Documentary for the old Olive Trees in Crete

old olive tree

A new documentary about the historical olive trees in Crete is being filmed by the director Manolis Tselentakis, in collaboration with several Cultural Associations from different municipalities in Crete, and with the support of TEI (Technological Institutes) in Crete.

The Cultural Association “Apollo” of Venerato in Heraklion issued recently a press release mentioning among other things that there are thirty five cultural associations in Crete, participating to the initiative of preserving and enhancing the historical role of the olive trees on the island, trees whose origins date several centuries back.

Experts, scientists and professors from the TEI in Crete visited some of the age long olive trees in the area of Viannos in southern Crete, noting that there are hundreds of impressive and historical age long olive trees in Crete, which are not marked and registered, and fall victims of the human activity, such as building.

It is worth mentioning that several Cretan Associations acknowledging the value of the olive trees for the region, have launched campaigns in order to register the historical trees in Crete, informing people about their importance and value for the Cretan Landscape and Culture, and preserving them from destruction and decay.

The main goal is to create a map in Crete which will feature all the places with important historical and ancient trees, so as to prevent impingements, trespassing of lands and unnecessary cut of olive trees.

Historical Olive Groves in Crete

The documentary of M Tselentakis will present the story of the historical olive groves in Crete; it is estimated that the production will finish by the summer of 2010. The goal of the director and collaborators is to translate the documentary in several languages, in order to present the historical olive grove and its value to the world.

This attempt has united different cultural associations throughout Crete, which have formed a network, with the participation of eco friendly and environmental friendly associations as well. The network will be open to anyone who wants to contribute and offer voluntarily his help, as well to all associations, officials and state officers who want to help.

Cretan culture is indispensably associated with the olive tree as its fruits contribute to several aspects of life, from everyday food to children baptism. Cretan suggest that their land is blessed to have all these trees, therefore they feel obliged to save and preserve as many as possible, especially from the ones surviving and flourishing for centuries.

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