Kalyves

Kalyves (Greek: Καλύβες) is a large village in Crete, Greece, the main village in the municipal unit of Armenoi. It is now a popular tourist resort that has maintained its Cretan character.

Description

Kalyves lies about 20 km east of Chania in the Apokoronas area and is linked with GR-90 (E65). It is on the coast at the entrance of Souda Bay. It essentially consists of one long road, with houses opening directly on to it, with the occasional alley behind. The town is bound on one side by the sea and the other by low hills. On Kastelli Hill, east of the town, are the remains of the fortified settlement Castello Apicorono, identified by some scholars as the site of ancient Ippokoronion, which is thought to have given the Apokoronas region its name. In classical and Byzantine times, Kalives is the likely site of Kissamos, one of the ancient city of Aptera's two harbours.

Kalives is the base of the municipality of Armeni, covering 12 other settlements inland. A short walk out of the village to the west is a collection of stone buildings including a taverna and a chapel known as Koumos built by a local man who spent ten years erecting them. Paths are littered with mosaics, walls stuffed with stones in the shape of fish, snakes and other creatures with rough tables and chairs of stone. Before reaching Kalami village, another beach - 'Kyani Akti' is hidden behind fields of bamboo.