The Village of Agios Ioannis
Welcome to the village of Agios Ioannis, or Saint John if you want a rough English translation. It’s a village very much in slow transition at the moment. Once an important hub of life in the area, over the past few decades people have gradually moved down to the seaside villages of Ferma and Koutsounari or the nearby town of Ierapetra. I read recently that in the last census the official population was somewhere in the region of eleven, all of them avid vehicle collectors judging by the number of cars I see parked around the place at times. However, the place seems to be coming back to life with newly refurbished dwellings standing cheek-by-jowl with tumbledown relics. This looks like the path down into the village so let’s follow it and see what we can find.
As you’ll notice it’s very steep but it affords wonderful views of the Lybian Sea and the lower part of the Milonas Valley that we’re going to explore (if you can see through the riot of flowers that seem to be taking over the village like triffids). The birds that are lined up along the wires with the pretty red faces are Goldfinches. They’re resident here, as they are in most of western Europe but tend to be more noticeable when they flock together in the winter. They’re particularly fond of thistle seeds and in Christianity they’re associated with the crown of thorns placed upon Jesus’ head at the crucifixion. A painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Barocci shows John the Baptist (after whom, presumably, this village is named) holding a goldfinch out of reach of a cat who is eyeing it up in a most unchristian manner.
Read on at http://bit.ly/2gJBRNS
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