Thought “living under a rock” was just an expression? think again
Check out the “anti-piracy” houses on the Greek island of Ikaria, ancient dwellings built under rocks to camouflage themselves in the landscape so they couldn’t be spotted by Aegean pirates.
The concept, described by the local tourism office as a “unique survival system”, was to trick the pirates into believing the island was completely uninhabited.
Along the coast, tucked away in the mountains, many of these fascinating one-story homes are testaments to sustainable design and are still around.
The anti-piracy buildings, which functioned as both places of worship and residences, “only looked like rocks from a distance,” says the tourism office. As an added safety measure, they had no chimneys to prevent rising smoke from giving away their location.
The Greek island of Ikaria is dotted with anti-piracy stone houses built under rocks to prevent pirates from spotting them. Pictured is Theoskepasti Chapel in the center of the island
The idea behind the unusual dwellings was to trick pirates into thinking the island was completely uninhabited
In order not to draw attention to their presence on the island, the Icarians did not cross the island during the day, but only at night.
The islanders also destroyed their harbors to prevent pirates from docking.
The Tourist Office explains: “Each house had its own grain farm and was far from the other houses, and together they formed ‘neighbourhoods’.”
The problem of piracy in Ikaria began in the 1st century BC. BC, when throughout the centuries the local population never had the means to adequately defend themselves, partly because they were passed from one ruler to another, from the Romans to the Byzantines to the Knights of Saint John. .
Thought “living under a rock” was just an expression? think again
The buildings had no chimneys, so rising plumes of smoke could not reveal their location
The buildings are described by the local tourism office as a “unique survival system”.
The islanders destroyed all their ports to prevent pirates from docking on the coast of Ikaria
During the Byzantine rule (AD 395 to 1453) a few anti-piracy houses were built, but the tourist board notes that in the early 16th century, when the island was under control, the population moved more into these “secret settlements” secluded mountains has. the Ottomans.
This period on the island was known as the “Age of Darkness” (1521 to 1601).
Eleni Mazari told BBC Travel: “[The houses were a] total reversal of the type of structure most people associate with Greece. The time of the great temples was over.”
Today, the ruins of these settlements can be explored in various places around the island, although a particularly important place is the abandoned hill town of Lagkada in the west.
“This lush green valley, almost completely hidden, was once a sacred ground for Ikarian survival in the Age of Darkness,” says the town’s tourism office.
Every summer the valley hosts a festival with performances celebrating the ‘Ikarian ancestors’ struggle for survival’.
Some anti-piracy houses were built during Byzantine rule (395 AD to 1453), but the population retreated to these “secret settlements” in the mountains on a larger scale in the early 16th century when the island was besieged by the Ottomans.
A festival on the island pays tribute to history’s ‘Icarian struggle for survival’ every summer
Above is Ikaria’s beautiful Gialiskari beach. The problem of piracy on the island dates back to the 1st century BC. back
Source link
James is an author and travel journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a love for exploring new cultures and discovering unique destinations, James brings his readers on a journey with him through his articles.
