Lafonisios Dromos is a sports event held to honour the civilian Cretan population that was massacred by the Turks at Elafonissi on Easter Sunday in 1824, a retaliation against the Greek Revolution. It is divided in two sub-categories:
a) The 12,500 m. road running challenge: participants start at the Livadia village and finish on Elafonissi beach, and b) the 5,000 m. one that also involves power walking; it starts at the Holy Monastery of Chryssoskalitissa and finishes, too, on Elafonissi beach. Every man, woman, child and person with special needs can join in. Participants receive a commemorative t-shirt and a medal while those in the first three places are awarded a trophy.
FOLKLORE CULTURE Folklore is a culture defined by its namesake: everything the people of a land say, do and act collectively and as a society. Folklore roots across the region of Kissamos are lost in the haze of time, back to Minoan Civilisation times. FOLK ART MUSIC Music and singing are strongly connected to all sides of everyday life for the inhabitants of the area. Traditional musical instruments of Kissamos are the lute and violin, instead of the lyre found in other regions. Locals have dubbed them ‘zygia’ and they are a vital part of days-long celebrations of joyous events like weddings, fairs, engagements, christenings and more. The dancing activities of the people of Kissamos is abundant too, who stomp…
THE KISSAMOS DIET Kissamos locals, as do all Cretans, are traditionally gourmand and enjoy good, quality food. Their land’s trademark produce is the cornerstone of Mediterranean Diet. Local cuisine is, at its foundation, indigenous and the rule of thumb is the use of olive oil on every dish, with tomato and oregano assuming starring roles. The dietary habits of today’s locals are close to those in ancient times, something that is documented by inscriptions on Linear B tablets regarding cheese, olive oil, honey, wine, herbs and spices, meats and grain. Its basic features are simplicity, sparsity, making use of local and seasonal produce, all cooked with imaginative variation. OLIVE OIL No matter where you land on Crete, be it high…