 |
In relatively short distance (8 km) from Rethymno is the Farangi ton Mylon or Myloniano Farangi (gorge of the mills), which is named after the 27 old water mills that are placed like pearls on a string through most of the gorge. |
|
||
|
|
||||
 |
Although the gorge extends from Chromonastiri in the south to Xero Chorio in the north, it is easiest and most interesting to enter the gorge at the settlement Myloi. |
|
||
|
|
||||
 |
On the way down you first meet a cave church of John the Baptist. |
|
||
|
|
||||
 |
After passing a bridge over the stream in the gorge the first mill houses emerge in the area called Pano Myloi. |
|
||
|
|
||||
 |
Shortly afterwards there is a cafe. |
|
||
|
|
||||
| In this context it is also worth noting the ingenious aerial ropeway, which the cafe owner has arranged in order to bring goods to the coffee shop from the other side of the gorge. |
|
|||
|
|
||||
 |
After app. 200 metres you will meet a church of the Holy Five Virgins. Here you will also find a spring with fresh drinking water. |
|
||
|
|
||||
 |
 |
|
||
|
|
||||
 |
From here the path continues further into the gorge through a lush forest of trees and creepers, without ever becoming difficult. |
|
||
|
|
||||
 |
Mill houses are placed along the path, and inside several of them you can still see remnants of millstones and other equipment. |
|
||
|
|
||||
 |
 |
|
||
|
|
||||
 |
You should also note the open drains that diverted the water on to the next house. | |||
|
The drains end in a funnel, where the water used to cascade down to the next mill house. |
|
|||
|
|
||||
 |
It is also interesting to see the drains inside the houses and the openings where the water left the houses. |
|
||
|
|
||||
 |
Before you have to cross the river, somebody has built a small cairn, which also serves as a church. | |||
|
|
||||
 |
 |
|
||
|
|
||||
 |
 |
|
||
|
|
||||
 |
On the other side of the stream you meet a steep cliff side, which in addition to limestone and sandstone also consists of a thick layer of gravel. |
|
||
|
|
||||
 |
Further on you have to pass an aqueduct. |
|
||
|
|
||||
 |
After this you have to turn to the right and walk through Kato Myloi and pass under another aqueduct, before reaching the stream once more. |
|
||
|
|
||||
 |
In order to get to the church of Agia Paraskevi on the other side of the stream, you must pass it jumping on slippery stepping stones. |
|
||
|
|
||||
 |
In combination with the church somebody has built a small chapel with a colorful angel inside. | |||
|
|
||||
 |
From here I decided to go back and explore the cafe and the gorge's history: |
|
||
|
|
||||
 |
The two settlements Kato and Pano Myloi were finally abandoned in 1972 after the Ministry of Social Affairs in 1963 had expropriated the area Frachto, where the new village of Myloi is located. | |||
|
|
||||
| At that time, the mills already had a long history, as there exists a notary from May 31, 1643 about the lease of one of the mills. In fact, they were already built in Venetian time to provide sufficient grain for both internal use and export to Venice. At that time the gorge was called Valle Cammilari. |
|
|||
|
|
||||
 |
In the Turkish period the area was inhabited by turks, who called it Deimenlu or Deimenlik (the area with the mills). | |||
|
|
||||
| During the German occupation the mills worked with particular intensity as there was a shortage of fuel for the diesel-powered mills in the cities. |
|
|||
