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The hideout near Hordaki

In early 1943 SOE move their hideout along the Amari valley to the southern entrance and set up near Hordaki.

They take many photos here - several of which appear in 'The Cretan Runner' by George Psychoundakis. The bulk of the photos are located in the PLF Archive in the National Library of Scotland.

We have spent over 17 days looking for this hideout - and approached numerous shepherds in the villages in this area of the Amari with these photos. All shook their head in puzzlement - not recognising the location.

A breakthrough came this Spring when we returned to the Amari to identify the location of a photo - unidentified - in PLF's archive, and which we hypothesised may have been linked with the other photos in the series. Having found the general location of the photo a few minutes further searching led us to the site of the cave.

Sadly the cave no longer exists. The large rock parapet over the cave has crashed down, crushing the rock wall underneath, and the whole area has become overgrown with Jerusalem Sage.

This is a photo of the hideout from the other side of the valley. It is sited on the hillside in the centre of the photograph, with the village of Hordaki above it and to the right.

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