Stavros , the beach of Anthony Quinn Zorba the Greek

Stavros beach is located at the northernmost edge of Cape Akrotiri. about 20 kms  northeast of Chania. Its  small mountain separating Stavros harbor from the west beach, is famous since the 60’s as, its specific shape appeared background of final “Sirtaki dance on the beach” in Zorba the Greek movie. This movie was shooted mostly in Crete by Michael Cacoyannis, starring Anthony Quinn, Alan Bates, Lila Kedrova, Irene Papas, and Sotiris Moustakas. The movie received 3 Academy awards and 4 nominations.

That time, Stavros was a very small fishing village. Nowadays, village expanded quite a lot and tourists still come for  Zorba’s icone and most of them spend some time on the two main beaches of Stavros. Its mainly frequented  beach is situated close to the small harbor, on the east side of the village. That’s surely because of the pictural view of the mountain on the viewing angle of Cakoyannis camera… The beach has all the commodities and this picturesque background of a wild mountain, only disturbed by quiet crystal blue water, makes it a fantastic relaxing place for a swim. And why not trying to catch the cretan spirit of Zorba “I felt once more how simple and frugal a thing is happiness: a glass of wine, a roast chestnut, a wretched little brazier, the sound of the sea. Nothing else.”
? Nikos Kazantzakis, Cretan writer, “Zorba the Greek”

Wilder and longer is the second beach, on the other side of the small inlet. More exposed to the north west wind, is less crowded and still offer, on its extreme left side, a picturesque panorama of Stavros mountain.

History of Stavros area

Stavros means “cross” in Greek. It is located on the Akrotiri peninsula, that was known to be a very important city in ancient Crete: the city of Kydonia. Then three monasteries were build in the area during venetian times. The most famous is Agia Triada, build by two venetian monks. This area mostly started to develop to tourism end of the sixties, with the crushing succes of Zorba the Greek movie. In 1967, first passenger terminal was build on the small Chania Akrotiri airport, then followed by first international flights in 1970. Area is now well covered and can provide nice touristic resorts. Stavros is one of these.