The story of the property is tied with the history of the island of Crete and it goes back to 1866, the year of one of the most significant revolts -among numerous in the 19th century- of the Cretans against the Ottoman rule. Though the revolution failed, it attracted the attention of the rest of the world because of the heroic resistance and the consequent tragic death of 943 Cretans- mostly women and children- who sought refuge in Arkadi Monastery. The Cretans that hid in the monastery blew up barrels of gunpowder, choosing to sacrifice themselves rather than surrender. The village of Ebrosneros was entirely burnt by the Ottomans on their way to Arkadi Monastery.
Thus, 1866 marks the year when the village was rebuilt. This is the year when the house of the property was built by the great grand-father of the current owner of the house. This house was the first or among the first ones of the village, that was built according to a new architectural type, the so-called "ontalidika". Those are the stone-built houses that incorporated an upper floor (‘ontas') with an external prominent staircase. The building is a typical example of the traditional Cretan stone-built house with three arches and an internal terrace, which reflects the importance of the protection of the private life.
Family's private life was not visible from the outside. The property housed a complete and independent unit of:
The main building is comprised of three spaces oriented from West to East. The western inner and most protected room of the building was the area where the storage took place with large clay storage containers in situ up to date.
The adjacent room with its prominent internal arch, was the main area of the house, the living room where the wooden traditional ‘sofas' is where the family slept during the Winter. The focus area of this room is the impressive fireplace, the so-called ‘furnospito' with stone-built seats for the whole family to gather and spend time together. A second narrow arch facing East is the main entrance from the internal terrace to the house.
The most prominent architectural element of the building is the upper store, the so-called ‘ontas', where access is facilitated from a lateral staircase in the terrace. This was the room where the family would sleep during Summer. Its western window has an impressive view of the mountains and lets the afternoon light in while the eastern window lets the morning sunshine in.
