Before my book group read <<Το Νησί της Μαρίας>> (“Maria’s Island” by Victoria Hislop), I knew nothing of the history of Spinalonga or “the island of the lepers”.
Located just off the coast of Crete, Spinalonga was home to hundreds of lepers from 1903 to 1957 (Φεσσά, para. 6).
The historical fiction children’s book, <<Το Νησί της Μαρίας>>, follows the experiences of the main character, Maria, as first her mother contracts leprosy and has to go to the island and then later Maria herself gets the disease. When Maria arrives at the island, the reader follows her down the long tunnel that is the entrance to the island’s interior and Maria’s new life.
Upon visiting the island in April 2023, I walked down the same tunnel, the entrance to which you can see in the photo. I can only imagine how those sent to live on the island felt as they walked down the long dark tunnel to a new and uncertain life.
Because the story <<Το Νησί τις Μαρίας>> is aimed at children, the reader is spared descriptions of the more distressing aspects of life as a leper on Spinalonga. For those that are interested to read more about the island, Victoria Hislop also wrote a fictional account aimed at adults. “The Island” or <<Το Νησί>> is available in both English and Greek (as well as other languages).
Τα σπιτιά στο νησί.
In the buildings below which are found on the road that had houses and stores, you can find displays of objects that belonged to people that lived on the island. The island is now uninhabited and serves as a museum to present and preserve the history of Spinalonga.
Στον δρόμο που έιχε σπίτια και μαγαζιά. Τώρα τα δωμάτια έχουν πράγματα από το νοσοκομείο και από τα άτομα που ήταν στο νησί.
The yellow flowers in the photo to the left remind me of the main character, Maria, who gathered such flowers during her time on the island. It is hard to imagine that a place full of such natural beauty was also home to great suffering.
Το νησί είναι πολύ όμορφο. Υπάρχουν πολλά φυτά και η θάλασσα είναι τόσο μπλε.
Πάνω στο νησί, υπάρχει ένα ενετικό φρούριο.
Reference:
Φεσσά, Α. (n.d.). Σπιναλόγκα: το νησί των λεπρών. gnoristetinellada.gr. https://www.gnoristetinellada.gr/anadromes/kriti/7655-spinalogka-to-nisi-ton-lepron
If you have the chance to visit Spinalonga Island, I highly recommend it. Want to see more of the island, but can’t make it there? Check out this amazing drone video by Polychronis Drone on YouTube.
Have you been on an interesting adventure in Greece?
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