Elafonisi ( el, Ελαφονήσι "deer island") is an island located close to the southwestern corner of the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

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, and ...

, of which it is administratively a part, in the regional unit of

Chania Chania ( el, Χανιά ; vec, La Canea), also spelled Hania, is a city in Greece and the capital of the Chania regional unit. It lies along the north west coast of the island Crete, about west of Rethymno and west of Heraklion. The muni ...

. When the weather is fine it is possible to walk to the island through the shallow water. The island is a protected nature reserve. It is known for its pink sand beaches, created by tidal and wave-induced deposits of pigmented microorganisms living in a symbiotic relationship with native seaweed.

Greek War of Independence

At the highest point on the island there is a plaque that commemorates a tragic event. On Easter Sunday of 18 April 1824 several hundred Greeks, mostly women and children, were killed on Elafonisi by Ottoman soldiers. To avoid advancing Turkish Ottoman troops, forty armed men had taken refuge on the island with women, children and old folk where they were waiting for a ship to take them to the Ionian Islands. The Ottoman soldiers had decided to camp on the beach opposite the island. One of their horses walked along the shallow water to the island and the people hiding on the island were discovered. According to several sources there were between 640 and 850 people in total, most of whom were killed and the remaining survivors were sold into slavery in Egypt.

Shipwreck of the ''Imperatrix''

A large wooden cross commemorates a shipwreck from 22 February 1907. It was an

Österreichischer Lloyd ''Österreichischer Lloyd'' ( it, Lloyd Austriaco, en, Austrian Lloyd) was the largest Austro-Hungarian shipping company. It was founded in 1833. It was based at Trieste in the Austrian Littoral, the main port of the Cisleithanian (Austrian ...

passenger steamer, called the ''Imperatrix''. Due to strong northwest winds 38 people died in a lifeboat that tried to reach the shore. They were all buried on the island. The ''Imperatrix'' still lies on the seabed in front of the island's cliffs and was the reason that a lighthouse was built on an island hilltop. The lighthouse was destroyed during the Second World War by the occupying German troops.Kissamoslive (clubs.pathfinder.gr)
(Greek)

Monastery

On the mainland the 17th century

Chrysoskalitissa Monastery Chrysoskalitissa Monastery ( el, Μονή Χρυσοσκαλιτίσσης) is a 17th-century Eastern Orthodox Christian monastery located on the southwest coast of the island of Crete, Greece. Within the municipal district of Innachori, the mon ...

is approximately from the island, it was built on a promontory overlooking the sea. The monastery is dedicated to the Dormition of the Virgin. According to tradition, the name Chrysoskalitissa comes from the fact that the 98 steps to the top of the monastery would be gold (Chrysoskalitissa in Greek means, golden step). It also hosted illegally Greek school children during the Turkish occupation in 1821. The construction of the present church began May 9, 1894.

Gallery

File:Gatm 2006-05-14 19 Greece Crete Elafanissos.jpg, Elafonisi beach File:Elafonissos R01.jpg, Elafonisi island in the distance from the coast of Crete. File:Chrysoskalitissa R02.jpg, Chrysoskalitissa monastery.

References

External links