Xirosterni is a village and a community located in the Apokoronas

Apokoronas

Apokoronas is a municipality and a former province in Chania peripheral unit, north-west Crete, Greece. It is situated on the north coast of Crete, to the east of Chania itself. The seat of the municipality is the village Vryses.-Geography:...

 region close to the northwest coast of the island of Crete

Crete

Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...

, Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

, in Chania Prefecture

Chania Prefecture

Chania is one of the four regional units of Crete; it covers the westernmost quarter of the island. Its capital is the city of Chania. Chania borders only one other regional unit: that of Rethymno to the east. The western part of Crete is bounded to the north by the Cretan Sea, and to the west...

. The community consists of the settlements Xirosterni and Litsarda. It is approximately 25 kilometres (16 mi) from Chania

Chania

Chaniá , , also transliterated Chania, Hania, and Xania, older form Chanea and Venetian Canea, Ottoman Turkish خانيه Hanya) is the second largest city of Crete and the capital of the Chania peripheral unit...

.

Overview

It is a small, traditional village located between Kefalas

Kefalas

Kefalas is a village on the island of Crete, Greece, 282m above sea level.Kefalas owes its name to the first residents there, called the Kephalades, the leaders of the Byzantine settlers sent to Crete in 1182...

 and Vamos

Vamos

Vamos is a small town and former municipality in the Chania peripheral unit, Crete, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Apokoronas, of which it is a municipal unit...

. The village

Village

A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

 mainly consists of old traditional homes with fine views to the Cretan White Mountains or to the sea

Sea

A sea generally refers to a large body of salt water, but the term is used in other contexts as well. Most commonly, it means a large expanse of saline water connected with an ocean, and is commonly used as a synonym for ocean...

. There are no hotels, rental rooms or restaurants here - it is strictly residential. There is however a small café which sometimes serves snacks.The old name used to be "Viola", which is a beautiful Cretan flower.The new name Xirosterni means "dry cistern",or"dry well".
During the Ottoman rule a Turk ordered a villager to pull water out of the cistern for his horse to drink. The villager replied that there is no water,to avoid the humiliation of serving the enemy.The Turk then said angrily "why do you call the town Viola? You should call it Xirosterni.(Dry sistern) Every 6th of August a three-day local festival takes place. There is lots of Cretan music, fun, dance, and food, prepared by the towns people. The people of Xirosterni never miss it.
An old time lyra player (lyra is the main musical instrument in Crete)singing in the town for his friends said: To Xerosterniano nero lene pos ehi avdeles, ma kino to marioliko vgazi omorfous glentzedes. Meaning: "They say that the water of Xirosterni has leeches, but this beautiful town gives birth to handsome dancers-singers". Later Nikos Xilouris, a famous singer from Anogia Crete, changed it to: " They say that the water of Xirosterni has leeches, but this beautiful town gives birth to beautiful young women". Every year people from all over the world come to celebrate with the Xirosternians