The village of Deliana, some 15 km due south of Kolymbari, is on first sight a quiet and unassuming place, but one popular with visitors for its two main attractions: its taverna in the main street, and its gorge, which is reached by a dirt road off the main road at the southern exit of the village.

The To Faragi Taverna serves traditional Cretan dishes in green and pleasant surroundings – in fine weather guests can sit out under a spreading mulberry tree, and much of the produce used comes from the restaurant’s own garden. The approach to the Deliana Gorge (from which the taverna takes its name) used to be an easy hike uphill alongside a rocky stream shaded with oak and other deciduous trees, but since the torrential rains of 2019 it has become far more difficult of access. The path is partially blocked by fallen rocks and it is only recommended for the more adventurous. The gorge is notable for the numerous vultures which nest in the cliffs above it.

The village itself used to be more populated and has been the birthplace of several figures of national importance. In October 2024, Aristea Kalogridi, the host of NeaTV’s documentary series Parea me tin Aristea, visited Deliana with her camera crew to explore the village’s attractions and interview some of its inhabitants. Starting at the Kafenion which sits on the corner opposite the To Faragi Taverna, she found the mayor of Platanias Giannis Malandrakis, the president of the Deliana Cultural Association Lefteris Katsoulakis, popular local violinist Ilias Horeftakis, and a long-time resident of Deliana Tasos Perogiannakis. While the mayor delivered himself of a few general remarks about Deliana – which is now part of the Municipality of Platanias – and its relationship with the wider area, it was left to Mr Perogiannakis, who must be in his 80s or 90s, to provide an account of the village and describe life as it used to be before the Second World War – an indicator of the decline of the inland areas away from the northern coastal strip.

Deliana before the Second World War
Deliana is in fact a complex of seven different communities, possessing no less than 11 churches, Mr Perogiannakis said, and in earlier times was the focal point for the surrounding area. There were no cars, only “quadrupeds” – horses, mules and donkeys. There was a police station, a doctor’s surgery, a school with four teachers, three cloth traders, two barbers and two tailors – since in those days there were no shops selling ready-made clothes and all clothing was made to order. There was also a spice shop and four or five kafeneions.

The village’s main activity was producing olive oil, but it also grew grapes and wheat. Two neighbouring families would share a cow which was used for ploughing, while there was also an olive mill and a flour mill. There was no comparison, Mr Perogiannakis said, between life then and in the present day. People were quieter and more peaceful, but they knew how to enjoy themselves. Celebrations would often be held in people’s houses which would go on until the early hours of the morning.

A figure of national importance
In the main street outside the former primary school there is a bronze bust on a plinth which marks the village’s link with the Balkan Wars of the early 20^th century. Its subject, Emmanouil Balantinos, was a local politician and military leader who in 1912 journeyed to northern Greece and helped to defeat the Turkish garrison of the village of Metsovo, where he is regarded as a local hero. Interviewed by Aristea in front of the bust, Stratos Balantinos, a descendant, described his great-great uncle as a charismatic figure, an independent MP who regularly rode between Chania and Kissamos on a white horse. In 1912, with the consent of the Cretan Parliament, he had gathered together a band of 107 fighters and set off for the northern front in the Balkan Wars, together with another group of volunteers from Rethymnon headed by a Captain Kleidi.

According to Stratos Balantinos, once the Turks had been located at Metsovo, there was a difference of opinion between his ancestor and the Rethymniot Captain Kleidi, who was in favour of a frontal assault, while Balantinos proposed to encircle the Turks and attack them from the rear. The Rethymniot went ahead with his attack, but his party suffered heavy losses in which Captain Kleidi himself was killed. Balantinos then proceeded with his plan and attacked from the rear, liberating the village.

Since that time, Balantinos has been regarded as a hero in Metsovo, the villagers welcoming visitors from Deliana as brothers, and a bust of him, similar to that in Deliana, stands in a small square in the village centre, where there is also a bust of Captain Kleidi. In 1913 Balantinos was sent as plenipotentiary along with other MPs, to sign the union of Crete with the motherland Greece. Emmanouil Balantinos was an MP for 10 years, and a municipal councillor for Chania for 18 years. He died on 18th August 1962.

The life of Emmanouil Balantinos is celebrated with the “Balantineia” festival which takes place every year in August in Deliana. There is a memorial service, speeches and dancing with music customarily provided by local violinist Ilias Horeftakis and his group. In the past there have been gatherings of over 70 horse riders from all over Crete, to celebrate the animals’ connection with the national struggle for independence, who would ride part of the way up the Deliana Gorge. The tradition was started in 2007, and in 2011 Haniotika Nea filmed the two-day event: the video posted on YouTube gives a taste of this uniquely lively occasion.

From Chania to the Evro, and Hollywood
Seated in the garden of the To Faragi Taverna, local teacher Aspasia Kokologianni recounted to Aristea and the village president Lefteris Katsoulakis, the story of another local family. Stylianos and Styliani Minotakis were from Kamara of Deliana. They lived in Chania and raised a large family, of which two sons were to make a strong imprint on the military and cultural life of the country.

The elder, Emmanouil, was born in 1898 and grew up in Chania until his 18^th year, at which point he passed the examinations for the Cadets’ School of the Greek Army. He is a person of importance in Greek history as it is thanks to him that the Evro Delta became Greek, rather than Turkish territory. By 1925 he had attained the rank of Major in the Artillery, and was designated as the Greek representative of a Tripartite Commission appointed to define the border between Greece and Turkey on the River Evros, following the signing of the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923.

The commission had been formed under the Dutch colonel Friedrich Baker and the Turkish representative was Colonel Hayrullah Bey. The Treaty of Lausanne had defined the border as the mid-point of the River Evro. However at the Evro Delta the river divides into two branches separated by an island of 100,000 stremmata, i.e. about 100 sq km. The commission’s task was to establish whether the Eastern or the Western arm constituted the main course of the river and would therefore be designated as the frontier.

According to Ms Kokologianni, the Turkish representative produced false documents which showed that the island in question belonged to the Ottomans, however Major Minotakis, following diligent researches in the land archives in Constantinople, was able to prove that the eastern arm of the river was the one which had carried the main river traffic since Byzantine times, and that the island was therefore to be considered as Greek territory. Following this success the major was set for a brilliant military career, but unfortunately succumbed to tuberculosis and died an early death in 1940.

His brother Alexis was born two years later in 1900. Of a poetic nature (he published his first poems at the age of 15), he initially followed his parents’ wishes, qualifying as an accountant and finding employment at the Bank of Athens – later the National Bank of Greece – in Chania. However he only lasted a year and in 1921 “sneaked off to Athens”, where he started to work as an actor, turning professional in 1922 and at that point changing his name from Minotakis to the simpler Minotis. In 1928 he met fellow actor Katerina Paxinou, whom he married in 1940, and the two were to pursue parallel careers in the theatre and cinema until her death in 1973.

In 1941 he was arrested and imprisoned by the Germans but escaped and eventually travelled to Turkey, then via Cairo to New York. There he was joined by Katerina Paxinou and for the next ten years the two of them travelled between New York and London, taking part in anti-war and humanitarian activities as well as appearing in the theatre and films. They both returned to Greece in the 1950s.

The couple had a long-standing relationship with the Greek National Theatre, founded in 1932. Minotis was considered the Theatre’s most eminent leading actor, and during its British tour in 1939 he was judged by the English critics to be the best Hamlet of the last 50 years worldwide. He also starred in and directed many Classical tragedies. Later he was the National Theatre’s Artistic Director from 1964-67 and its General Director from 1974-1980.

Alexis Minotis also appeared on Broadway and in several Hollywood films, including Alfred Hitchcock’s Notorious (1946) with Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant, Boy on a Dolphin with Sophia Loren (1957), and Land of the Pharaohs with Joan Collins (1958). A high point of his career was directing Maria Callas in a production of Cherubini’s Medea, first in Dallas, then at London’s Covent Garden, La Scala Milan and Epidavros. He also directed the Greek National Opera production of Norma with Callas at Epidavros in 1960. He died in Athens on 11 November 1990.

As Aristea remarks to her companions in the video, the village “has many secrets” and its influence has spread far beyond its borders.

Making boureki at To Faragi Taverna
One of Chania’s most characteristic local dishes, boureki is often considered a litmus test of a restaurant’s quality, and by this measure To Faragi must be considered an outstanding restaurant, as its menu features an award-winning boureki, awarded first place in the Festival of Olives and Olive Oil, held in Kolymbari on 28^th August 2014.

At a table set up in the garden of the taverna, its creator Sofia Katsoulaki demonstrated for the camera how she makes the dish every day for the restaurant when it is open. As Parea me tin Aristea is not a cookery programme there is no list of ingredients, and those wishing to reproduce the recipe will have to watch the video, since as Sofia states on camera she does everything “by eye”. The video of the programme can be seen on the NeaTV website or their YouTube channel, and the boureki episode takes place from 1 hr 6 min onwards.

To start with, it is made clear that this is a Chaniot boureki, which is made without a topping of filo pastry, as is sometimes done. Sofia starts with a metal oven tray filled with sliced potatoes and courgettes, to which she has added some olive oil. Then she scatters “four or five” spoonfuls of flour across the top which, as she explains later, will help to bind the mixture together.

Next follow several spoonfuls of staka, followed by a similar amount of misithra, and several handfuls of chopped parsley. At this stage, the distribution does not matter since, as Sofia explains, she will later mix it all together by hand. About 250 ml of cream is poured into the middle of the dish and then a layer of crumbled anthotiro. She then adds salt and pepper and starts to mix the ingredients with her fingers, turning the layers of vegetables over so that they become well mixed with the cheeses.

That’s all there is to it, she says – there’s nothing secret about it. “Others do it in layers, but I mix it all up together.” She smooths out the top of the mixture and as a final touch grates a liberal amount of feta over it, then sprinkles some grated cheese (possibly graviera) and sesame seeds, which, as she says will form a crust, as if there was filo on top. Finally she cuts the boureki into portions and then marks each portion by placing a cherry tomato in its centre. She drizzles olive oil liberally over the top of the dish before it goes in the oven, where it stays “for about an hour and a bit, depending on the oven”.

Cutting the boureki into portions makes it easier to serve, but also allows the heat to penetrate while it is cooking. She does not add water, she says, as the courgettes give off their own moisture (which suggests that she does not drain the courgettes first as some cooks advise).

Quizzed by Aristea about the gastronomic award, Sofia is characteristically offhand. The event was in Kolymbari which is some way away, and on a Sunday which is a busy day for the restaurant: “Well look, the competition was on a Sunday so I didn’t go at all. My husband took it with one of my nephews. I didn’t go at all, and he was like, ‘Hey, we won a prize!’ … Of course I was pleased.” She makes a large oven tray of the boureki – larger than that shown – each day when the restaurant is open.

As is emphasised in the video, boureki is a simple dish and there is clearly some flexibility in the ingredients. Those wanting to try it at home can watch the video, and if they want to compare the result, they can always visit To Faragi.

Links
Parea Me tin Aristea: Nea TV, YouTube
Emmanouil Balantinos: www.digitalglyptotheque.gr
The Balantineia: YouTube
To Faragi Taverna: tavernafaragi.com.gr