Schinokapsala () is a community and a small village in

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 ...

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 situated 21 kilometers north-east from

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 ...

and 6 km from the sea. Since 2011 it belongs to the Ierapetra municipality. It is built 400 meters above sea level, south of

Thripti Thrypti () is a mountain range in Lasithi in eastern Crete, Greece. It trends to the northeast from Ierapetra in the southwest in the direction of Sitia. However, it only goes half-way in that direction. The rest of the distance is completed by t ...

mountain, in a verdant area, full of pine and olive trees. The community of Schinokapsala consists of Schinokapsala proper and the seaside settlements Galini, Achlia, and Mavros Kolympos. Today it is almost deserted, with a population of 80 people recorded in the 2021 census. A majority of the population have moved to the beach and to Ierapetra in the last 3 decades. The Venetian census of 1583 recorded 162 in Schinokapsala, with the name derived from the Greek word for the

Kermes oak ''Quercus coccifera'', the kermes oak or commonly known as Palestine oak, is an oak shrub or tree in section '' Ilex'' of the genus. It has many synonyms, including ''Quercus calliprinos''. It is native to the Mediterranean region and Northern ...

that sheltered the original settlers while they lived in caves.

References

External links

Populated places in Lasithi Ierapetra Makry Gialos {{Crete-geo-stub