose on the island of Crete and flourished from approximately the 27th century BC to the 15th century BC. It was rediscovered at the beginning of the 20th century through the work of the British archaeologist Arthur Evans...
, but the current village dates from the first half of the twentieth century. Before that it was the location of a small port, where inhabitants from higher surroundings traded for local products, which they shipped to Ierápetra. Only when threats from piracy along the Cretan coast diminished and it became safer to live there did the village of Myrtos develop.
On September 15, 1944, during the Second World War, the occupants of Myrtos were ordered by the German occupiers to leave the village. Many refused to do so, resulting in the massacre of eighteen inhabitants as a reprisal, and the almost complete destruction of the village by fire. In the central square of Myrtos there is a monument to commemorate that event. Near this monument, every year on October 28, Ohi Day is commemorated.
Tourism started at the beginning of the 1970s. Initially Myrtos was especially popular amongst hippies, but later also 'regular' tourists started to visit the village. Since the 1980s some apartment complexes have been built in Myrtos, but tourism in Myrtos is still relatively small-scale and nowhere near as developed as the tourist centres which one finds, for example, on the North coast of Crete.
Climate
Myrtos has a subtropical climate. The temperature in the south of Crete is a couple of degrees higher than in the north, because colder winds from the north are blocked by DiktiDikti
Dikti or Dicte is a mountain range on the east of the island of Crete in the prefecture of Lassithi. On the west it extends to the prefecture of Heraklio.According to the Greek Mythology, Zeus was reared on this mountain...
mountain (whose highest point is 2150 metres or 7,053.8 ft).
The average temperature in the warmest months of the year (July and August) is around 30 degrees Celsius (85 °F), though sometimes it can exceed 40 degrees Celsius (105 °F). The temperature in the coldest months of the year (January and February) averages about 8 degrees Celsius (46 °F), and it can also sporadically snow in Myrtos.
The beaches
Myrtos has a long beach, consisting not just of sand, but also of finely grained pebbles. The beach has received the "Blue Flag awardBlue Flag beach
The Blue Flag is a certification by the Foundation for Environmental Education that a beach or marina meets its stringent standards.The Blue Flag is a trademark owned by FEE which is a not-for-profit, non-governmental organisation consisting of 65 organisations in 60 member countries in Europe,...
", which requires the beach to satisfy a number of criteria in order to retain it. The nearby village of Tertsa has a very long beach. On the two outlying beaches of Tertsa nudism
Naturism
Naturism or nudism is a cultural and political movement practising, advocating and defending social nudity in private and in public. It may also refer to a lifestyle based on personal, family and/or social nudism....
is tolerated by the authorities.
Points of interest
Myrtos is also the location for two MinoanMinoan civilization
The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age civilization that arose on the island of Crete and flourished from approximately the 27th century BC to the 15th century BC. It was rediscovered at the beginning of the 20th century through the work of the British archaeologist Arthur Evans...
archaeological sites, at Fournou Korifi
Fournou Korifi
Fournou Korifi is the archaeological site of a Minoan settlement on southern Crete.-Geography:Fournou Korifi was built at the top of a steep hill, with excellent views of the coast.-Archaeology:Fournou Korifi was first excavated in 1967 by Peter Warren....
and Pyrgos, which provide evidence that the village and its environs have been inhabited since the neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
period. There is also a Roman villa, although the ruins are now largely covered or lost due to coastal erosion
Coastal erosion
Coastal erosion is the wearing away of land and the removal of beach or dune sediments by wave action, tidal currents, wave currents, or drainage...
and local building.
In Myrtos is a small museum, dedicated to the local history, which features a scale model of Fornou Korifi created by John Atkinson, a British potter resident in the village who is the current Museum Curator. Near the small village Mithi, about 3 miles (5 km) from Myrtos lies the Sarakina Gorge
Sarakina Gorge
The Sarakina Gorge is a canyon in the southeastern part of Crete, Greece. It is located about 15 km west of Ierapetra and a few kilometres upcountry of Myrtos, near the small village of Mithi.- Facts :Its length is about 1.5 km and the width between 3 and 10 meters, only at a few point...
.
Economy
Of particular importance in increasing the prosperity around Myrtos in the middle of the twentieth century was the Dutchman Paul KuijpersPaul Kuypers
Paul Herman Felix Kuypers was a Dutch agriculture expert, widely known in Ierapetra as the "Dutchman". He is credited with introducing new planting techniques first on Syros island and later in Ierapetra, Crete. He came to Ierapetra in 1966 and co-operated with local farmers...
. After his studies in Holland, he moved to Crete in 1966 and introduced greenhouse
Greenhouse
A greenhouse is a building in which plants are grown. These structures range in size from small sheds to very large buildings...
s in the southern part of the island, as a result of which farmers could harvest several times a year instead of only once. The areas surrounding Myrtos are still dominated by greenhouses, often composed only of wooden frames covered with plastic. In 1971, Paul Kuijpers was killed in a car accident, and a memorial in Gra Lighia
Gra Lighia
Gra Lygia is located approximately 4,5 km west of Ierapetra center. Its residents are called "GraLighiotes". They are occupied mainly in the agriculture sector; this is the main source of income for the residents and their income per capita is one of the highest in the region. The village is...
commemorates his importance for the area.
In 2010 the prefecture of Lasithi is the most prosperous part of Crete.