GC935Z2 ▼
Size: (small)
The cache is situated just on the edge of the village of Vafes, at the bottom of the path that leads up to to the cave at Krionerida and the church of St John the Hermit.
Directions to the cave are well signposted once you are in the village. It is possible to drive and park within fifty metres of the cache if you have a car.
If you want to do more than discover the cache, then visit the cave which is located further up the signposted path in the small gorge of Laggos, at an altitude of 230m. It’s about a fifteen minute walk at most with a couple of places where you will need to watch your step.
The cave has enormous historical importance, as the women and children of Vafes were killed here by the Turks in 1821. Indeed, the wider region of Krionerida was named after this historic cave.
The entrance has a width of 1.8m and height 1.5m. You’ll need a strong flashlight if you want to squeeze in. The cave consists of four rooms, with the first being the larger, while the second contains the bones of the victims of the Turkish atrocity. The last room has a spring of water, after which the cave takes its name (Krionerida means a place with cool water in Greek).
In August 1821, 130 women and children from the village of Vafes hid from the Turks in this cave. The Turks could not understand where all the women and children from the village had gone until they overheard a baby crying in the cave revealing them. So, the Turks then tried to enter the cave, but due to its narrow entrance, only one man could enter each time, whereupon they were killed by the unarmed women by every means they found.
The Turks killed them in the same way that Christians were murdered in the cave of Melidoni: They gathered wood at the entrance of the cave, lit fire and the besieged locals died of suffocation (only seven of them survived). At the entrance of the cave you’ll find a shrine, and the memory of the dead is celebrated every August around 20 (closest Sunday).
Almost opposite the cave, within a recess of a rock there is the very old church of St. John the Hermit. It is said that a Turkish soldier saw a picture of the Saint and wanted to desecrate it. He took out his cutlass and broke that. But some minutes later, he lay dead after slipping and falling from the roof of the church.
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A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M ------------------------- N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z
(letter above equals below, and vice versa)
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