The village and the beach of Fodele on Crete

Fodele is a village 20 kilometers west of Heraklion, surrounded by orange tree groves and lemon trees. It is the birthplace of the most famous Greek painter El Greco, who has his own monument in the village next to a tree that is over a thousand years old. You can see the house where he was born, which is nowadays a small museum which has a small kafenion in front of it. Both the house of El Greco as the kafenion are buildings dating from that time. It is posted with signs since it is situated 1 kilometer outside the village center. There ares some copies of his work and some memorabilia. El Greco was originally named Domenikos Theotokopolous and he lived from1541 to 1614. Het travelled from Crete to Spain and became a famous painter.

Through the village runs the small Pandomandri river, named after an old city which was once situated on this spot. In Fodele there are two beaches. One is a commercial beach with hotels and taverna's, which can be reached from the main road and is a bit outside the village. Just outside of the village in the green valley you can find the Byzantine church of the Panagia, which is built on the remains of an earlier seventh century church. It is dedicated to the Holy Virgin Maria. The newer church dates from the beginning of the second Byzantine period (11C) and has the typical cruciform shape. I read somewhere that there were opening hours, but when we arrived here the church was closed. Inside the church there are old wallpaintings.