Abe posted about barns a while back. The ones he photographed looked old and disused. This barn looks rather old too; it was built by German soldiers in the village of Fournes (where we own fields with oranges and olives), to be used as offices and a storeroom during the occupation of Crete by the Nazis. Its present use is by the local community as a processing plant for olive oil. We pass it every time we go into the village to our orange groves; as you can see in the following photo, the barn is surrounded by orange and olive trees.
The Nazi regime lasted only four years, but the occupants thought they would be here longer. The barn was not the only important structure they built which had great strategic significance. A river runs just below the hills in the village of Fournes, with its source being a stretch of high mountains (Lefka Ori) in the middle of the western province of Hania.
The German soldiers also built a wooden bridge to the left of the road from the barn, which opened up better access to the remote (and Nazi-resistant) mountain villages. The bridge is now disused, as a more modern roadway has been built right beside it to replace it. It makes a good place to watch the river passing by furiously in the winter.
very nice choice for the theme. I am just lost for words 'coz i can feel that you enjoy taking these photos so much and that the joy of your capture showed greatly in this. have a nice day.
ReplyDeletean excellent set of pictures and very interesting commentary
ReplyDeleteBTW - your thumbnails don't appear to be updating on the CDPB portal - it is probably some problem with your RSS feed - contact Igor and he'll likely sort it out for you.
Very interesting indeed - especially since I visited the area last October and very much want to come back some time!
ReplyDeleteI loved the bridge!
Said it on the ABC blog already but worth saying again excellent and informative.
ReplyDeleteglad the old bridge has not been destroyed!
ReplyDeleteSo interesting to see your part of the world. Old barns have such character. I have 2 Olive tree's in my yard. They do well in Arizona too.
ReplyDelete:-)
Loved the barn, such a contrast from the ones in our village.
ReplyDeleteThose are things with a heavy history. Thanks for bringing them to our attention.
ReplyDeleteGreat photos and thanks for the history.
ReplyDeleteCome visit our Butterflies, Click here.
Troy and Martha
Crete looks a lot like Southern California, at least in that second shot with the hills in the distance.
ReplyDeleteOh we don't have orange or olives here but I like to eat them both.
ReplyDeleteIt way to cold.
Mine is up this is my first time playing.
Maria, you are selective pictures and texts are very much interesting stories.
ReplyDeleteThis is a wooden bridge? Looks like made in steel..and I love the bangalore as well as the blue sky in the first photo!
ReplyDeleteReally love your stories behind the pics! The German barn is a surprise! I never think of Germans taking time to build barns in war time!
ReplyDelete