The village of Rodovani on Crete

On the way down from Chania to Sougia this is where the road splits and you start your descend through the Sougia Gorge towards the sea. Rodovani is a typical but nice traditional Cretan mountain village. There are a little over 100 people living here. As you might epect, like in almost every small village in Crete, there is an attractive small church here (the picture is a thumbnail and can be enlarged). The area is mountainous and green with pine tree forests and olive groves. The roads are usually not very wide and they are curly and you will not run into much traffic.

Close to Rodovani is the ancient town of Elyros. In 300 BC this was an important town that lived from the trade with for instance the Libian king Magas. Their harbour was in Sougia. When the town was a bishops-town during the Byzantine period it was destroyed by the Saracenes. There are no signs along the road that direct you to the old town.