Haniotis (or Hanioti) is located in the east of the Kassandra peninsula. According to tradition, the name of the village is due to the first inhabitant, who settled south of the current settlement (Old Village). He is said to have been from Chania and for this reason the settlement was named Hanioti. According to another version, the area owes its name to a Hanioti, that is, an innkeeper who kept a khan (inn) in the area. Thus, the area was called Hanioti. The village was moved to its current location in 1936, after the devastating earthquake of Ierissos in 1930, following the actions of the then teacher Vratsikidis Konstantinos. The area is full of springs and rich vegetation. Arriving in Hanioti, the visitor is immediately captivated by this small picturesque paradise, which has been designed to satisfy even the most demanding and guarantees a relaxing and unforgettable stay.
The beautiful beach of Hanioti (or Hanioti) is a pole of attraction for thousands of visitors every year. The village has a large and unparalleled in beauty coastal park and many other small parks, picturesque squares and tall century-old trees. It also has a nice layout and plenty of parking. The visitor can find restaurants, taverns, hotels, accommodation and general infrastructure. In Hanioti there are dozens of alternative suggestions for entertainment throughout the day and night.
Before 1950, Hanioti administratively belonged to Pefkohori. A president was elected from there, who also had responsibilities in Hanioti. The residents went to Pefkohori and voted. In 1950, a separate community of Haniotis was founded, which was housed in Kyritzis' house, near the beach.
The current central church of the village, dedicated to Saint John the Baptist, is located near the beach. Initially, when it was first built, it was wooden. Later, it was built of stone and enlarged.
Father Vasilios Kaimakis was a theologian and one of the greatest “spiritualists”. His mother came from Hanioti and had a house here. In the summers, he would come and stay for a while. He would sometimes serve in the church of our village, in Saint John the Baptist, sometimes in the chapel located in the courtyard of his house. His house is built in the location of Ammoudes, on the beach, just outside the village. The chapel is dedicated to the Holy Myrrh-Bearers and he built it in memory of his mother. Behind the sanctuary, his tomb is also located today.
Hanioti (or, more formally, Haniotis) was the smallest village in Kassandra, which is why the relevant historical testimonies we have are few, brief and late.
In the "Improvised Description of the Halkidiki Peninsula", which was published by the former secretary of the Metropolis of Kassandria, Nikolaos Chrysanthidis, in 1869, the reference to Hanioti is very brief: "The smallest village of the Pallini Peninsula is the present village, consisting of just seven adjoining houses, and also having a small Church".
In the description of Halkidiki published in 1887 by Major Nik. Schinas, it is mentioned: “The village of Hanioti, located in the depths of a valley and having 20 families of beekeepers and farmers, a church and fountains”. In an unpublished codex of 1903, in which the ecclesiastical and educational situation of southern Chalkidiki is described, the reference to Hanioti is limited only to the phrase: “Hanioti - church of Saint John Chrysostom”. In the unpublished description of Chalkidiki “from a sanitary point of view”, which was written in 1914 by the “doctor” of Thessaloniki from Polygyros and poet Georgios Papanikolaou, the reference to Hanioti is the smallest: “Hanioti: a small village of 24 houses, located within a forest. Its water supply is from an open source of unclean and contaminated water, due to which typhoid fever epidemics are observed here from time to time.
With the abandonment of the village and its relocation to its current coastal location, all care for the old parish church of Chrysostomos (mid-19th century) ceased, which in 1974 was a sad ruin, with a collapsed roof and half-collapsed walls. In this church there were incorporated marble architectural members of an early Christian church, apparently coming from some unknown monument in the nearby area.
Its icons were transferred to the church of the new village and constitute the only clear material evidence of the historical continuity of Hanioti and are the icons of Pantokrator, Eleousa, Prodromos, Saint George and Chrysostom, works of 1870, by the good painter Ioannis Papathalassios from Galatista. The Chrysostomos of the shrine is the work of the same painter, but was constructed in "February 1850". Of the remaining relics of the church, the book "Parakletika", published by Nikolaos Saros, in Venice, in 1688, is of interest. The most important archaeological site at the site of the new village is located where the shrine of the Virgin Mary is, immediately south of the intersection of the main entrance to the village. There, the site of an early Christian basilica can be seen, on which are grown very old olive trees and the strong fence of an adjacent country house. Many architectural elements of the basilica are scattered throughout the village.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Ioakeim Papangelos - Economist-Archaeologist (10th Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities) Kassandra Periodic Publication of the Cultural Association Thessaloniki's Kassandrinwn
RESEARCH & PHOTOGRAPHS, TEXT EDITING-PAGE DESIGN
Vangelis Katsarinis - Electronic, Website Builder
MUNICIPALITY OF KASSANDRA: https://www.kassandra.gr/ CULTURAL ASSOCIATION OF CHANIOTI ''OI METOIKOI'': https://www.facebook.com/oimetikoi/ OWNERS' ASSOCIATION ROOMS & APARTMENTS FOR RENT IN CHANIOTIS: https://www.haniotiholidays.gr/
ASSOCIATES OF VOLUNTEERS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION IN CHANIOTIS, HALKIDIKI: https://seppeha.blogspot.com/
S.I.E.D.D HANIOTIS (ASSOCIATES OF TOURIST ACCOMMODATIONS): https://www.facebook.com/groups/358434677433/
