Description:

The land for sale is 318,40m² and alongside the road for 14,46m, in walking distance to restaurants serving delicious traditional meals.

It would be ideal constructing a two-storey residence in order to enjoy a nice sea view of the clear blue sea at Kolymbari. The total building density is 200m².

An ideal opportunity to settle in a Cretan village, either just for holidays or for the whole year round, and enjoying the tranquility and wild beauty of the Cretan Nature in the area.


Location

The village of Afrata is situated 3,5km far from Kolymbari and 28km from Chania, at the West, Afrata is a sandy beach in a small cove with clear water, not affected by the “meltemia” (northern summer winds), within a wild but very beautiful landscape. The beach is less organized, with a cantina for some fast food and cold drink as well as some facilities for swimming and sunbathing.

Kolymbari (Greek: ÊïëõìðÜñé, ÄÞìïò Êïëõìðáñßïõ) is a town and municipality in the west of the island of Crete, Greece. It is part of the Kissamos province which covers the northwest of Chania Prefecture. Kolymbari is a working coastal town at the southern end of the Rodopou peninsula and is a local centre for commerce and fishing. It does not have a sandy beach and is thus not as popular with tourists as the nearby resorts of Maleme and Platanias. Near the town is the historic Moni Gonia monastery. The Spiliakos River enters the sea at Kolymbari.

The municipality of Kolymbari covers the Rodopou peninsula at the end of the Gulf of Chania and some villages to the south. Most of the peninsula is uninhabited and rather barren, with most villages close to Kolymbari at the southern end. The head town of the municipality is Kolymbari itself. The municipality also includes Rodopou, Afrata, Vasilopoulo, Spilia, Kares, Episkopi, Vouves, Glossa, Panethimos, Nochia, Deliana, Drakona, Ravdouchas, Kalidonia, and Kamissiana.

As it is now the village of Kolymbari makes more the impression of being a fishermen village where there are also some tourists visiting. The village is popular with the inhabitants of Chania that like to come to Kolymbari because of the good fish restaurants. Mass tourism as you will find in villages like Chersonissos and Malia is unknown here. There are however enough restaurants, shops, apartments and rooms for rent for people who want to stay longer than a few hours and like to relax and experience the village both at evening and at daytime. Compared to some of the other beaches in the north of Crete the long sand- and pebble beach of Kolymbari seems dreamingly quiet.

On a hill just outside the village you can see the 17th century Monastery of Gonies, which is still inhabited by five monks. Here you find a small museum with religious artifacts like bibles with silver covers, silver crosses, priests' vestments and old icons dating back as far as the 13th century. Some of these icons are considered to belong to the most important icons of the island of Crete. The monastery of Gonies was built between 1618 and 1634 and is one of the most important monasteries on Crete. The monastery has a reputation of resistance towards the occupying forces throughout the centuries and has regularly been attacked, damaged and re-built.

The monastery of Gonies is opened on all days except Saturday (when it is closed) from 9.30 to 13.30 and from 16.30 to 20.00, there is a dress code (no shorts, no short sleeves etcetera) and you are not allowed to make pictures. How much more fun can you make it...? In high season there are sometimes boat trips from Kolymbari to the tip of the peninsula where there is a Dorian sacred place from the 9th century BC (Diktina). Diktina (or: Diktyna) is set in a beautiful isolated cove with crystal clear water and sea caves in the north east part of the peninsula. The ruins that you can see here today were built in the 2nd century AD on top of the Dorian temple, on the orders of the Roman emperor Hadrianus.

From Afrata there is a path leading to the extreme north where you can see the Diktynna Sanctuary. On the way you will pass the Ellinospilos cave which was already inhabited in prehistoric times. The sanctuary in the north of the Rodopou peninsula was dedicated to the daughter of Zeus. The myth tells that she had to escape from King Minoa and jumped into the sea at this spot. Fishermen supposedly picked her up in their nets and brought her to the island Aegina, where she was honored as a Goddess. The people of Crete called her Diktynna (which means "net").

The first sanctuary at the site dates from 700 BC and as good as nothing is left of it. Two centuries later the sanctuary was rebuilt. During the Roman period emperor Hadrianus had it enlarged. During the later centuries a lot of the buildings disappeared, mostly by people that wanted the stones to build their own houses. The Roman temple was surrounded by columns. Places where water was saved have also been found. Statues of the Roman emperor and of the goddess that have been found here can be seen in the Museum of Chania.


Why Greece?

* It has strict build density regulations, which will avoid major developments in future and thus overbuilding
* Only 3½ hours from London and many European cities making it a viable weekend break holiday destination
* Voted by the Lonely Planet Guide 2010 as one of the top 10 countries in the world to visit

Price (Euros) 38000

Build area (m²) 200

Land area (m²) 318,40

Inside Village yes

Distance to airport, km 40

Distance to beach, km 0,5

Town Distance, km 25