Myrtos is a coastal village and a community in the west of the municipality of

Ierapetra Ierapetra (; ancient name: ) is a Greece, Greek city and municipality located on the southeast coast of Crete. History The town of Ierapetra (in the local dialect: Γεράπετρο ''Gerapetro'') is located on the southeast coast of Crete, sit ...

, in the Regional Unit (previously called prefecture) of

Lasithi Lasithi () is the easternmost regional unit on the island of Crete, to the east of Heraklion. Its capital is Agios Nikolaos, the other major towns being Ierapetra and Sitia. The mountains include the Dikti in the west and the Thrypti in the ...

on the Greek island of

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 la ...

. It is located from Agios Nikolaos and from

, on the road to Viannos. A little to the west of the village is the iconic conical Kolektos mountain. Myrtos is situated on the

Libyan Sea The Libyan Sea (; ; ) is the portion of the Mediterranean Sea north of the North Africa, African coast of Ancient Libya, ancient ''Libya'', i.e. Cyrenaica, and Marmarica (the coast of what is now Butnan District, eastern Libya and Matrouh Gov ...

. The patron saint of the village is Saint Anthony. The population of the community is 518 (2021). The transliteral spelling of this village is often written as Mirtos. Myrtos has a rich history but has only prospered with the advent of tourism. The village has many tavernas and diverse shops for both residents and visitors. More recently there is now a pharmacy and an ATM. There are numerous churches, hotels, apartments and studios. There is a regular bus service between Ierapetra and Myrtos.

History

The area surrounding Myrtos was already inhabited during the Minoan period, but the current village dates from the first half of the twentieth century. Before that, it was the location of a small port, where inhabitants from the higher surrounding areas traded local products that they shipped to Ierápetra. Only when threats from piracy along the Cretan coast diminished and it became safer to live there, did the village of Myrtos develop. On September 15, 1944, during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the inhabitants of Myrtos were ordered by the Nazi-German occupiers to leave the village. Many refused to do so, resulting in the massacre of eighteen inhabitants as a reprisal and the almost complete destruction of the village by fire. There is a monument to commemorate that event which has now been relocated to the periphery of Myrtos adjacent to the Heraklion/Ierapetra highway. Every year on October 28, Ohi Day is commemorated near this monument. Tourism started at the beginning of the 1970s. Initially, Myrtos was especially popular amongst

hippies A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture of the mid-1960s to early 1970s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States and spread to dif ...

, but later also 'regular' tourists started to visit the village. Since the 1980s, apartment complexes have been built in Myrtos, but tourism in Myrtos is still relatively small-scale and nowhere near as developed as the tourist centres which are found on the North coast of Crete.

Climate

Myrtos has a

subtropical climate The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical and climate zones immediately to the north and south of the tropics. Geographically part of the temperate zones of both hemispheres, they cover the middle latitudes from to approximately 3 ...

. The temperature in Myrtos (as well as in some other areas of southern Crete) is a few degrees higher than in the north, because the northern winds are blocked by the Dikti mountain range (whose highest point is ). The average temperature in the warmest months of the year (July and August) is around 28 °C (82 °F), though sometimes it can exceed 40 °C (105 °F). The temperature during the coldest months of the year (January and February) averages about 13-14 °C (55 °F) but on rare occasions it can also snow in Myrtos.

The beaches

Myrtos has a long beach consisting not just of sand, but also of fine-grained pebbles. The beach has received the " Blue Flag award", which requires the beach to satisfy a number of criteria in order to retain it. The nearby village of Tertsa also has a very long beach. On the two outlying beaches of Tertsa,

nudism Naturism is a lifestyle of practicing non-sexual social nudity in private and in public; the word also refers to the cultural movement which advocates and defends that lifestyle. Both may alternatively be called nudism. Though the two terms ar ...

is tolerated by the authorities.

Points of interest

Myrtos is also the location for two

Minoan The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age culture which was centered on the island of Crete. Known for its monumental architecture and Minoan art, energetic art, it is often regarded as the first civilization in Europe. The ruins of the Minoan pa ...

archaeological sites, at Fournou Korifi and Pyrgos, which provide evidence that the village and its environs have been inhabited since the

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

period. There is also a Roman villa, although the ruins are now largely covered or lost due to

coastal erosion Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land, or the long-term removal of sediment and rocks along the coastline due to the action of Wind wave, waves, Ocean current, currents, tides, wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts ...

and local building. In Myrtos there is a small museum, dedicated to the local history, which features a scale model of Fournou Korifi created by John Atkinson, a British potter resident in the village who is the current museum curator. Near the small village Mithi, about 3 miles (5 km) from Myrtos lies the Sarakina Gorge.

Economy

Of particular importance in increasing the prosperity around Myrtos in the middle of the twentieth century was the Netherlander Paul Kuijpers. After his studies in the Netherlands, he moved to Crete in 1966 and introduced

greenhouse A greenhouse is a structure that is designed to regulate the temperature and humidity of the environment inside. There are different types of greenhouses, but they all have large areas covered with transparent materials that let sunlight pass an ...

s in the southern part of the island, as a result of which farmers could harvest all year round and were less dependent on the weather. The areas surrounding Myrtos are still dominated by greenhouses often composed only of wooden frames covered with plastic sheeting. In 1971, Kuijpers was killed in a car accident and a memorial bust in Gra Lighia commemorates his importance for the area.

References

External links

Official Website of the Village
{{Authority control Populated places in Lasithi Ierapetra