The main square in Gavalochori, which is called Gavaladon Square (Plateia Gavaladon or Πλατεία Γαβαλάδων), is more functional than beautiful. Today, it is largely a parking lot surrounded by a supermarket, a craft shop, a kafeneio, and a taverna. A recent effort to beautify the square included the installation of stone planter boxes with native lantana flowers, benches, and a series of trees that eventually will provide much-needed shade.
The square remains the center of the village. It is here that major celebrations and programs take place, and it is an informal gathering space for villagers as well. You will often see (mostly) men sitting at one corner of the square in front of and across from the kafeneio (coffee shop/pub).
The monument in the main square is dedicated to people from the Gavalochori area who died in the various revolutions and wars on Crete and was installed with the support of the junta that ruled Greece between 1967 and 1974. One statue that is part of the monument is of Konstantinos Malinos, who was born in 1832 in Agios Pavlos, which was then a part of Gavalochori. He is known as a fighter who helped shake off Turkish rule. He started his revolutionary activity in 1858 and participated in the Cretan revolutions of 1866 and 1878 and in the battle of Almyrida in 1896, which was the last battle the Cretans fought against the Turks. From 1895 to 1899, he served as the mayor of the nearby village of Vamos. He died in 1913, just a few months before the unification of Crete with Greece.
The second statue is of Charalambos I. Papadakis, a lawyer who was born in Gavalochori in 1866 and participated in many armed attacks against the Turkish army and the Turkish police on Crete. He was arrested in 1892 and accused of treason and imprisoned. Because his guilt was not proven, however, he was temporarily released on a bond of 1,000 Turkish pounds. His arrest did not stop his revolutionary activity, and he was seriously injured in a battle against the Turks in Almyrida in 1896. Papadakis served in various political positions as Crete transitioned from Turkish rule to autonomy and then to unification with Greece. He was one of the first members of the Central Commission of the Political Changeover of Crete in 1895 and was bestowed with the power to act on behalf of Crete in the signing of treaties and other such business. In 1912, he was elected deputy of the revolutionary assembly of Chania. Following Crete’s incorporation into Greece in 1913, he served as the prefect or high official of Rethymno, Serres, and Sammos.
Also in the main square is a plaque, installed in 2006, that celebrates the handicraft of lace making or kopaneli (κοπανέλι) that was very important in the history of Gavalochori. The plaque contains two mantinades (μαντινάδες), a type of Cretan poem that consists of two lines of 15 syllables each. The mantinades read, “Daughter of Gavalochori, you need hard work and patience to make bobbin lace, as always is required for fine arts” (Mixalis Piperakis) and “The making of bobbin lace in Gavalochori for many years gave a living income to mother and daughter” (Nikolaos Pagonakis).
The art of bobbin lace dates to the 16th century in Europe, and it appeared on Crete between 1906 and 1908. A nun from Gavalochori, Minodora Athanasaki, learned bobbin lace making when she attended a school in Athens and then taught it to the rest of the nuns in her convent of Holy Prodromou in Chania. Because there were many nuns in that convent from Gavalochori, the art spread quickly through the village as the nuns taught it to their relatives, and from there it spread to other villages in the region. Girls in Gavalochori started learning the technique of lace making as early as the age of four, and young boys were often jealous that the girls got to be involved in an ancient tradition and learn such a beautiful craft. Women and girls went shopping in the village or from street traders using as payment the lace they had produced.
The art of bobbin lace is still practiced by a few women in Gavalochori, and they sometimes gather together in one of Gavalochori’s public buildings or in a square to work together on their lace projects. You can see samples of the lace and as well as a pillow and bobbins for making the lace in the Folklore Museum in Gavalochori.
The plaque in the main square was the inspiration of Christina Koustouraki-Koukoulari, who was born in Gavalochori and who was taught the craft of kopaneli by her mother, Theodosia Kolivaki-Koustouraki. When she finished school in Gavalochori and Chania, Christina began teaching the craft of lace making in Athens and in 1990 founded the Association of Friends for the Continuation and Preservation of Kopaneli to preserve the handicraft. The artist Nikos Papoutsakis created the image for the plaque in the square, and Antonia Diamantaki created the sculpture executed in bas-relief from the painting.
To the left of the war memorial is a stone monument commemorating Christos Moulas, who was killed on July 25, 2023, at the age of 34 while fighting a fire on the Greek island of Evia. He and his 27-year-old copilot, Pericles Stefanidis, who was also killed, were members of the Greek Hellenic Air Force. They flew low over Platanistos, near Karystos, to drop water on a fire that had been burning for several days before the plane turned sharply into a hillside and burst into flames. The text on the monument reads, “There is no return for me, but eternal will be the glory,” with the first set of lines in ancient Greek and the second in modern Greek. Moulas was the son of Anastasia Kazoyli and Vagelis Moulas, who owned the Arismari Taverna in Gavalochori at the time of his death. His mother’s family is from Gavalochori. The funeral service for Moulas was held in Gavalochori on July 28, 2023, and was attended by the president of Greece, Katerina Sakellaropoulou. Moulas is buried in the cemetery at the Church of Saint George. This monument to him was dedicated at a ceremony in the main square of Gavalochori on July 21, 2024.
As you leave the main square and enter the narrow street that leads to the Folklore Museum, you will see a plaque on the corner across from the Historic Corner. It reads, “In 1692, in this place, the Turks brutally murdered the abbot Gavalas Kapetanakis of the Monastery of Kera for fighting and supplying the fortress of Souda” and “In 1750, in this place, Zoumas Kalorizikos, received a martyr’s death for refusing to convert to Islam. Eternal memory [to the deceased].
Both of these incidents refer to the efforts of the Turks to occupy Crete. They began invading Crete in 1645 and not until the end of the 19th century was Turkish control over Crete relinquished. Gavalas Kapetanakis was from Gavalochori, and he was the abbot of a monastery that included two other monks from Gavalochori. They wanted to support the revolutionaries in the fortress at Souda Bay who were fighting the Turks, and one night, they sent a boat with food to the revolutionaries with one of the monks. When he did not return at the expected time, the abbot became concerned and sent a monk to a nearby hill to see if he could see the boat with the monk. Because he was nowhere to be seen, they suspected that the boat and the monk had been captured by the Turks. Their suspicions were confirmed when the monk saw a small Turkish ship carrying soldiers sailing from Kastelli to Kalyves. The Turkish soldiers found their way to the monastery and killed the abbot and then continued on to Gavalochori, destroying the churches of the Prophet Elias, Saint George, and Saint John. They also burned many houses in Gavalochori and killed many of its Christian residents. Throughout the Turkish occupation of Crete, Cretan residents were expected to convert to Islam and to denounce their Christian faith. Zoumas Kalorizikos was one of many who refused to do so and who lost his life as a result.
The main square in Gavalochori, which is called Gavaladon Square (Plateia Gavaladon or Πλατεία Γαβαλάδων), is more functional than beautiful. Today, it is largely a parking lot surrounded by a supermarket, a craft shop, a kafeneio, and a taverna. A recent effort to beautify the square included the installation of stone planter boxes with native lantana flowers, benches, and a series of trees that eventually will provide much-needed shade.
The square remains the center of the village. It is here that major celebrations and programs take place, and it is an informal gathering space for villagers as well. You will often see (mostly) men sitting at one corner of the square in front of and across from the kafeneio (coffee shop/pub).
The monument in the main square is dedicated to people from the Gavalochori area who died in the various revolutions and wars on Crete and was installed with the support of the junta that ruled Greece between 1967 and 1974. One statue that is part of the monument is of Konstantinos Malinos, who was born in 1832 in Agios Pavlos, which was then a part of Gavalochori. He is known as a fighter who helped shake off Turkish rule. He started his revolutionary activity in 1858 and participated in the Cretan revolutions of 1866 and 1878 and in the battle of Almyrida in 1896, which was the last battle the Cretans fought against the Turks. From 1895 to 1899, he served as the mayor of the nearby village of Vamos. He died in 1913, just a few months before the unification of Crete with Greece.
The second statue is of Charalambos I. Papadakis, a lawyer who was born in Gavalochori in 1866 and participated in many armed attacks against the Turkish army and the Turkish police on Crete. He was arrested in 1892 and accused of treason and imprisoned. Because his guilt was not proven, however, he was temporarily released on a bond of 1,000 Turkish pounds. His arrest did not stop his revolutionary activity, and he was seriously injured in a battle against the Turks in Almyrida in 1896. Papadakis served in various political positions as Crete transitioned from Turkish rule to autonomy and then to unification with Greece. He was one of the first members of the Central Commission of the Political Changeover of Crete in 1895 and was bestowed with the power to act on behalf of Crete in the signing of treaties and other such business. In 1912, he was elected deputy of the revolutionary assembly of Chania. Following Crete’s incorporation into Greece in 1913, he served as the prefect or high official of Rethymno, Serres, and Sammos.
Also in the main square is a plaque, installed in 2006, that celebrates the handicraft of lace making or kopaneli (κοπανέλι) that was very important in the history of Gavalochori. The plaque contains two mantinades (μαντινάδες), a type of Cretan poem that consists of two lines of 15 syllables each. The mantinades read, “Daughter of Gavalochori, you need hard work and patience to make bobbin lace, as always is required for fine arts” (Mixalis Piperakis) and “The making of bobbin lace in Gavalochori for many years gave a living income to mother and daughter” (Nikolaos Pagonakis).
The art of bobbin lace dates to the 16th century in Europe, and it appeared on Crete between 1906 and 1908. A nun from Gavalochori, Minodora Athanasaki, learned bobbin lace making when she attended a school in Athens and then taught it to the rest of the nuns in her convent of Holy Prodromou in Chania. Because there were many nuns in that convent from Gavalochori, the art spread quickly through the village as the nuns taught it to their relatives, and from there it spread to other villages in the region. Girls in Gavalochori started learning the technique of lace making as early as the age of four, and young boys were often jealous that the girls got to be involved in an ancient tradition and learn such a beautiful craft. Women and girls went shopping in the village or from street traders using as payment the lace they had produced.
The art of bobbin lace is still practiced by a few women in Gavalochori, and they sometimes gather together in one of Gavalochori’s public buildings or in a square to work together on their lace projects. You can see samples of the lace and as well as a pillow and bobbins for making the lace in the Folklore Museum in Gavalochori.
The plaque in the main square was the inspiration of Christina Koustouraki-Koukoulari, who was born in Gavalochori and who was taught the craft of kopaneli by her mother, Theodosia Kolivaki-Koustouraki. When she finished school in Gavalochori and Chania, Christina began teaching the craft of lace making in Athens and in 1990 founded the Association of Friends for the Continuation and Preservation of Kopaneli to preserve the handicraft. The artist Nikos Papoutsakis created the image for the plaque in the square, and Antonia Diamantaki created the sculpture executed in bas-relief from the painting.
To the left of the war memorial is a stone monument commemorating Christos Moulas, who was killed on July 25, 2023, at the age of 34 while fighting a fire on the Greek island of Evia. He and his 27-year-old copilot, Pericles Stefanidis, who was also killed, were members of the Greek Hellenic Air Force. They flew low over Platanistos, near Karystos, to drop water on a fire that had been burning for several days before the plane turned sharply into a hillside and burst into flames. The text on the monument reads, “There is no return for me, but eternal will be the glory,” with the first set of lines in ancient Greek and the second in modern Greek. Moulas was the son of Anastasia Kazoyli and Vagelis Moulas, who owned the Arismari Taverna in Gavalochori at the time of his death. His mother’s family is from Gavalochori. The funeral service for Moulas was held in Gavalochori on July 28, 2023, and was attended by the president of Greece, Katerina Sakellaropoulou. Moulas is buried in the cemetery at the Church of Saint George. This monument to him was dedicated at a ceremony in the main square of Gavalochori on July 21, 2024.
As you leave the main square and enter the narrow street that leads to the Folklore Museum, you will see a plaque on the corner across from the Historic Corner. It reads, “In 1692, in this place, the Turks brutally murdered the abbot Gavalas Kapetanakis of the Monastery of Kera for fighting and supplying the fortress of Souda” and “In 1750, in this place, Zoumas Kalorizikos, received a martyr’s death for refusing to convert to Islam. Eternal memory [to the deceased].
Both of these incidents refer to the efforts of the Turks to occupy Crete. They began invading Crete in 1645 and not until the end of the 19th century was Turkish control over Crete relinquished. Gavalas Kapetanakis was from Gavalochori, and he was the abbot of a monastery that included two other monks from Gavalochori. They wanted to support the revolutionaries in the fortress at Souda Bay who were fighting the Turks, and one night, they sent a boat with food to the revolutionaries with one of the monks. When he did not return at the expected time, the abbot became concerned and sent a monk to a nearby hill to see if he could see the boat with the monk. Because he was nowhere to be seen, they suspected that the boat and the monk had been captured by the Turks. Their suspicions were confirmed when the monk saw a small Turkish ship carrying soldiers sailing from Kastelli to Kalyves. The Turkish soldiers found their way to the monastery and killed the abbot and then continued on to Gavalochori, destroying the churches of the Prophet Elias, Saint George, and Saint John. They also burned many houses in Gavalochori and killed many of its Christian residents. Throughout the Turkish occupation of Crete, Cretan residents were expected to convert to Islam and to denounce their Christian faith. Zoumas Kalorizikos was one of many who refused to do so and who lost his life as a result.
