Sfakia

Sfakia is a coastal settlement of 350 residents, 74km from Hania in the south of the Prefecture and it is the capital of the same-named region. The settlement was first mentioned during the years of the Arab domination of Crete in the 9th Century AD and from then on, the area has been inhabited without interruption up to the present. It played a leading role in all the Cretan uprisings against the Venetians and Ottomans and the wild character of its landscape has always provided a refuge for Cretans who were being pursued. The settlement also played a major role in the Battle of Crete in 1941, when at the end of May/beginning of June around 13,000 soldiers of the Allied Forces were evacuated from there to find shelter in Alexandria in Egypt. Of the many important remains from the past which at one time it had, unfortunately nothing has survived, partly because of the extensive building in the last decades, but also because of the deliberate burning by the German Nazis in retaliation for the help, the residents offered in the withdrawal of the Allied Forces in 1941. It has coastal boat connections with Ayia Roumeli and Loutro. Also from here starts the road which leads to Anopoli (the home of Daskaloyianni, who was famous in the 1770 revolution) and ends at Aradena with its well-known gorge. There are small hotels and several eating-places by the sea. It is also, mainly in the summer months, connected by boat to Gavdos. (In winter and for half the summer,this route is via Paleohora).

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