Similar to the House of Cracks, photographing this abandoned prison wasn't easy in such burning heat. My friend had driven me here one sunday morning as the village was coming alive and sat in the car to wait for me to shoot inside. Such extensive damage made for careful treading with beams hanging down and piles of rubble on the floor. Using a tripod wasn't easy in the more darker parts.

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As I emerged form inside and peered out from the broken main door a little old lady gasped and promptly did the sign of the cross. Having just left her church service she wasn't expecting to see anyone emerging from this long abandoned prison covered in rubble and dust, she must have thought it was a ghost! My friend exlained to her who I was and why I was there and she made her way muttering.....

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The abandoned prison in Gythio is a derelict early 20th-century complex. The two-building facility operated until 1972 before being closed, and it has since been declared an official monument of historical memory although it hasn't exactly been preserved well. 

The prison saw active use during World War II, the German Occupation, and the turbulent Greek Civil War. During these periods, the complex was the site of significant political detention and violence. Most notoriously, in March 1947, a large group of leftist political prisoners and partisans held at the facility were removed and executed by local paramilitary forces.

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Today, the site is in a severe state of ruin, with some sections of the structure damaged by fire. Due to structural degradation, the interior is highly hazardous. While you can view the exterior from the road, the grounds are largely abandoned and inaccessible without official authorization or unless one sneaks in whilst noone is looking!