Argastiri

Argastiri is a small mountainous village, with approximately 15 residents, located west of Kantanos and south of Chania. The settlement is built at an altitude of 650 meters and has a beautiful panoramic view of the White Mountains and the bay of Sougia in the Libyan Sea.

There are two versions of how the designation of the village got inspired. According to the first, the name of the village derived from the looms (or “argastiri” in Greek) with which the older women of the village used to make wonderful textiles. According to the others, however, the name “Argastiri” was attributed due to mines (workshops – “argasthria”) of copper of the ancient city of Eliros.

The church of the village, St George, has ornate wooden temple over which there is an inscription of the date 1879. Near Argastiri, archaeological findings of minor importance have been brought to light.

In 1822, at the location Plakakia, near Argastiri, a battle between the Greeks and the Turks was held. 450 Greek rebels under the authority of Nikiforos Chatzidakis were defeated by the 2,000 men of the Turkish army that were leaded by the great Aga Kantanos. Chatzidakis himself got killed.

The closest villages are Skafi and Pera Skafi.