| A doline, also known as a sinkhole, is a depression or hole in the ground caused by collapse of the surface layer. They are found in karstificated landscapes, where the limestone has been broken down by the water. |
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As Crete almost exclusively consists of this kind of stone, dolines are quite common. | |||
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Here are some examples from Lefka Ori (White Mountains) |
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and some from Psiloritis. |
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| One of the most impressive and accesible sinkholes is known as 'Voulismeno Aloni', the sunken threshing floor, because of its almost circular shape. |
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Voulismeno Aloni is situated 15 kilometres west of Iraklion and is 90 metres in diameter. Its walls are 15-20 metres high. If you follow the road from Iraklion to Anogia, you must turn towards Marathos just after Arolithos. After a few kilometres you will arrive to the spot, where there now has been build a parking space for the visitors. |
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Of course there is also connected a myth to the spot: A farmer once upon a time had his threshing floor here, and when he together with his wife and daugther wanted to thresh on prophet Elias' day, the saint got angry, because you are not supposed to work on this holyday. He let the threshing floor disappear into the ground. |
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| Due to the doline's perpendicular slopes it is now used by alpine clubs and associations for training. | ||||
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