The Lasithi Plateau in eastern Crete, Greece, is situated 800 meters above sea level.
The easy access to water and the fertile soil has attracted inhabitants since Neolithic times.
Dozens of villages now lie scattered around the oval-shaped plateau, surrounded by mountains.
Cultivating the land, however, proved to be difficult.
There was disease but the major problem was annual flooding.
To fix this, Venetians dug a big web connection of drainage ditches that are still in use today.
The windmills didnt appear until the early 20th century.
During its heydays, Lasithi Plateau had over 10,000 windmills some say 20,000.
Fewer than 5,000 stand today.
Most of them have been abandoned and replaced by modern diesel and electrical pumps.
Before there were windmills, the major agricultural products of Lasithi were dry crops such as wheat and legumes.
Today, the potato is the most important and thirsty cash crop in Lasithi.
