By Démétrios IoannouFeature Matching
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![Georgios Tsichlis/Alamy Nudist beach in Gavdos in Greece](https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/480xn/p0gy39jc.jpg.webp)
Abandoned in the middle of the Mediterranean, this small Greek island has been a bohemian destination since the 1960s. But will its culture survive?
I spent my last day on the Greek island of Gavdos at Sarakiniko, its largest and most popular beach. But when I arrived, a new wooden sign carved deep into the golden sand warned me: nudity was now prohibited.
Situated in the middle of the Libyan Sea, 79 km south of Crete, Gavdos is the southernmost point in Europe and, until recently, one of the only places in Greece where people were free to swim naked and sunbathe naked. According to a 1983 study Greek law which has never been revised, nudism in Greece is only officially permitted at naturist resorts, and although unofficial nudist beaches can be found elsewhere in Greece, nowhere else in the country is there a culture of optional port stronger than here, where the authorities have traditionally looked at it in a different way.
“The freedom that Gavdos offers, you won’t find anywhere else,” said Vasilis Tzounaras, the former owner of Gavdos FM, the island’s only radio station, who moved from Crete to the island about 20 years ago. “(I) will probably stay here for the rest of my life. I never thought I would see something like this on the island,” he said, referring to the recent ban on nudity.
In July 2023, the mayor’s office posted these signs in Sarakiniko, sparking controversy and protests among locals and tourists, most of whom live in or visit Gavdos due to its historic anything-goes attitude. However, talking to a local media, Gavdos Mayor Lilian Stefanaki said only tourists opposed the ban. “Local residents have wanted for years for there to be at least one beach where a family could swim without the possibility of nudists,” she said.
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![Demetrios Ioannou The new signs in Sarakiniko sparked protests and worried some about Gavdos' change (Credit: Demetrios Ioannou)](https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/480xn/p0gy39hn.jpg.webp)
While other beaches on the island remain open for nude swimming, many fear that the recent ban on nudity in Sarakiniko will soon extend elsewhere in Gavdos, and thus endanger the DNA of the island. ‘island. In addition to bathing in the chamois, the island is also known for allowing free camping on its beaches, which is also prohibited elsewhere in Greece. This right to move without clothes is what has led thousands of backpackers and bohemian travelers to flock to the small island every summer since the 1960s.
“I have heard that there is an intention to soon ban free camping on a large part of the island. If this happens, it will mark the end of the island and its economic development,” he said. said Gelli Kallinikou, former mayor of Gavdos. “When I was mayor, every year we had to officially (make) a decision allowing nudism and free camping in Gavdos… this was initiated by the community council in 1992 to make (nude beachgoers) feel safe. ”
Yet the history of this 30 km² island runs much deeper than its countercultural reputation. Gavdos is believed to be the mythical Ogygia, where, according to Homer, the nymph Calypso held Odysseus for seven years before he returned to his beloved Ithaca. In the 1930s, its remote location made it an ideal destination for the Greek government to exile suspected communists. But with the rise of hippie culture in the 1960s and 1970s, Gavdos gained popularity as a bohemian vacation destination. Located far from any central government and with only 142 full-time residents in 1971, Gavdos quickly became something of a haven for alternative lifestyles. People came to camp on the beach, light fires, cook their own meals, and swim naked.
The day before my visit to Sarakiniko, I walked 10 km south on the other side of Gavdos under a blazing sun to reach the beach of Trypiti, where a 2.5m wooden chair cemented atop a rocky viewpoint marks the southernmost point of Europe. The chair was created by a handful of Russian scientists who arrived on the island of Gavdos after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986. It was rumored that the scientists were exposed to radiation and were prescribed by Soviet doctors to stay in as clean an environment as possible while they healed. During their stay, they built the chair and cemented it to the edge of the promontory so they could breathe fresh air and gaze at the immensity of the sea. As I lowered myself onto the makeshift monument, the sea met the sky in an uninterrupted palette of blue.
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![Demetrios Ioannou A wooden chair on Gavdos marks the southernmost spot in Europe (Credit: Demetrios Ioannou)](https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/480xn/p0gy39h4.jpg.webp)
From Trypiti Beach, which means “hollow” in Greek and takes its name from the limestone rock formation resembling the famous Rock of Malta Azure window where the chair is, the nearest village is Vatsiana. There I met Nikos Lougiakis who, with his family of four, is Europe’s southernmost citizen.
“I’ve lived here my whole life,” Lougiakis said, taking a sip from his glass of Greek iced coffee. “Being the first house everyone sees when coming from Trypiti, and with no mini market in the area, people coming from the beach usually stopped here and asked for water, so I decided to open this little Cafe Restaurant.”
Nine years later, Lougiakis coffee is now famous for its katsikaki tsigariasto, a traditional Cretan recipe where kid meat is cooked in a casserole with olive oil and onions and is served with fries. “I’m the cook here and the meat belongs to me. I raise (the goats),” he said with pride, showing me a goat skull with big horns decorating his iron fence.
When asked about the mayor’s recent decision, Lougiakis said he feared it could change the entire mood of the island. “A lot of people canceled their trips this year because of this,” he said. “These people helped me raise my family. They spend money on the island and they never came to my restaurant naked. They respected me.”
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![Imago/Alamy Gavdos has long been a sort of countercultural refuge (Credit: Imago/Alamy)](https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/480xn/p0gy39g3.jpg.webp)
According to locals, there have been far fewer visitors to Gavdos this summer than in previous years, and Sarakiniko was unusually empty during my visit. “Most of the people who normally camped at Sarakiniko have moved to the other beaches,” Tzounaras told me.
Sarakiniko is where most of Gavdos’s tavernas and convenience stores are located and where most tourists and islanders traditionally congregate. This summer, however, it was the scene of post-ban protests, when people came together to support an initiative by the Gavdos Visitor Initiative which encouraged people to protect the island’s reputation by posting messages under the hashtag #Save_Gavdos on social media.
According to the 2021 census, 208 people live in Gavdos, when in reality, Tzounaras estimates there are only about 70 full-time residents. Winters here can be harsh. Strong winds can keep ferries and valuable supplies away for days or even weeks, but residents say they are managing. “In the summer you see people passing by, but in the winter there are almost no people,” said Eleftheria Vailakaki, who lives just north of Lougiakis’ family in Vatsiana. “
Public transport is provided by two old buses which travel the island’s few asphalt and gravel roads and whose floors are generally covered with sand. Ingredients like almond milk and gluten-free products have not yet arrived at Gavdos.
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![Demetrios Ioannou Only about 70 full-time residents live in Gavdos (Credit: Demetrios Ioannou)](https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/480xn/p0gy39d3.jpg.webp)
“Electricity came to the island about 25 years ago,” said Vailakaki, as she tended to her 10 goats, five sheep and herd of free-range chickens. “Those early years, we did everything with our hands. There were no cars, we only had donkeys and we did everything with them,” she remembers. “Now we have electricity generators. The island is changing.” Still, Vailakaki maintained: “There is nowhere like Gavdos. » and urged me to come back next summer.
No one knows if the nudity ban will extend to all Gavdos beaches next summer or if free camping will still be allowed. But as Kallinikou said, “In Gavdos, naked and clothed have always coexisted… (here) one feels that one can fly, one can spread one’s wings and fly.”
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