Crete, Greece, May 2023 - Jan & Jan-Jan's Rejseklubben

The very green and full of vegetation Mili Gorge stretches along the river bed, which leads water all year round. Two creeks and several smaller sources combined here sufficiently large volumes of water in past times to drive the mills with great power. Along the entire riverbed of the Mili gorge lie the ruins of the mills and the abandoned since 1972 villages Pano Mili (upper mills) and Kato Mili (lower mills). The settlements were mentioned for the first time in 1643 during the Venetian rule. Later, the Ottomans preferred to inhabit the village of Kato Mili. The approximately 30 mills on the river bed supplied the entire area of Rethymnon with flour. According to a geological survey of the area and the river bed in the 60s, the resettlement of the inhabitants to another location was decided and the old villages have been abandoned since 1972.