- Fig season finishes in late September.
- Families dry figs on rooftops and balconies for winter use.
- Dried figs are stored with bay leaves to deter pests.
- Rain ends the harvest — a single shower can ruin the fruit.
- Dried figs are a staple: snack, medicine, and memory.
The Last Fig Harvest of Crete — A Note from Manuel
I do not write much about rooftops at the beach. I watch swimmers, tides, and the way the light breaks over the horizon. But figs—figs demand attention. They take the same stubbornness as a good swimmer: patient, sun-toughened, loyal.
By late September, village roofs look like small altars to the sun. Trays of split figs lie flesh up, catching heat. Men move them when a cloud shows its face, kids chase stray figs that wobble too close to the edge, and old women press bay leaves between layers like they are slipping little prayers into jars.
The race is not poetic. It is practical. One storm and the harvest is done. The figs split and sour. The sun that ripened them will no longer be generous. So everyone climbs — ladders, hands, quick decisions — because the figs are not for tourists. They are for winter tea, for a quick supplement with coffee, for the child who will need something sweet when the rains come.
A fresh fig eaten on the tree is a theft of the best kind. A dried fig is a memory you keep in your pocket. I respect both. I respect the people who work to turn sun into stored sweetness. They are the reason Crete keeps a taste of summer all winter.
Credit: This piece was written by Manuel Santos with assistance from Arthur (ChatGPT).