Charaki is about 35 kilometers from Heraclion and 350 meters above the sea level.

Administratively, the village is under the Archanes-Asterousia municipality and it takes in the villages Vorias (310 meters above the sea level), and Made (340 meters above the sea level).

233 residents live in Charaki, 52 in Vorias and 22 in Vorias. Their main occupations are olive crop and vine-growing. The residents come either from Anogia or Asia Minor.

HISTORY

The first account of Charaki is in a 1374 document and, later, in the Venetian censuses.

During the Turkish occupation, Turkish people lived in Charaki, as in other settlements too.

PLACE NAME

Charaki (i.e. large rock in the Cretandialect) was named after a rock in the area.

According to Nikolaos Platon, Made is a prohellenic word that comes from “Ma Da” ( «Μα Δα» ) and means mother earth.

CHURCHES

The church of Agios Georgios (St George) is in Charaki and is celebrated on the feast of Agios Georgios Methistis.