map of Crete The village of Lithines is a small village with many old stone houses, a number of taverns and kafenions, a small supermarket and a few churches. It is located in the southeast of Crete on the way from Sitia in the north to Makrigialos in the south and is accessed via a junction of the highway. The distance to Sitia is 25 kilometer. The beach resorts of Analipsi and Makrigialos in the south of the Lassithi district are at a 10 minute drive away from Lithines. In the village are many narrow roads where it is sometimes almost impossible to turn a corner. It makes a bit the impression that it is a village somewhere on a Cycladic island such as Mykonos or Paros. The name of the village probably derives from the Byzantine nobleman Lucas Litinos, who arrived in Crete in 1182.

Once Lithines was an important small town where a three-story Venetian tower stood. In 1822 a group of 140 Turkish men and 250 women locked themselves up in the tower to defend themselves and the Greek revolutionaries tried to blow it up. This failed but the fire that resulted (the wooden floors caught fire) killed almost all the Turks. In an attempt to extinguish the fire the Turks accidentally threw a barrel over of raki (a strong alcoholic drink) over the fire (the Turks thought that it contained water). Only one woman survived when she jumped from the tower. Now there is almost nothing left of the Venetian tower.

In the village of Lithines there are a few churches. The most important is the church of Agios Anasthasios which dates from the 15th century. Inside the church are several icons, including an icon of the Virgin Mary of which it is said that it can heal people. The strange plates that are stuck on the church wall were put in by the workers who built the church. These are the actual plates that these people have eaten from. Allegedly they could only eat bread and olives and no meat, because that would rot immediately near the church. Legend has it that a Turk who wanted to provoke the Greeks and walked past the church with meat. The meat immediately became rotten and the next day also his livestock died. The largest church in the village is situated at a square and is called the Agia Triada. It consists of two houses and a bell tower.

The area around Lithines is very fertile and tombs that were found witness that it was already inhabited around 1100-800 BC. The village Lithines itself probably dates from the 11th century. Dotted around in the surrounding landscape you will see many churches.