Chania Drapanos Lighthouse

Location: Kokkino Chorio

Located 26 kilometers east of Chania Town and 2 kilometers north of Kokkino Chorio (Red Village) in the Apokoronas district, Drapanos Lighthouse stands at the edge of a vertical cliff with commanding views.

It was constructed in 1864 by the French Society of Ottoman Lighthouses and it is octagonal. The tower is 7 meters tall, while the keeper’s house can still be seen beside it. Though it was destroyed by the Germans in 1941, it was rebuilt in 1948 and it is still remarkably well preserved. For safety reasons, it is enclosed by a low stone wall and a wire netting, while the terrain around it is rocky.

According to the local tradition, the Drapanos lighthouse is associated with a romantic tragedy. A man called Mintilakis became the lighthouse keeper back in 1914, seeking to live in solitude. Then, one stormy night, he found a shipwrecked girl lying unconscious on one of the rocks; she was a beautiful woman of Algerian origin called Ayse. He rescued her and she became his wife, but she fell ill and died shortly before giving birth to their child. Struck by grief, Mintilakis killed himself, and the residents found his dead body inside a nearby cave embracing that of Ayse.

It is only open on World Lighthouse Day, celebrated every year on the third Sunday of August, and it is easily accessible by car from Kokkino Chorio. It is not far from the spectacular underwater Elephant Cave, a very popular scuba-diving destination.

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