Greetings Steemians!
It's my pleasure to welcome you to a new discovery series of mine! This time I invite you to follow me on a photographic tour across the beautiful greek island Crete were I had spent two fantastic weeks.
I set up camp in the middle south of the Island close to Moires. This location allowed me to reach many interesting sites without driving too long, like the ancient remnants of the minoic culture in Phaistos, the hidden palm groves of Preveli, the fertail plains of Méssara, Kommós Beach and many places more. I'm looking forward to showing you around all these places in the upcoming posts.
The destination of my first excursion was Agiofárango, the Gorge of Saints. It's located in unsettled area in the very south of central Crete and connects to the Libyan Sea. A stony track leads through a wildness with blooming Oleander bushes, steep rock walls and finally ends at a narrow, pictorial bay.
The remoteness of the gorge has attracted ascetics already during early Christian times, who lived as hermits in the many caves of the gorge. It is said that the hermits gathered only once per year in the chapel Agios Andonis at the lower end of the gorge. We will reach the chapel in the next post.
The area is still considered holy by many people and signs at the entry of the gorge exhort visitors to enter in a regardful manner.
The view towards the gorge
Arriving at Kuna Muta, the last outpost before Libya ;). The skull above the sign prompted me to refill my water supply.
Entering the gorge under a goat's supervision.
Passing one of the many caves. How many hermits may have dwelled in this one throughout the centuries?
A forrest of oleander bushes with some peculiar plants here and there.
This brave ant wants to fly! A truly heroic endeavor.
A goat enjoying the oleander's scent.
I hope you enjoyed the first half of the walk through Agiofárango. Next time we will reach the bay for a refreshing swim in the Libyan Sea. Thanks for watching and have a great day on Steemit!
Shaka
All photos were recorded by myself with an EOS 7D / Tamron 18-270 mm in May, 2018. All rights reserved.