Porto Rafti (), officially named Limin Markopoulou (), is a

seaside resort A seaside resort is a city, resort town, town, village, or hotel that serves as a Resort, vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of an official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requi ...

town located in

East Attica East Attica () is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Attica. The regional unit covers the eastern part of the urban agglomeration of Athens, and also the rural area to its east. Administration The regional unit East ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. Porto Rafti's main source of income is

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

and

winemaking Winemaking, wine-making, or vinification is the production of wine, starting with the selection of the fruit, its Ethanol fermentation, fermentation into alcohol, and the bottling of the finished liquid. The history of wine-making stretches over ...

. It is part of the municipality of

Markopoulo Mesogaias Markopoulo Mesogaias () is a town and a municipality in East Attica, Greece. The municipality has an area of . Geography The municipality Markopoulo Mesogaias is situated in the Mesogaia plain, in the eastern part of the Attica peninsula, and t ...

. In the 2011 census data, its permanent population was 9,686. Today, the permanent population is believed to be closer to 15,000, peaking at 100,000 every year during the summer season.

Geography

The town of Porto Rafti stretches amphitheatrically around the Rafti Bay, a

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

of the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...

, on the east coast of the

Attica Attica (, ''Attikḗ'' (Ancient Greek) or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the entire Athens metropolitan area, which consists of the city of Athens, the capital city, capital of Greece and the core cit ...

peninsula. It is surrounded by pine-cladded hills, the tallest of which is Merenta, 613 m above sea level. It is 5 km south of Vravrona, 6 km east of Markopoulo and 26 km southeast of the center of

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

Climate

Porto Rafti has a hot-summer

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

: ''Csa''). Porto Rafti experiences hot, dry summers and mild winters.

History

The port was a major trading place until the collapse of the Roman Empire. The names of the ancient villages around the bay of Porto Rafti were Steiria, Prasiai, and Koroni. They belonged to the paraktia (seaside) Pandionis

phyle ''Phyle'' (, ; pl. ''phylai'', ; derived from Greek , ''phyesthai'' ) is an ancient Greek term for tribe or clan. Members of the same ''phyle'' were known as ''symphyletai'' () meaning 'fellow tribesmen'. During the late 6th century BC, Cleist ...

, according to the division of the Ancient Athenian Democracy by

Clisthenes Cleisthenes ( ; ), or Clisthenes (), was an ancient Athenian lawgiver credited with reforming the constitution of ancient Athens and setting it on a democratic footing in 508 BC. For these accomplishments, historians refer to him as "the fath ...

in the early 5th century BCE. The port of Porto Rafti is no longer in use as a commercial harbor due to environmental concerns, but it has an organized marina for smaller recreational vessels with seaside restaurants and cafes. This port was the scene of the allied troops' evacuation after the German invasion in Greece at the end of April 1941.

Name

A newer theory has developed around the name Rafter, which is associated with the worship of the goddess Rhea throughout Eastern Attica, and owes its origin to this root from which the name derives, see Ρ ��- �αυτής�της(R a erselftis. K.Christodoulatos (2020)

Churches

"St. Spiridonos Church" Greek Orthodox Church which is situated on south end of Piratis Mountain, just on the coast of a major beach, Agios Spyridonas, that is named after the church. It is one of the oldest churches in the area. "Agia Marina Church" Greek Orthodox Church is another scenic seaside church, on the other side of Porto Rafti. Again, the beach, Agia Marina, is named after the church. An inscription on the front of the church mentions it was established on June 20th 1949. File:Front Agia Marina Church.jpg, Front of Agia Marina Church File:Stele of Agia Marina Church.jpg, Inscription on the front of Agia Marina Church

Tourism

Porto Rafti attracts visitors as a seaside resort, with beaches at Agios Spyridonas, Erotospilia and Avlaki, and an organized municipal beach at Avlaki.

Historic population

References

External links

* PORTORAFTI.onlin
News & Events

PORTORAFTI.online / Everything about Porto Rafti
{{Landmarks of Attica Populated places in East Attica Markopoulo Mesogaias Bays of Greece Mediterranean port cities and towns in Greece Landforms of East Attica Landforms of Attica