In the ancient period the Minoan civilization thrived on the island of Crete many centuries before the rest of the Greeks were able to lay the foundations of the modern west type societies. The tomb on the hill about two kilometers west of the villa will remind you of that period .

Later when Jesus preached the new values, the Romans had already been on the island. You may see some of their remains in the city of Chania. In that period the Cretans became Christians. During a later period they were reporting to the Pope.

In the following centuries the capital of the Roman Empire was moved to the east when Constantinople (later Instanbul ) was founded (330 A.D.) on top of a Greek city called Byzantium. Rome declined. The eastern Roman Empire, the longest running empire in human history, was based on Greek and Christian ideas. That new empire later called Byzantine embraced Crete in 961. May I add that before that year the Arabs too had ruled the island for more than a century.

In the Byzantine period (961-1252) the population in the island increased (it was in that period that probably our family moved onto Crete).

The administration system was improved and construction of walls and fortification took place in Chania.

In the course of the 4th crusade Crete was sold to a marquis called Monfera who in turn sold it to the Venetians (1204) While the new owners were trying to gain control over the island, the Maltese with the rulers of Genoa tried in vain to get hold of the island too. Finally 50 years later the Venetians curving the local resistance took the administration of Chania .

They divided the area and nominated (castelani) colonists from Venice to rule.

The hearts and minds of the local population were however tuned to their old capital Constantinople, not to Venice. In 1453 the Ottoman Muslims invaded Constantinople turned it into Istanbul and deprived the Cretans from their center. Rebellions became less frequent. However the local church kept its links with the center since the Orthodox church has maintained its Patriarchal (head) in Istanbul after the invasion of the Turks to this day.

The period that followed brought the two communities in Crete closer together because the Ottomans posed a threat to both of them. During that period Saint Peter and Paul was built (1530), the small church about 200 meters southeast of the villa . Generally economic activity, construction and culture was enhanced in those years.

Finally in 1645 the Ottomans disembarked on the beach of Kolimbari village, 7 kilometers west of the villa. One of their shot-balls is still dug in the east wall of the monastery there. You may visit it. The Monastery however has no monks nowadays. Also the view is interesting from there. Nearby there is an international Orthodox academy .

The new invaders on their way to Chania by sea and by land met the guard of Theodorou island, the huge rock in the sea that you can see from the villa to your east. Commander Biagio Zulian decided to set fire to the ammunition. All 70 guards died along with 200 Turkish soldiers. Unfortunately you cannot visit the island. Only Kri-Kri the endangered wild goat live there.

The siege of Chania lasted two months. The Venetian property became Turkish and the Catholic churches became Mosques. All fertile land was rendered to Muslim chiefs. It is interesting to note that Gramvousa island remained free and refuge for the Cretans till 1692. You may set foot on it if you take a small boat from Kissamos (Some 20 kilometers west of the villa).

During the Turkish occupation my ancestors lived on the mountains in a village called Laki, the last village on your way to the famous Samaria gorge. They would visit Gramvousa peninsula in the winter to feed their cattle. Almost half of it belonged to them. It still does, only now there are so many to inherit and the process is impossibly complicated. If you decide to swim at Ballos beach, to the west end of the island, probably one of the best deserted beaches you can find, you'll drive through that shepherd land. The road is rough after Kaliviani village. You will also have to abandon the car at the end of the road and walk for half an hour to get to the beach.

In the year 1821 the Greek national revolution against the Ottomans led to the creation of the modern independent Greek state on the mainland. The population of the inland exerted pressure on the conquerors and limited them mainly within cities. The administration of the inland was transferred to the Egyptian ruler Mehmet Ali until 1841. In that period ,among others ,the lighthouse at the port of Chania was built on Venetian foundations.

In 1832 my Great-Grand Father Nicholas (born around 1790 along with his sons Michalis born around 1815 ,Yianis, Manolis and Georgis and the rest of his family) settled on the fertile land of Maleme leaving behind the rugged life in the mountains. The Ottomans were willing to sell then. Soon after two other families moved in the area ,from Laki,and Maleme village was created .

In 1841 the rule in the island was again returned to the Turks. Michalis who married then brought to life ,Mamolis ,Yiannis and Nicholas born around 1845,who in turn brought to life Michalis, Manolis and Stefanos born in 1873, my grant father. In 1878 a new treaty was signed at Chania to secure more rights in favor of the local population.
In 1898 Crete became independent. Chania was the capital. A period of modernization and prosperity, which also unfortunately led to the demolition of buildings of the old era ,started .The three brothers built their new houses in Maleme in that period.

In 1913 Crete joined Greece. Also Saint Antonio's church was founded in the center of the village in 1918. Its tower bells are in your view from the villa's yard.

In 1940 my father was sent, as a soldier, to the north of the country to confront the Italians who intended unsuccessfully to occupy Greece. In 1941 the Germans came to finish the job the Italians could not do. He managed to come all the way from the Albanian front to Athens to embark on a vessel bound for Crete which, half way, outside the island of Milos, was sunk by the German airplanes. Local fishermen transferred the survivors to Chania. The rest of his journey to Maleme was on a British Royal Army jeep. On his arrival he found no one at home. He went to stay to his sister's house at Kondomari village, two kilometers to the south of Maleme, where the rest of the family found protection.

A few days later the Germans, having landed at Maleme airport on top of hundreds of wrecked airplanes ,surrounded that village and put all men in front of the firing squad (click here to see photos). All but five were killed. He survived thanks to his uncle Manolis. The family spent four years away from home in the surrounding villages.

Because of the airport, Maleme was too dangerous a place to live in the area not to mention that their house was looted with a roof full of holes. In 1945 the Germans left. The city of Chania had lost most of its historic buildings that took centuries of human effort to erect. Nevertheless it remained one of the most beautiful towns in this part of the world .

In the years that followed political turbulence and turmoil was the norm in the country. It was not before 1974 that the country could enter a normal political life.