Charakas

The rock above the Myrtoan Sea was first fortified in the 9th century, when the Byzantines established a naval observatory there to keep watch over Saracen pirates, particularly those operating from Crete. A settlement grew around this lookout and endured from the 13th to the 17th century, known as Charakas by at least the 1500s. It was abandoned during the Sixth Turkish-Venetian War (1684-1699), when its inhabitants relocated to Kremasti, and afterwards moved permanently to the site of the modern village. The old site, now called Paliochora, survives in ruins: stretches of wall, a single tower, two unnamed churches, cisterns and assorted buildings remain, alongside the restored chapel of Profitis Elias, whose frescoes date from the late 14th to early 16th century. The whole makes a stark, windswept impression, a medieval settlement left to the elements.