Matala, Crete’s oldest ancient hamlet, is located around 70 kilometers south of Heraklion. Matala was a former fishing village and the ancient harbor of Phaestos and Gortyn. The ancient city’s ruins are still submerged under the waves. It is situated on the coast of Messara Bay, within a small and lovely inlet. A good, long sandy beach draws a lot of people, especially in the summer.
This beach is known for its man-made caverns etched into the rocks to the north of the coast. During the prehistoric period, these caverns were initially inhabited. They were originally utilized as houses and places of worship. During the first and second centuries, they were utilized as tombs.
The graves that have been discovered here date from the Greek, Roman, and Early Christian periods. The number of international visitors to the caverns increased throughout the 1960s and early 1970s. The caverns were home to an international hippie community in the 1970s. Great musicians such as Cat Stevens and Joni Mitchell have resided here, drawing inspiration from the area’s spectacular beauty to write equally exquisite songs.
In fact, Joni’s 1971 song Carey is about her encounters with Matala’s hippies. The locals, however, who had never seen visitors before, did not approve of the hippy community and wanted them to go. They were eventually successful in pushing the hippies out. To the south of the caverns, the rock of Theosyni, a massive rock formation with a spectacular view of Messara Bay, may be found. The rock forms Kouropi, a marine cave beneath the sea that is home to wild pigeons and Mediterranean seals.
The Archaeological Service now protects the Matala Caves. The caverns charge roughly two Euros to enter, however overnight stays are no longer permitted. The caverns should be seen for their stunning beauty, with the surrounding turquoise blue sea, sand, and the red sun lowering into the horizon, even if the visitors are no longer free-spirited hippies.
