Crete-Discover the Unknown Crete

C H A P T E R 4
The island of Koufonissi:
a very special outing
Murex shells are
still to be found
on the sandy
beaches of the
island of
Koufonissi
In the summer when the sea is calm, a
passenger ferry sets out from the port of
Makryyialos for the uninhabited island of
Koufonissi (the ancient Lefki). White
beaches, crystalline, turquoise waters and
ancient remains make this island an
uncontaminated little paradise, and
exploring it on foot leaves one feeling as free
as the birds that wheel between its sea and
the sky. Koufonissi has not always been so
silent: in the Graeco-Roman period the
island had a flourishing industry producing
the red-purple dye that is extracted from the
muscles of the murex shellfish that are to be
caught in the surrounding sea, a dye which
was sold on at great price. The inhabitants of
Koufonissi had commercial dealings with the
city states of Hierapytna, Itanos and Pressos
and also with Athens and Rome where use
of the colour purple was reserved for the
clothing of the aristocracy.
A twelve-tiered Roman theatre of the
fourth century A.D., a temple dedicated to
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