Property in Crete: The island where time no longer stands still
Buy in Crete before it hits the big time, says Liz Rowlinson..
Thirty years ago, the north-east coast of the Greek island of Crete was discovered by British visitors when it was showcased in Who Pays the Ferryman?, a BBC drama series. Now, if The Island, Victoria Hislop's bestselling novel is dramatised - as it surely will be - the region around Elounda will become fashionable again. Or so those in tourism or property hope.
For although Crete has not been especially fashionable in recent years, it still attracts 35 per cent of visitors to Greece.
Inland from 1,000km of coastline, there are ancient sites, gorges and villages which are little changed in centuries. Only one place - Malia - has a reputation for the excesses of cheap package-tourism.
But in the drier east, the topography of mountains dropping into the sea has restricted mass development and the area around Elounda and the regional centre of Aghios Nikolaos is associated with small, upmarket projects.
It doesn't have the expat population of, say, Chania, and while it can be too quiet during winter for full-time residents, villa owners no doubt love its comparative isolation. However, that remoteness may be about to change as the area becomes more accessible, with the extension of the island's new main road - cutting the journey to Elounda to 40 minutes from Heraklion airport - and a new airport mooted at Sitia could open up the far east of the island.
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Daily Telegraph 28th June 2008