Sougia recordings

Sougia is a place with 136 inhabitants, on the southwest coast of the Greek island of Crete. The small town is located at the exit of Agia Irini Gorge and is surrounded by steep cliffs. The present village was built on and between the ruins of the ancient city of Syia, which together with Lisos, was one of the important ports of the ancient city of Elyros. From his notes in 1835, the English traveller and archaeologist Robert Pashley describes the location Sougia as completely uninhabited.

Sougia became a village again after W.W.II. At that time, there was no road leading from the North of the island to the region and a regular boat connection from Piraeus was established in order to trade goods. These goods were then carried to the inland villages by mule. Soon there were five trading companies in Sougia and a number of families moved to the village. In the1950's Sougia had a school with 150 pupils. When the road linking Sougia to the North was built, the village lost its significance as a trading post. The majority of the villagers went back to their original village or emigrated (to the US, Canada, Australia and the Greek mainland) and Sougia once again became a tiny, sleepy settlement.

Due to the secluded location and the lack of building sites, large scale tourism has never materialized. With its 250 available rooms, it is certainly no mass tourism destination nor does it intend to be.