This is the 5th part of the hike series Kidnapping General Kreippe.

We start from the village of Ano Meros and hike along dirt roads and paths. We pass by the gorge of Smile, the village of Vryses and a beautiful oak-tree forest. Then we move off-trail towards the Chainospilio Cave, which is used by shepherds for storing and riping cheese.

We reach the village of Gerakari following dirt roads and finish by the village of Patsos.

Leader: Eleni Arnopoulou  •  Hiking Hours: 9  •  Difficulty Rate: 3

Departure: 07:00 from the Archaeological Museum.

Information – Registration: Monday to Friday, 20:00 – 22:00, at the Mountaineering Club Office, 53 Dikeosynis st, Heraklion, telephone number: 2810227609.

THE PATHS OF WAR

The mountain paths and passes hide memories from the past. The age-old human experience of crossing the mountains safely and with as little effort as possible, left behind marked paths that are used up to this day.

Many people from different eras have walked along these mountain roads: ancient worshipers heading for the caves or the summit sanctuaries, fighters persecuted by the Venetian or Ottoman occupation, persecutors and persecuted of all periods of revolutions. During the period of the Nazi German-Italian occupation, the same paths were used by the rebels, the officers of the allied services, the saboteurs, and dozens of other resistance fighters on their escape route to the Middle East.

For many years now, the Hellenic Mountaineering Club of Heraklion has been hiking along exactly the same historical paths, the same slopes and the same plateaus, where 80 years ago, in exactly the same places, battles were fought, radios worked on behalf of the secret services,  people were tortured and killed, supplies were dropped by the air force, planes crashed, important meetings of leaders of the Resistance took place. Some of these paths were also followed by the group of kidnappers accompanying the German general Heinrich Kreipe.

The Mountaineering Club of Heraklion, in an effort to enrich hikers with new knowledge about the place they often visit and cross, has launched a cycle of historical thematic routes. In this way, our senses on the mountain will be enriched, not only with the enjoyment of nature but also with the deep knowledge of the place. Our gaze will cease to be unsuspecting.

The old mountaineers who had closer contact with the people of the mountain – because then the mountains were alive and full of life – had this different view of the place. We follow another path of knowledge, now, choosing some of our paths to be accompanied by those who know the historical past and choosing some paths that are enriched with historical knowledge before it is lost, which, unfortunately, is common in our country.