Chora Sfakion or Sfakia. Crete, Greece
Only two kinds of mammals have been able to survive on the isolated mountain slopes: wild goats and the Sphakia people. The Arabs and the Turks - both members of the carnivorous feline family(!) - conquered the island, but they hardly ever set foot in these places.
And though the people of Sfakia suffered occasional raids, they never faced true slavery. Isolated on these mountains with the dozens of gorges and the countless paths and caves, keeping their primitive customs and their strict tradition of marriage within the family, they have managed to a considerable extent to retain their physical characteristics. They are generally blond, tall, and well built, and they have light-coloured eyes. The elderly as well as many of the younger people continue to dress in the traditional way (with boots, breeches and a headband), and most of them carry guns!
They live on a steep and barren rock, and the land, for the most part, is not fit for cultivation. Yet these people not only managed to survive, but they even became wealthy. How? Piracy, of course! They were the most feared and unscrupulous raiders and they terrorised the entire southern coast of Crete. They made no distinction as to the nationality of their victims, although they did show a distinct preference for Turkish ships... And whenever they were out of ships to loot they simply lowered the pirate flag and practised the honest trade of sea transport instead.
Today, the Sfakia people continue to make money out of sea transport. And although it is tourists that are being carried to and from the Samaria gorge and the surrounding beaches, their small shipping company, ANENDYK, still operates on a pirate mentality, threatening to sink any boat a competing company might dare to sail. You see, the stakes in this area are quite high: more than 300,000 passengers each season at 5-6€ a person equals about... 1,650,000 €. ANENDYK was founded in 1975 and today it has six ships, among which a couple of ferries that carry passengers like sheep in a truck! (Conversely, they will take no vehicles). Info on their timetables can be obtained at the following telephone numbers : (0825) 091 221 (Chora Sfakion), (0825) 091 251 (Agia Roumeli) and (0821) 044 222 (Hania).
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