Product Code Database
Palaikastro or Palekastro (, officially ), with the Godart and Olivier abbreviation PK, is a thriving town, geographic heir to a long line of settlements extending back into prehistoric times, at the east end of the Mediterranean island Crete. The Kallikratis Programme implemented starting 2011 made the town into a local community (τοπική κοινότητα, topikí koinótita) under jurisdiction of the next-highest levels, chained as follows: municipal unit (demotike enoteta) Itanos, municipality (demos) Sitia, regional unit (periphereiakes enotetas) Lasithi, region (periphereia) Crete.
Until 2017 Palaikastro shared Itanos with Karydi, Zakros, and Mitato (Μητάτο). The latter was located on an altiplano to the west. It had 6 villages, including Mitato ("hut"), named after an ancient stone shepherd's mitato of interest to visitors. However, subsequently the population on the plain diminished to the point where Mitato village had no permanent residents. Consequently, by Presidential Decree No. 70/207, on recommendation of the Minister of the Interior, and approval by Sitia and Palaikastro, K. Mitato was phased out and its settlements were turned over to Palaikastro, which had been collecting the population, and providing the services, anyway.
The fort was built before the age of cannon. It had been a defensible location in steep terrain and rough ground, with a view for some distance around. Whether or not the fort replaced an earlier one is unknown. By the time the Venetians abandoned it, the use of cannon had nullified most of its defensive value, as the bombardment of the Parthenon at Athens by Turkish ships had demonstrated. The Parthenon had been considered a secure location to store gunpowder. The Turks were not interested in occupying Kastri, and in general, fixed positions today are an easy target for persistent bombardment. They may hold out heroically for a time, but without supporting troops in the region are doomed to fall. Itanos to the north had been similarly abandoned centuries earlier.
The promontory is partly in the water. Its long dimension along the water is . Its short dimension is . It is flanked by Kouremenos beach on the north and Chiona beach on the south. The Minoan settlement at Rousolakkos is located behind Chiona beach. The coordinates of the promontory are , which are not to be confused with another, much smaller promontory at the south end of Chiona beach.
The center of Palaikastro is about due west from there. To obtain such a name as "old fort," Palaikastro at the time must have been close to the promontory, in the Bronze Age, most likely at Rousolakkos. There is some evidence that the Minoans moved around the base, leaving remains even on the light slopes leading up to the promontory.
It is incorrect to say, however, that anyone ever "inhabited" or "moved to" some sort of "hill" there. The promontory, though fortifiable to some extent, is no more habitable than the Rock of Gibraltar. Even if the population attempted to build housing up the cliffs, as is true of some Greek coastal towns, there would be a rockfall problem. There is no sign that this problem was ever addressed there. On the seaward side, the high cliffs with beating waves would have made use of the promontory as a port impossible. The promontory is not a hill, and no one ever settled on it or built up its treacherous slopes. No refugees could live for long in the citadel, due to lack of water, food, and space. It would have been easily isolated. It undoubtedly had value as a lookout and early warning station.
| Commercial village E of P. |
| Formerly in Mitato district. |
| Formerly in Mitato district. |
| Chiona Beach N of Cape Plaka. Roussolakkos is located there, site of the ancient Minoan city forced inland to P. over the centuries. |
| Village to the W of Chochlakies Gorge S of Cape Plaka |
| Kouremenos Beach is located to the NE of P. up to and including Tenda Point. |
| Formerly in Mitato district. |
| So structured as to make Kyriamadi Forward Naval Base a separate settlement, though not under local jurisdiction. |
| Rural area W of the town. |
| Rural area W of the town. |
| The center of town itself without the other settlements. |
| So structured as to make Toplou Monastery and the lands on which it sits a separate settlement. The monastery owns lands elsewhere as well. |
| A hotel district to the north of Kouremenos beach |
| Formerly in Mitato district |
Mount Petsofas above the town has the ruins of a Minoan peak sanctuary.
==Gallery==
|
|
