On the Kaloudiana-Chryssoskalitissa road that leads from Kissamos to Elafonissi, and along river Tyflos lies the village of Potamida, at an altitude of 38 m. from the surface of the sea. It stretches out across particularly fertile land of vineyards and olive groves aplenty, orchards of various trees and plants, which are irrigated by the river that crosses the settlement. The village’s cross-shaped domed church is dedicated to St Paraskevi and each year, on July 26, a fair is held to honour her that attracts a large crowd. There is also the church of St Anna that dates back to the Venetian era as well as St George’s since the Ottoman occupation. In the area surrounding the church of St Anna lie the village’s oldest structures, since the Venetian and Ottoman eras, and built around a yard and a central building said by locals to be a ‘Secret School’ during Turkish occupation, for it contains a sunless hall, known as the cellar, where pupils gathered.

A traditional watermill survives in the area, working up until 1960 but later abandoned and covered in sediments. This is a three-storey structure featuring a well on the top floor, the main mill room on the middle floor and the waterwheel on the ground floor where water from the conical well dropped on. The village’s elementary school is, since 2007, a museum of educational books, service documents and historic archives from 1913 onwards.

The most notable feature of this place, though, are the soft clay natural pyramids that rear up at a short distance from the houses, creating an impressive, alien setting! These are conical mounds, almost plantless bar a few shrubs on their tops, strongly contrasting the scenery, known as Komolithi. Plenty of sea fossil has been unearthed from those mounds as well as traces of gold and iron pyrites, evidence that solidify the theory of an ancient seabed remains. Visitors can easily access them as climbing over is feasible by all age groups.

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