Kamilari is a village on the island of

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

, with 379 inhabitants. There is an archaeological site of an ancient

Minoan The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age Aegean civilization on the island of Crete and other Aegean Islands, whose earliest beginnings were from 3500BC, with the complex urban civilization beginning around 2000BC, and then declining from 1450B ...

cemetery nearby. The origin of the name 'Kamilari' is

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

. It is derived from the word 'kamilaris' or ‘Καμηλάρης’ meaning 'the one who rides a camel' Original owners of the name Kamilari live in

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

as Catholic Maronites and are quite active with investments and activities in the area of Kamilari. Kamilari is built atop three hills: * Ovgora, meaning "good view" is the highest one with an altitude of 110m, * Goulas is the one with the old school and the Hellenistic findings on top and * Alevrota, reachable from the village exit in direction of

Sivas Sivas (Latin and Greek: ''Sebastia'', ''Sebastea'', Σεβάστεια, Σεβαστή, ) is a city in central Turkey and the seat of Sivas Province. The city, which lies at an elevation of in the broad valley of the Kızılırmak river, is ...

.Interkriti.org guide
/ref>Kamilari official webpage
/ref> The village and the surrounding places can also be visited via the virtual tour.

Archaeology

The Minoan

tholos tomb A beehive tomb, also known as a tholos tomb (plural tholoi; from Greek θολωτός τάφος, θολωτοί τάφοι, "domed tombs"), is a burial structure characterized by its false dome created by corbelling, the superposition of suc ...

is on a low hill 1.9 kilometers southwest of Hagia Triada. East of the tomb were five rooms, probably added during Middle Minoan IIIA, and an area for offerings north of these rooms. Here, 500 vases were found upside down. Another 250 vases were found inside the

. Three clay models were found in the Late Minoan IIIA burials. One is of a group of dancers, another is two people standing in front of four seated people, and the third is of a banquet including the Minoan horns "of consecration" and

dove Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...

s. These artefacts are on display at the

Heraklion Archaeological Museum The Heraklion Archaeological Museum is a museum located in Heraklion on Crete. It is one of the greatest museums in Greece and the best in the world for Minoan art, as it contains by far the most important and complete collection of artefacts ...

.Minoan Crete, Ian Swindale
Retrieved 11 May 2013

Village amenities

There are numerous villas and rooms to rent. There is a supermarket with a traditional butcher's shop. Fairs are held during the feast-days of the village on 27 July and 6 August.

References

External links

Cultural committee of Kamilari webpageA Kamilari website for the village and the surrounding placesKamilari and surrounding areas virtual tour
Minoan sites in Crete Ancient cemeteries in Greece Populated places in Heraklion (regional unit) {{AncientGreece-archaeology-stub