Melidoni

Melidoni is one of the villages located in the northeast side of the White Mountains. It is built at an altitude of 450 meters above sea level, offering to visitors a wonderful view when arriving there.

Melidoni is an agricultural village with olive groves climbing the slopes of the White Mountains, reaching the sterile peaks of Madares, as the locals also call the White Mountains. The hard work of the local residents of Melidoni, however, made ​​the earth fertile. Olive trees and the production of olive oil are the main occupation of the permanent population, measured as 100 people approximately. The first road in the village opened in 1958, after the personal work and contribution of the locals themselves.

The village was named after Melidonis, the lord of Byzantium, who moved to the area after the retrieving of Crete by the Saracens, around the 10th century. At first, the area consisted of fields, in which the first who arrived and settled where the Kokkinoi (the Reds), two brothers from Imbros, who came during the decades around 1700. The population of the village grew after years. Melidoni is the birthplace of some of the most significant personalities of the Cretan battles for the liberation of the island, such as Sifakas Konstantoudakis, his brother Anthony, Manousosifis and Antonis Kakouris, one of the leading figures of the revolution of Therissos.

In the area around Melidoni there are several caves, like Mavro Skiadi and Gourgouthas.