MyPictureDay: Visiting an abandoned village at the Mili Gorge in Crete.

Hello, my friends. Welcome to another #mypictureday post. This time I visited an abandoned village located in the Mili gorge in Rethymno, Crete. This gorge is suitable for beginners as it is very passable and only 4.5 km in length and you need about 2 hours to cross it. The route is very enjoyable as in the gorge the visitor meets a green oasis consisting of various species of plants and trees, small lakes and waterfalls, 2 Christian churches, 4 watermills that operated during the Venetian rule and the abandoned Mili village.

The abandoned village is located halfway through the gorge and you can get there very easily by car or tourist bus if you do not want to cross the whole gorge. I went there the previous Saturday with my dog to enjoy nature and capture some photos.

Every time I visit this place I feel awe for the grandeur and beauty of nature. Going down the stairs leading to the village, the brain gets a strong dose of oxygen from the combination of nature and the heartbeats that go up due to hiking. As soon as you reach the old abandoned settlement, in your right hand, there is a small Christian church built inside a rock. As I have rewritten in my previous posts, in Greece you can meet churches even in the most unlikely places.

Going right, I followed the path and came out to the old abandoned settlement. There are about 10 abandoned houses that have been taken over by the green from the mold but also from the plants that have embraced them and make them look even more beautiful. The millers and their families lived and worked here until 1970 when landslides began and they were forced to leave their homes and build a new settlement 1 km away from the gorge.

Observing these old houses, you can understand that people at that time lived very poor but in nature. I took some pictures of the houses because I was enchanted by their beauty and in my mind, my imagination created many images and stories that could have happened at a time when this place was full of life. Also mold always fascinates me because it shows us the wear and tear of time and gives a nice green color to my photos

That day, as I told you above, I had my favorite dog, Lisa, with me. I think she enjoyed our walk as much as I did and she also explored with me the old houses and the beautiful nature around.

I took the photo below in an abandoned house. The signs of abandonment as you can see are huge as on the stone wall small green grasses have grown on the mold. I want to frame this photo one day and hang it on the wall of my living room.

There was also an old restored watermill but unfortunately it was locked and i could not get inside to photograph it.

Proceeding to the path, I leave the old settlement and continue the course through the gorge. There are small waterfalls that enchant you with the sound of running water.

Running water is a source of life. In the photo below we see a small spring that looks like the female genitalia where we start our life when we are born. It is a beautiful picture and for me it clearly symbolizes life.

in life, however, apart from birth, there is also death. Just below the settlement, there was a small cemetery and I took a photo of a tomb. As you can see in the photo in the tombs in Greece there is always olive oil inside to keep the flame from the candle always lit. There is also an incense burner to incense the tomb and to ward off evil spirits.

Old abandoned houses are not the only sign of abandonment. In the photo below we see a garbage can filled with rainwater and somerubbish floating on the surface.

During my visit to the gorge I also took two macro photos. The first one depicts the back of a mushroom and I think it could also decorate my living room because it is very impressive and its colour fits with the colours of my house decoration.

The second macro photo depicts a huge insect I found there that I had never seen in my life. In a quick internet search, I discovered that it is called Oleander hawk-moth (Daphnis nerii) and it is one of the most impressive moths in Europe which is a migratory species, which flies to parts of eastern and southern Europe during the summer.

I stayed in the gorge for about 2 hours. When I took the road back to the car I found a stencil on a rock that was written in three languages and which I completely agree with what is written on it. Indeed if you work all day you do not have the time to make money.

So that was for today. Thanks for following me at my photowalk. See you at my upcoming posts. :)

P.S. All the photos are mine and I have captured them with my dslr camera nikon d3400.