Last full moon of the year over Sfakia!

and a few snow patches on the White Mountains

Off Season Photo Moments Pt.2

Frangokastello fortess

Follow Kallikratis' snake shaped road (see photo in older post) to get a view of the Frangokastello plain. In this photo, apart from the famous Frangokastello fortress, you can also notice Monachus Monachus Apartments.

Lakki beach

It is only a few minutes drive from Frangokastello. The amazing thing was that there were three different sets of rock in the sea and each one of them was home to a different type of birds. The first and closest one was occupied by rock doves, the middle by herring gulls and the third one by adult and juvenile shags (the one in this photo).

Kotsifou gorge

On the way to Rethymno between the villages of Selia and Mirthios

Lake Kournas

The only freshwater lake in Crete. It is located close to Georgioupoli and accommodates ducks, eels and water snakes.

Venetian Lighthouse

Old town of Chania.

Mosque of Kioutsouk Hassan-Giali Tzamisi

Old town of Chania.

Fortezza

 Old town of Rethymno.

Blooming almond tree.

Almond trees do not get noticed until it is spring and suddenly the whole place is filled with their blossoms.

White Mountains

Cloudy afternoon.


Link to Off Season Photo Moments Pt.1

Saharan dust events in western Crete

The Saharan desert plays an important role in the amount of dust particles that hover over Greece every year. Studies have proven that the Mediterranean area is mainly affected by the occurrence of intense cyclones called Sharav, that take place south of Atlas Mountains in Morocco.  However, the magnitude of the dust storms is seasonal, with lower velocity in winter, higher in the spring and somehow milder in the summer due to stable weather conditions [1].

In order to predict the atmospheric life cycle of the eroded desert dust, the Barcelona Supercomputing Center created the Dust REgional Atmospheric Model (DREAM) [2]. The picture below shows the amount of dust particles and the cloud coverage over the Mediterranean on the 21st of March, 2013, the day that most of our photos were taken. Crete appears to have high dust deposition levels. As mentioned above, dust events are common during spring season, the dates that we took our photos are random, we just happened to be around with a camera. Last February we had experienced a day with even heavier dust winds, especially in the area of Chania, unfortunately, due to lack of equipment we did not document it.

Quoting J.R.R. Tolkien “You can only come to the morning through the shadows.” However, when dust arrives from the Sahara desert, the whole day stays pretty much the same.

Morning in Frangokastello

The town of Chania under dusty clouds and strong south winds.

Chania - Rethymno highway

Note the sign at the end of the road. In a day with good visibility you would be able to read Irakleio 119km and Rethymno 41km!!!

On this turn some electric power pylons are slightly visible in the dusty atmosphere, unfortunately the rest of the scenery (White Mountains) is lost. 

Yellow Snow Peak

The intensity and regularity of dust winds over the last couple of months turned what was left of snow in the White Mountains to yellow patches.

Small fortress at Askifou plateau

Imbros

This is the entrance of Imbros village. Imbros is the last village that you will meet before starting to descend the mountain road towards the Sfakian plain and Frangokastello. At the far end you can see how the sky changes, as the mountains give way to open sky and sea.

Imbros gorge, where the mountain peak disappears in the dusty clouds.

Sfakian plain 

The photo clearly shows the massive effect that the Saharan sand has all the over the Sfakian region. The fortress of Frangokastello is located at the far end on the top tongue of land.

Monachus Monachus Apartments

The end of the day at Monachus Monachus Apartments comes with a dusty afternoon and predictions that in two days time the Mediterranean will be, once again, overflown by a plethora of tiny particles of sand [3]. 

Do not worry summer time is much clearer!

References:

1. P. T. Nastos, “Meteorological Patterns Associated with Intense Saharan Dust Outbreaks over Greece in Winter,” Advances in Meteorology, vol. 2012, Article ID 828301, 17 pages, 2012. doi:10.1155/2012/828301 (http://www.hindawi.com/journals/amet/2012/828301/#B11)

2. Data and/or images from the BSC-DREAM8b (Dust REgional Atmospheric Model) model, operated by the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (http://www.bsc.es/projects/earthscience/BSC-DREAM/)

3. Data and/or images based on the SKIRON/Eta modeling system (http://forecast.uoa.gr/)

'Malotira' and Cretan cheese 'Graviera' in a 'mitato' high in the White Mountains - «Μαλοτήρα» και Κρητική Γραβιέρα σ'ένα «μιτάτο» στα Λευκά Όρη

'Malotira' is a term used in Crete in order to describe mountain tea. It is mainly produced in West Crete, in the White Mountains and Psiloritis, at an altitude higher than 900 meters. However, this plant is endemic to Crete, which means that the genre 'malotira' grows only in Crete. Cretan people use it as a natural pharmaceutical, helping against cold, respiratory ailments and stomachache.

Etymologically the word 'malotira' has two possible origins. It is believed that the Venetian conquerors learned its remedial qualities and adopted it, calling it 'maletira'. 'Male' in Italian means 'sickness' and 'tirare' means 'to drag'. Still, the word might derive from the Greek 'mallotos'='malliaros' that means 'woolly' due to the plant's morphology. Its leaves have a dense fluffy texture. 

«Μαλοτήρα» ονομάζουν στην Κρήτη το τσάϊ του βουνού. Φυτρώνει κυρίως στα βουνά της Δυτικής Κρήτης, στα Λευκά Όρη και στον Ψηλορείτη, σε υψόμετρο μεγαλύτερο των 900 μέτρων. Η «Μαλοτήρα» είναι ενδημικό φυτό της Κρήτης. Οι Κρητικοί ανακάλυψαν απο νωρίς τις θεραπευτικές του ιδιότητες και το χρησιμοποίησαν σαν φάρμακο κατά των κρυολογημάτων, τις παθήσεις του αναπνευστικού αλλά και του στομάχου. 

Ετυμολογικά η λέξη «Μαλοτήρα» θυμίζει το λατινικό «maletira», όνομα που απέδωσαν οι Βενετοί στο φυτό κατα τη διάρκεια της Ενετοκρατίας, όπου «male» σημαίνει αρρώστια και «tirare» τραβάω. Μια δεύτερη εξήγηση είναι πως η λέξη μπορεί να προέρχεται απο το ελληνικό «μαλλωτός» = «μαλλιαρός», λόγω της μορφολογίας του φυτού, καθώς πυκνό χνούδι καλύπτει τα φύλλα του.

Gathering Cretan mountain tea 'malotira' - Μαζεύοντας «Μαλοτήρα»

'Mitato' or 'Mitatos' (originating from the latin 'metatum') is a word used to describe a low sealing structure, of two meters height at the most, that it is constructed mainly of stones. These constructions are still used today by the shepherds for multiple purposes. They can be either warehouses in order to store fruit or small animal shelters or even facilities for making cheese. In the following video Mr Papasifakis exhibits how to prepare the famous Cretan cheese 'Graviera' in his 'mitato', which is located high in the White Mountains.

«Μιτάτο» ή «Μητάτο» ή «Μιτάτος» (εκ του λατινικού «metatum») είναι ο ορισμός που προσδίδεται σε οίκημα χαμηλό, το πολύ δύο μέτρα, κατασκευασμένο επι το πλείστον απο ξεροληθιά. Η χρήση του ποικίλει ανάλογα με τις εκάστοτε ανάγκες. Μπορεί να χρησιμοποιηθεί για φύλαξη καρπών, σαν μικρή στάνη και σαν παρασκευαστήριο τυριού. Στο παρακάτω βίντεο ο κ. Παπασηφάκης παρουσιάζει την παρασκευή της Κρητικής Γραβιέρας στο «μιτάτο» του στα Λευκά Όρη.

Mr. Papasifakis while preparing 'Graviera' cheese in his 'mitato' in the White Mountains.

Ο κ. Παπασηφάκης προετοιμάζει Κρητική Γραβιέρα στο «μιτάτο» του στα Λευκά Όρη.

For more information, about 'malotira', please visit Mr. Papasifakis' page - Για περισσότερες πληροφορίες, σχετικά με τη «μαλοτήρα», παρακαλώ επισκεφθείτε την ιστοσελίδα του κ. Γ. Παπασηφάκη: http://www.malotira.gr

Greek Source - Ελληνική Πηγή: "The call of the mountain" facebook page , http://www.malotira.gr/, Dr Costas D. Oikonomakis' article about 'Malotira'