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Frangokastello
Frangokastello () is the location of a castle and scattered settlement on the south coast of Crete, Greece, about east of Chora Sfakion and within the prefecture of Chania. Frangokastello has an extensive, sheltered and gently shelving sandy beach, which has provided the basis for a low key tourist industry in recent years. Tourist accommodation is scattered over the flat plain around the castle, but the area's relative remoteness has discouraged major development. History The castle was built by the Venetians in 1371–1374 as a garrison to impose order on the rebellious Sfakia region, to deter pirates, and to protect Venetian nobles and their properties. The Venetians named it the Castle of St. Nikitas after the nearby church. The locals, however, who never saw it in a positive light, contemptuously dubbed it Frangokastello, meaning the Castle of the Franks (i.e. Catholic foreigners), Castelfranco or Franco Castello. The name eventually stuck and was adopted by the Ve ...
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Frangokastello Fort
Frangokastello () is the location of a castle and scattered settlement on the south coast of Crete, Greece, about east of Chora Sfakion and within the prefecture of Chania. Frangokastello has an extensive, sheltered and gently shelving sandy beach, which has provided the basis for a low key tourist industry in recent years. Tourist accommodation is scattered over the flat plain around the castle, but the area's relative remoteness has discouraged major development. History The castle was built by the Venetians in 1371–1374 as a garrison to impose order on the rebellious Sfakia region, to deter pirates, and to protect Venetian nobles and their properties. The Venetians named it the Castle of St. Nikitas after the nearby church. The locals, however, who never saw it in a positive light, contemptuously dubbed it Frangokastello, meaning the Castle of the Franks (i.e. Catholic foreigners), Castelfranco or Franco Castello. The name eventually stuck and was adopted by the Ven ...
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Drosoulites
The term Drosoulites () refers to a long procession of visions, seen by residents around Frangokastello castle in Sfakia region of Crete (Greece). The phenomenon is rumored to be visible every year, on the anniversary of the Battle of Frangokastello or even in early June near a small village in southern Crete. The visions, as described by witnesses, consist of a group of human-like shadows dressed in black, walking or riding, armed with weapons, moving from the monastery of Agios Charalambos and advancing towards the old fort, Frangokastello, a 14th-century Republic of Venice, Venetian fortification. Legend has it that this group of people are Greek fighters that died during the Battle of Frangokastello (17 May 1828) and since then they appear as supernatural beings in the area. The ghost army is led by Hatzimichalis Dalianis, from Delvinaki in Epirus, the chief of the Greek men, 350 of whom were lost, in the battle.Detorakis, Turkish rule in Crete, p. 383 The army took refuge in ...
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Greek War Of Independence
The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. In 1826, the Greeks were assisted by the British Empire, Bourbon Restoration in France, Kingdom of France, and the Russian Empire, while the Ottomans were aided by their vassals, especially by the Eyalet of Egypt. The war led to the formation of modern Greece, which would be expanded to its modern size in later years. The revolution is celebrated by Greek diaspora, Greeks around the world as Greek Independence Day, independence day on 25 March. All Greek territory, except the Ionian Islands, the Mani Peninsula, and mountainous regions in Epirus, came under Ottoman rule in the 15th century. During the following centuries, there were Ottoman Greece#Uprisings before 1821, Greek uprisings against Ottoman rule. Most uprisings began in the independent Greek realm of the Mani Pe ...
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Hatzimichalis Dalianis
Hatzimichalis Dalianis (, 1775 – 17 March 1828) was a Greek revolutionary leader of the Greek War of Independence and commander in Crete in 1828. Early life According to some Greek historians, the Greek speaking towns of Argyrokastro, Vouliarates, Premeti, and Delvinaki argue over his origin. Some believe he was born in the Greek-speaking town of Delvinaki, Epirus, when the region was under Ottoman rule.Detorakis, Turkish rule in Crete, p. 383 Consequent research, however, by other Greek historians disputes this fact. Nevertheless, all agree that he was born in Epirus. Alexander Mammopoulos attributes his birthplace to an Albanian-speaking village of the same name in modern Përmet District, while Stavros Karkaletsis, claims that he was born in the Greek-speaking village of Bularat, in Dropull. He grew up in Trieste, where his father worked as a merchant. In 1816 he became a member of the Greek patriotic organization '' Filiki Etaireia''. Greek War of Independence In Ma ...
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Sfakia
Sfakiá () is a mountainous area in the southwestern part of the island of Crete, in the Chania (regional unit), Chania regional unit. It is considered to be one of the few places in Greece that have never been fully occupied by foreign powers. With a 2021 census population of 2,002 inhabitants living on a land area of , Sfakia is one of the largest and population density, least densely populated Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipalities on the island of Crete. The etymology of its name is disputed. According to the prevailing theory, it relates to its rugged terrain, deriving from the ancient Greek word ''σφαξ'', meaning land chasm or gorge. Description The road from Chania to Sfakiá crosses the island from north to south, through the village of Vryses. From this village the route crosses the White Mountains (Lefka Ori, Lefká Óri) to Hora Sfakion, Hóra Sfakíon () by the Libyan Sea. Halfway from Vrisses to Hóra Sfakíon is the fertile plateau of Askifou ...
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Sfakians
The Sfakians (or Sphakians or Sfakiots; ) are the inhabitants of the region of Sfakia located in western Crete. The Sfakians hold themselves to be the direct descendants of the Dorians who came down to Crete around 1100 BC. The inhabitants of Sfakia have faced numerous foreign invaders, to which fact they owe their reputation as courageous warriors that they have had for centuries. Sfakians and Saracens When the Saracen Arabs invaded Crete in 824 AD, many regions of the island, Sphakia included, escaped effective Arab rule. One reason frequently offered is geography: Sphakians, secure in their mountain fastness, could mount a formidable deep defence from high ground gradually retreating upward while imposing relatively high casualties on invaders from the lowlands. In refusing to submit to the Arabs, the Sfakians established a form of self-government known as the ''Gerousia'' ("Council of Elders"); this had its antecedent in the Spartan Gerousia The Gerousia (γερουσ� ...
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Daskalogiannis
Ioannis Vlachos (), better known as Daskalogiannis (; 1722/30 – 17 June 1771), was a wealthy shipbuilder and shipowner who led a Cretan revolt against Ottoman rule in the 18th century. Life and activity Ioannis Vlachos was born in Anopolis village in Sfakia, a then semi-autonomous region of Crete, in 1722 or 1730. His father, who was also a wealthy shipowner, sent him to be educated abroad. Due to his education, his compatriots called him "''Daskalos''" (teacher), hence his nickname ''Daskalogiannis'', literally "John the Teacher." He is referred to as a town clerk in 1750, as chairman of the region of Sfakia in 1765, and as the owner of four, three-mast merchant ships. These would have sailed from Omprosgialos and the gulf of Loutro. Daskalogiannis knew Panagiotis Benakis at Mani and it is likely that Benakis introduced him to Count Orlov who Catherine the Great had sent to the Peloponnese in 1769 to instigate a revolt there. Many men from Sfakia also participated in the ...
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Crete
Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and Corsica. Crete is located about south of the Peloponnese, and about southwest of Anatolia. Crete has an area of and a coastline of 1,046 km (650 mi). It bounds the southern border of the Aegean Sea, with the Sea of Crete (or North Cretan Sea) to the north and the Libyan Sea (or South Cretan Sea) to the south. Crete covers 260 km from west to east but is narrow from north to south, spanning three longitudes but only half a latitude. Crete and a number of islands and islets that surround it constitute the Region of Crete (), which is the southernmost of the 13 Modern regions of Greece, top-level administrative units of Greece, and the fifth most popu ...
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Republic Of Venice
The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 by Paolo Lucio Anafesto, over the course of its History of the Republic of Venice, 1,100 years of history it established itself as one of the major European commercial and naval powers. Initially extended in the ''Dogado'' area (a territory currently comparable to the Metropolitan City of Venice), during its history it annexed a large part of Northeast Italy, Istria, Dalmatia, the coasts of present-day Montenegro and Albania as well as numerous islands in the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and eastern Ionian Sea, Ionian seas. At the height of its expansion, between the 13th and 16th centuries, it also governed Crete, Cyprus, the Peloponnese, a number of List of islands of Greece, Greek islands, as well as several cities and ports in the eastern Me ...
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Ashlar
Ashlar () is a cut and dressed rock (geology), stone, worked using a chisel to achieve a specific form, typically rectangular in shape. The term can also refer to a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, and is generally rectangular (cuboid). It was described by Vitruvius as ''opus isodomum'' or trapezoidal. Precisely cut "on all faces adjacent to those of other stones", ashlar is capable of requiring only very thin joints between blocks, and the visible face of the stone may be Quarry-faced stone, quarry-faced or feature a variety of treatments: tooled, smoothly polished or rendered with another material for decorative effect. One such decorative treatment consists of small grooves achieved by the application of a metal comb. Generally used only on softer stone ashlar, this decoration is known as "mason's drag". Ashlar is in contrast to rubble masonry, which employs irregularly shaped stones, sometimes minimally worked or selected for simi ...
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Venetian Fortifications In Crete
Venetian often means from or related to: * Venice, a city in Italy * Veneto, a region of Italy * Republic of Venice (697–1797), a historical nation in that area Venetians might refer to: * Masters of Venetian painting in 15th-16th centuries * City dwellers of Venice Venetian and the like may also refer to: * Venetian language, a Romance language spoken mostly in the Veneto region * Venice, Florida, a city in Sarasota County, United States *The Venetian Las Vegas, a resort hotel and casino in Las Vegas, Nevada *The Venetian Macao, a hotel and casino in Macau, China *Venetian blind, or Venetian, a common type of window blind similar to Persian blind *Venetian curtain, a type of theater front curtain *''The Venetian Woman'', ''The Venetian Comedy'', or ''The Venetian'' originally ''La veniexiana'' (play), a comedy in Venetian language, 1535-1537 *''The Venetians'', an 1892 novel by Mary Elizabeth Braddon * ''The Venetian'' (play), a work by Clifford Bax * ''The Venetian'' (film), ...
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Chania (regional Unit)
Chania (), also spelled Hania, is one of the four regional units of Crete; it covers the westernmost quarter of the island. Its capital is the city of Chania. Chania borders only one other regional unit: that of Rethymno to the east. The western part of Crete is bounded to the north by the Cretan Sea (part of the Aegean Sea) and to the west and south by the Mediterranean Sea and Libyan Sea. The regional unit also includes the southernmost island of Europe, Gavdos. Geography Chania regional unit, often informally termed 'Western Crete', is a part of the island which includes the capital Chania, and the districts of Platanias and Apokoronas in the north, and Sfakia and Selino in the far south west corner. Other towns in the Chania prefecture include Hora Sfakion, Kissamos, Palaiochora, Maleme, Vryses, Vamos, Georgioupolis and Kalives. The natural park of Samariá Gorge, a tourist attraction and a refuge for the rare Cretan wild goat or '' kri-kri'', is in the South ...
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