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Around Azogires
Only 7 kilometers down the dramatic mountain road and you will emerge on an open peninsula with the ancient and pretty town of Paleohora. This is the nearest centre with shops, tavernas, beaches and other amenities like a post office, launderette, medical centre and banks.
Paleohora itself has two delightful and clean beaches, a sandy one on the western side of the peninsula, a pebbly one in the east, where there is also a pier for the several daily boats to take you on trips along the coast, to a nearby island or on a dolphinwatch.
Other picturesque beaches line the south coast on both sides of Paleohora - some small and quiet, other busier with refreshments andumbrellas, some suitable for nude bathing and with spots particularly inviting to snorkel or dive.
Azogires village is set in surroundings full of a wild natural beauty, with craggy mountains covered in sweet smelling pine and olive groves, where one can enjoy walks and treks along footpaths and goat tracks, or down to the stream with its natural pool and little waterfalls...
The feature we are personally most proud of to be associated with in Azogires, is its well revered Cave of 99 Saints, a place of ancient religious worship and pilgrimage.The large cave reaches deep down into the body of the mountain and is especially condusive for meditation work.
The nearby sites of interest include Lissos, aproachable only by foot via the old pilgrimage path, leading through a gorge, or by a "water taxi" from Sougia, a small and picturesque coastal town.
The archaeological site of Lissos shows various remains of its periods - Dorian, Hellenistic, Roman and Saracen - of which most impressive and preserved is the Asklepion, a temple
The archaeological site of Lissos shows various remains of its periods - Dorian, Hellenistic, Roman and Saracen - of which most impressive and preserved is the Asklepion, a temple of healing with its sacred well, a "snake pit", an altar base and the younger mosaic floor. We often visit Lissos, as we experience it as a place which holds a strong sacred and healing energy.
There was a temple to Pan excavated in the Dorian hilltop city in Hyrtakina, called "Cyclopean" because of its large masonry walls, on the highest point of the area. The 1st. C. A.D. statue of the god found there is now on display in the Museum in Hania. Amongst other divinities worshipped in the city were the goddesses Demeter and Hera.
You might want to take a bus from Paleochora to the top of the 17 km long Samaria gorge - longest gorge in Europe. The walk takes anything from 4 to 7 hours, depending on your pace, and from the village at the bottom of the gorge there is a boat back to Paleochora. There are also hikes to other shorter and less well-known gorges which are quieter but equally dramatic in their scenery.
There are some minor or less known Minoan sites in the southwest Crete, nevertheless the large excavated sites like the palace of Knossos, Phaistos, Malia and others are located in the eastern part of the island and are well worth a visit during your stay in Crete.
Phaistos Athens
The present temperature in Souda
(the weather station nearest to us), Crete
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