Sougia
Sougia ( Greek Σούγια [ ˈsuʝa ] ( f. Sg. )) Is a place with 136 inhabitants in the regional district of Chania on the southwest coast of the Greek island of Crete . Administratively, Sougia forms together with the mountain villages Koustogerako (Κουστογέρακο), Livadas (Λιβαδάς) and Moni (Μονή) the village of Sougia in the municipality of Anatoliko Selino in the municipality of Kandanos-Selino . All four villages together have 220 inhabitants.
location
The small village is located at the exit of the Agia Irini Gorge and is surrounded by steep cliffs . The bed of a torrent called “Lakos Zografou”, which only flows after heavy rains in winter, limits the town to the east. The present-day village was built on and between the ruins of the ancient city of Syia , which, together with Lisos, was one of the ports of the great ancient city of Elyros further above (for which up to 16,000 inhabitants are assumed in Roman times). Since the land mass of West Crete has risen by about five meters in this region due to geotectonic reasons (in Sougia it is clearly visible on the former flushing edge on the rocks by the sea) the former port has fallen dry and is partly part of the built-up area today. Today's small fishing port at the western end of Sougia Bay is modern.
history
Ancient Syia
The old name of the place “Syia” (Συία, more rarely also Συγία) is probably derived from the ancient Greek word sys (“sow”). The heyday of the ancient place was in the Roman and early Byzantine years, its port enjoyed a good reputation. Parts of the ancient city are accessible east of the river bed up the slope. Among other things, the remains of two early Christian basilicas , Roman tombs, houses and walls can be seen. Presumably the city was destroyed and depopulated by the Saracens . Finds from Syia are exhibited in the Archaeological Museum in Chania. The mosaic floor of a third basilica from the 6th century on the site of today's church has been preserved and can be viewed in the new church in the western part of the village.
Modern times
The English traveler and antiquarian Robert Pashley describes the place Sougia in 1835 as completely uninhabited. He already suspected that the fields of ruins found were the remains of a port of ancient Elyros, the location of which had not yet been identified with certainty at that time. He is referring to a coastal description by an anonymous author from the Byzantine era.
During the Second World War, German troops were stationed in Sougia, whereas the nearby mountain villages were considered a retreat for the Cretan resistance. The formerly much more populous neighboring villages Koustogerako , Livadás and Moní were destroyed and razed to the ground in retaliation for a firing squad prevented by resistance fighters.
traffic
The ferry from Paleochora to Agia Roumeli (at the exit of the Samaria Gorge ) and Chora Sfakion makes a stop in Sougia.
A KTEL bus line goes to Chania twice a day during the tourist season, and only about 5 times a week in winter. The narrow and winding road to Chania was made suitable for buses in 2009. In the high season, regular buses also take hikers to the entrance of the Samaria Gorge several times a week in the early morning (about an hour's journey by car or bus). There is a road through the mountains to Paleochora (about an hour's drive).
Sougia today
Since the entire area of the village close to the sea is designated as an archaeological zone, construction in Sougia is only allowed to a very limited extent on the access road to the north. The remote location about 70 km south of Chania and the lack of building land have prevented the emergence of package tourism on a larger scale. Nevertheless, there are overnight accommodations in pensions or hotels and a few taverns on the beach promenade or in town as well as two discos. Besides agriculture and fishing, tourism is the most important economic factor. The entire bay of Sougia is lined with a pebble beach. The eastern part of this beach is one of the last local beaches on Crete where wild camping is tolerated. Tourists traveling to Sougia should know that there is no petrol station in Sougia and around 30 kilometers by road.
Hiking trails
A hike of around 1.5 hours leads from Sougia west to the ruins of the ancient port city of Lisos along the E4 European hiking trail . The path starts right behind the port of Sougia and is signposted. From Lisos the E4 continues to Paleochora. In an easterly direction, the E4 divides into a coastal section to Agia Roumeli and a mountain section up to the Omalos plateau in the Lefka Ori . The hike from Sougia through the Agia Irini Gorge to the village of the same name goes over 12 km through a landscape that is botanically and geologically similar to the Samaria Gorge.
Others
The song "Sougia" by the Frankfurt alternative rock band Love Sees No Color is about the place of the same name.
swell
- Robert Pashley: Travels in Crete , Cambridge, Pitt Press by John. W. Parker, 1837 ( Googlebooks )
- Mediteraneo Editions: Crete, 2007, ISBN 978-960-8227-88-0
- Antonis G. Plymakis: The gorge of St. Irene
Individual evidence
- ↑ Results of the 2011 census at the National Statistical Service of Greece (ΕΛ.ΣΤΑΤ) ( Memento from June 27, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) (Excel document, 2.6 MB)
- ↑ LOVE SEES NO COLOR - 'Sougia'. Retrieved July 5, 2019 .
Web links
Coordinates: 35 ° 14 ′ 54.7 " N , 23 ° 48 ′ 39.5" E