Τη σκέπη τση Παράδεισος η Φόδελε την έχει απω’χει τους λεμονανθούς και το νερό και τρέχει.
Fodele is a village of the Municipality of Malevizi situated west of the city of Heraklion. To get there, take a right on the exit on the 25th km of the Heraklion-Chania national road.
The idyllic village extends in a verdant oasis full of orange and lemon groves, colourful flowers and running waters. The fertile valley of Fodele is crossed by the river Pantomantris and is surrounded by mountains with high wild trees and caves.
A place characterised by its breathtaking landscape, long history, traditions and legends about fairies that dance by the streams at nights; katahanades (vampires) that sing sweet melodies while playing the lyre by the platans; saints that intervene in love stories; demons that tease the passersby at midnight; virtuous demons that protect the houses; church bells that toll at the caves in the middle of the night….
A place where – according to tradition – the great painter El Greco first saw daylight.
The simple, warm-hearted inhabitants are mainly occupied with the cultivation of citrus trees, vegetables and olive trees and livestock farming. The cultivation of citrus trees has a long tradition in the region, making Fodele a kind of natural monument. This tradition is recorded in the travel logs of several travellers: Cristoforo Buodelmonti notes in 1415 that Fodele is “adorned with numerous fruit trees”, while in 1842 Vyzantios writes that “this village is producing a large number of sweet lemons, oranges and lemons”.
