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Crete: Hania Prefecture Overview Page Twenty-two

Frangokastello

FrangokastelloFrangokastello to the east of Hora Sfakion along the main coast road is one of the nicer places by the sea in Crete, with good sandy beaches and clear beautiful water, both near the castle and farther to the east as well. There are many streams coming out along the coast here, including one just below the castle with ducks on it, and more to the west . Camping on the beaches (and in the dunes) along the coast here, is a definite option.

The castle was built in 1371 against pirate incursions as well as for local control on the part of the Venetian (and later Turkish) rulers, 'Frango' meaning basically 'west European'. The walls (which are about all that remains of the castle) are pinkish orange in color. In 1828,during the first years of the Greek War of Independence, the castle was occupied by a rebel force made up of 650 Cretans under the leadership of a mainlander from the mountains of northwest mainland Greece (Ipirus) named Hadzimihali Daliani, who hoped to spread revolutionary fervor on the island of Crete. Their massacre by an army of 8000 Turks (revenged by Cretans hiding in the the mountain passes as the Turks left the coast) became a legend in these parts, the victims elevated to the status of martyrs and it has been reported by thousands that on 17 May (the anniversary of the massacre) or even later, during the last days of May, their ghosts of the slaughtered rebels rise up from their graves armed and mounted on horses, ride towards the castle and disappear into the sea.

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