Our house in Crete is in a small town named Pitsidia outside of the town Matala which has been our hang out for the past few days. Inside the bay of Matala, an ancient, Roman burial ground is carved into the cliffs, forming a magnificent display of divine caves used by the dead and many others. These caves have a long line of history all the way from pre-historic times to the 60’s. Now the caves of Matala are a main tourist attraction.
As I walk into the caves I see a numerous amount of things. Some of the caves have multiple rooms with entry ways so small that Tuck would be the only one that could fit without ducking, because of the Romans small size that long ago. Some walls are lined with graffiti back from the “hippie era”, which I will go into greater detail in a minute. Sarcophagi in the middle of the caves surrounded by what used to be statues and decorations which later got robbed. But you will be surprised to hear that the dead were not the only ones who occupied these caves.
Who lived in the caves? After the Romans, fisherman discovered this easy access point to the sea and soon became the fishermen’s home. Next the gypsies came and lived in the caves for up to 700 years.
But after a tremendous amount of years the foreigners started to find out about this amazing destination. People from all over the world flocked to Matala, looking for an awesome hang out spot and to try something different. Even some famous singers such as Bob Marley, Joni Mitchel, and Cat Stevens came for a Life magazine photo spread and got hooked to the hippie lifestyle of Matala. But sadly after 10 years all the festivities and chillaxing came to an end. The hippies were drawn out by the military but some refused to leave. The ones who didn’t leave we’re beaten by the locals and soon we’re driven out by tourists.
Now the caves are open to explore and make the town of Matala and Crete even more fun!
An ancient sarcophagus! |
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