The metochi estates: The Metochi Barbou

The Metochi Barbou was located south of the city of Chania, at the intersection of today’s K. Karamanlis Avenue with A. Panagoulis Street. The metochi probably got its name from its proximity to the tomb of General Osman Barbous, who died when the Ottomans laid siege to Chania in 1645.

The Metochi manor was probably built in the 17^th and 18^th century. A central, ornamented gate led to a passage which opened into the central courtyard. The building itself had Venetian elements and several later additions. Its ground floor was used for storage and the rest for housing. According to the descriptions of the descendants of refugees who settled there, in the garden, there was a pavilion, walking paths, and an egg-shaped water reservoir surrounded by flowers. Around the building, there were farmlands, a well with a pump and an oil press.

After 1924, Asia Minor refugees settled on the estate. Fourteen families lived there, each of which received one room and some trees. Sofia Katsanevaki remembers that her family was granted 30 olive trees as a form of rehabilitation. Sofia notes that the rehabilitation they received was not sufficient to sustain these families. As a result, her father became a greengrocer and opened a shop in the city centre and Sofia found work at a silk factory.

Today, the metochi does not survive as a single unit and has been divided into plots. The yard gate, the manor and several parts of it still exist but have fallen into disrepair and, according to its current owners, the chances of them being restored are slim due to the exorbitant cost any such process would entail. The memory of the metochi survives in the name of the wider area which is called Metochi Barbou or Koubes, due to the domed tombs that used to stand next to the estate.

The photographs presented here depict how the metochi buildings have succumbed to the ravages of time. The first pair of photographs shows the rapid decay of the main yard gate with the skylights on both sides. The first photograph was taken by M. Manousakas in 2007 and the second by G. Konstas in 2018. It is obvious that almost half of the domed passage in the second photograph has been rebuilt. The next photographs depict some distinctive parts of the metochi in 2018 and were also part of an article written by G. Konstas.