Guide of Eastern Macedonia & Thrace

The Municipality of Myki is located at the southern part of the Prefecture of Xanthi. It covers an area of 314,819 km2, from which a 71.38% is wooded. It is a bright-green area with an intense landscape. The main occupations of the Muslim population (11,393 inhabitants) of the Municipality are agriculture and livestock farming. The Municipality was formed by the absorbency of three communities: the municipal district of Myki, the municipal district of Echinos and the municipal district of Oreo. The municipal district of Myki includes the settlements of Myki, Eora, Ano Kirra, Glafki, Gorgona, Diaforo, Zoumpouli, Kentravro, Kirra, Koryfi, Kotito, Pyrgos, Koutsomytis, Krania, Mantaina, Oasi, Prosilio, Sminthi, Stirigma, Trigono and Chryso.
The Municipality is seated at Sminthi. It has a population of 363 inhabitants and shows signs of rapid development. It is the point of reference for the inhabitants of the Municipality, as it has many different shops, where the locals go for shopping. The village has an infant school, a Primary school and a Secondary school. The settlement of Myki is one of the most picturesque Pomaki villages in Xanthi. It is built next to a mountain torrent, at an altitude of 380 m and is surrounded by hills.
The settlement of Oreo is very interesting as it has many traditional buildings that serve for the storage of tobacco and animal raising. Low stone-built courtyard walls, fine chimneys, traditional ovens lend colour to this settlement. The so-called “Mylos tou Papa” (Mill of the Priest) is a water mill located at a site near the village as well as a stone-built bridge, known as the “bridge of the priest”, which was named after a priest (papa-Lefteris) who is recorded as the old owner of the Mill and the constructor of the bridge. A very old necklace with three crosses was also found in this area.
The ruins of a small chapel are found in the settlement of Theologos, at an altitude of 810 m. It is thought possible that the village was named after the church of Panaghia that lied earlier in this area. The church of St Helen lies higher on the mountain and further above, there is an abandoned farming settlement that looks like a fortress. The foundations of the Church of St Constantine are found further higher on the mountain.
The settlement of Kentavros is built at a gorge, at an altitude of 700 m. The main occupation of the locals is the tobacco cultivation. There is a modern primary and secondary school in the settlement that shown signs of intense economic activity in the last years.
The settlement of Glafki has a population of 1095 people and is located at an altitude of 540 m. There is a small museum of folklore art with traditional costumes, vessels and every-day life tools. The Byzantine fortress of Glafki, which the locals call Kale, is preserved near the village. It is a rectangular castle with a perimeter of 225 m. Now only the two towers of the whole edifice survive and one of them reaches a height of almost 8 m. The existence of this Byzantine Fortress bears witness to the ancient historic background of the mountainous region of Xanthi and forms part of a group of similar fortification works like the castle of Oreo, the acropolis of Xantheia, etc.
Apart from the historic beauties of this land, visitors have the chance to relax in the peaceful bright-green environment and have a rest at the several traditional taverns, where they will definitely get excited with the traditional delicacies.