Karavas

Karavas is the main village of the north of Kythera and a reference point for all the other settlements in the area. Interwoven with the green ravine and its springs, it is a complex of many districts such as Niochori, Korianika and others. The settlement is relatively recent, since it began to take form at the end of the 18th century, due to the fact that the area was exposed to piracy that prevailed during the previous centuries, in the passage between Kythera and the Peloponnese. Families from Potamos and Logothetianika settled there, which probably maintained fortunes and “katounes” (farmhouses with fields and other ancillary facilities) in the area, as well as Peloponnesian refugees after the revolution, known as “Orlofika”. The inhabitants were engaged not only in agriculture, but also in trade and shipping, and so the village developed in a short time. Karavas has been stigmatized by emigration, as many of its residents were among the first to emigrate to Australia and the USA since the 19th century. Thus, remarkable buildings, many of which have Peloponnesian influences and neoclassical elements, were deserted. It is a settlement that has a strong agricultural character and in the past there was organized production and export of pears and almonds. Many varieties of pears were cultivated, such as “kontoules” and “moshapida” (or “moscapida”, small aromatic pears), for family consumption and the local market, and “vutyrata”, which were exported by ships. The almonds were collected and loaded in “blevra” (small sack of almonds that was loaded on one side of the donkey) and exported for a period, through Kapsali, where there were warehouses and a crew of women who crushed them. The harvest was concentrated in the traditional cafe, where the producers weighed the harvested product and got paid. This district is central and is called Marmaro. In the past, it was full of life until the 1960s, and it had three cafes full of people, two schools and many social events. In recent years, a combination of projects, local initiatives and entrepreneurship, such as the bakery-museum, have given Karavas a new impetus.