Chochlakies watermill
Sitia province, because it hosts many springs, hosted several places with watermills. Almost every village hosted one or more mills, unlike most places of Eastern Crete where windmills were used, because of the lack of water. One of the best-preserved watermills that are still preserved in very good condition is the watermill of Chochlakies. Chochlakies is a very small village with very few residents today at the eastern end of Crete. The watermill of Chochlakies is built on the east end of the village, right on the path that leads to the gorge of Chochlakies and the beach Karoumes.
The mill was built on the south bank of the stream Karrymes and the builder took advantage of the natural inclination of the slope. At the top of the building, there is a mill with a stone groove and the tube leading the water to the waterwheel. Just below the mill, there is the residence of the miller, also used as a storage room. The mill was built entirely with local stone and on its external side, it bore a stone-carved inscription. The inscription writes Expenditure of architecton M. Tsihlis, A. Pidik. Em. Dermizakis year 1919"
The entire building has been preserved in very good condition and its exterior looks very tidy. Inside one can see the spectacular ceiling made of thick logs, finer wood, and straw with clay, typical of the way ceilings were built in Crete before the advent of cement.
