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Shelter

Mitata

Shepherds’ huts, variously called mitata or koumi, are a feature of the Cretan mountains. Pre-1950s huts are made of drystone walling and corbelling. These workstation complexes look like piles of rocks in the landscape, or on the skyline, as they are often located overlooking views of the trail. Some mitata are still used during the grazing season (about mid-June to mid-October) as shepherds’ overnight shelters, or fodder storage huts. Off-season, with no desirable possessions inside – old tools, old clothes and perhaps old food – they used to be left unlocked (and some still are) perhaps in case passers-by needed shelter. After a winter under snow, interiors are a real mess, but if necessary they can be cleaned up and left in a better state.

Note that disused mitata may be structurally unsound; approach these interiors with care. Mitata are usually (but not always) near a water supply. Whether abandoned or not, they remain the property of the families, or the descendants, of those who built them. Most grazing areas are now accessed by road, but the old huts may still be used at times, especially as shelter from the midday heat in summer.