Crete
Most of the places we traveled to have been in mainland Europe. We
decided this time to go to the Greek island of Crete. It's very very different
from Malta. First of all it's huge. Malta is 17 miles long and 9 miles wide.
With a population of 400,000, it is one of the worlds smallest and most
populated islands. Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek
islands. It is 167 miles long and 37 miles wide and has a population of over
600,000.
Flying in, we could see mountains and green landscape. We rented a
car to better explore the island and even from the airport to the hotel, we
could see how beautiful everything was. That's one thing that always strikes me
when we leave Malta, how green it is everywhere else. They don't call it the
rock for nothing, I guess. The main road was basically a coast highway. On one
side you had sandy beaches and on the other, mountains. We couldn't wait to
start this vacation.
In other blogs I have talked about how horrible the driving is in
Malta. Part of the problem is the roads are narrow and in bad shape. It's very
difficult to avoid potholes, which are everywhere. You really can't tell if
people are crazy drivers or if they're just avoiding the craters or each
other. On Crete, everything was much more open. The first thing we noticed;
although there were only two lanes on the highway, people were driving in 3
lanes. As I came up behind a car, they would immediately move over to
the shoulder. I saw the same thing in oncoming traffic. What I came to realize
is that they move over so you can pass, by driving down the middle of the
highway. It didn't matter if there were double lines, a blind corner, or
cresting the top of a hill. The driver in front moves over, and if you so wish,
you pass. Judging by the number of memorials on the side of the road, this
doesn't always go as planned. Oddly enough once you get used to driving this
way, it kind of made sense and it was easy enough to get around.
We were staying at the Grand Leoniki Residence. http://www.grandleonikiresidence.com/.
It's a very nice resort that offers studios, 1 and 2 bedroom apartments. We had
a lovely 1bedroom apartment complete with kitchen and balcony overlooking the
outdoor pool. Sadly, while the weather was warm, the unheated pool was not. I
was further saddened to learn that the indoor pool was heated, as was the
jacuzzi, but they were only open between the hours of 10 and 3. We would be busy
during those times seeing the island.
After unpacking our bags we decided to head into the village for
dinner. We noticed cats everywhere, including nearly every restaurant we
saw. We found a market and bought a few groceries. Across the street we saw a
small family-owned restaurant. When we walked in, the owner came and shook our
hands and welcomed us. He was very friendly, asking where we were from, how long
we would be staying etc. The food turned out to be absolutely fabulous. I got
what I thought was beef stew, but turned out to be a leg of lamb in a tomato
broth. I typically don't like lamb as it's too greasy for my taste, but this was
the best piece of meat I've probably ever eaten in my life. After dinner, the
owner offered us not only dessert but a shot of Raki. It's an unsweetened,
anise-flavored Turkish alcoholic drink. Apparently this is a custom in Crete;
every restaurant we went to offered us a shot, usually before you eat as
an apéritif. (An alcoholic beverage usually served before a meal to stimulate
the appetite) It may have been complimentary, but it smells like diesel fuel
so we decided to pass.
On Sunday went to the dining room for breakfast. I've never seen
such a spread! They ended up dragging another table over just to put more food
on. We had coffee, tea, fresh juice, several different kinds of
pastries, fruits, breads, jams, meats and cheeses. They also brought us bacon,
eggs and potatoes. And it was just for Mic and I. Looking around, we noticed
others were also struggling with too much food. We couldn’t have eaten it
all if we sat there all day! The rest of the time, we ate in our apartment.
One thing we noticed, the eggs had an orange tint to them. I guess it was
something they fed the chickens, but it didn't seem to alter the taste.
After breakfast, we headed to the city of Chania, pronounced hen wa.
Chania is the second largest city in Crete and the capital of the region. This
beautiful port town on the northwest coast reflects it's Venetian and Turkish
past. We had been told it was one of the most picturesque ports in the country
and it was indeed very beautiful. There were coffee shops and restaurants lining
the harbor and crowded with people enjoying a beautiful sunny day.
At the harbor was a lighthouse and the Fortress of Firkas. In the
late 16th century, the Turks were threatening the Venetians, who began
fortifying cities all over Crete. From 1595 to 1601 they built the lighthouse.
During the Turkish occupation, the harbor and lighthouse were neglected and
abandoned. In 1839, the Egyptians restored the lighthouse to what we see
today. The Firkas Fortress was constructed in 1629 to protect the Venetian
harbor entrance from raiders. It was at Firkas, that in 1913 the Prime Minister
and the King of Greece raised the Greek flag, sealing the union of the
autonomous Cretan State with Greece.
Also on the waterfront we found the Hasan Pasha Mosque or Giali
Tzamisi as it is commonly known. It was built during the 2nd half of the 17th
century and was the first mosque built by the Ottomans in Crete. Giali Tzamisi
operated as a Muslim church until 1923, when the last Muslims left the island.
Occasionally, it has been used as Archaeological Museum, warehouse, and folk art
museum. The day we were there, we saw a group of children dancing for
coins.
During our walk around the old city, we found the Agios Nikolaaos
Dominican Monastery. It was built in 1320. In the years of the Turkish
occupation, it was converted into a mosque called Hiougkar Tzamisi or the
Sovereign’s Mosque. The Monastery sits on one side of the square Splantzia. In
the center of the square was a huge tree called the Splanzia Plane Tree. In the
Ottoman Era, Greek Christians who were fighting for their freedom were tortured
and hanged under the tree.
We really enjoyed just walking around; there were shops selling local
wine, cheese, honey and other locally produced goods. The buildings were
brightly colored with many well cared for gardens on the balconies. The
restaurants and cafes had very nice courtyards that were full of people enjoying
a mid afternoon drink or snack.
There is a Navy Base on Crete, so of course we decided to go check it
out. Once again my quest for Mt Dew was thwarted. I wasn't sure exactly where
it was, but after driving in ever widening circles around the airport, we
finally found it. I was a bit thrown because there was no American flag, but
the buildings were distinctly military. We found the gate and I asked if this
was the American base or a Greek one. The young guard didn't speak much
English, but took my ID card. He then asked for my pass. After a few exchanges
consisting of "What pass", "Your pass'... he handed my ID card back and sent us
to a tiny visitor center, which was closed. As we were debating what to do, 4
sailors in a military police car pulled up. After determining I was no threat,
they were pretty friendly. Apparently, although I am authorized to enter the
base, I needed specific authorization from the installation commander. That was
the pass the guard kept asking for. They said it would be a simple matter of
them finding the commander and getting a pass signed. The next problem of
course was what to do with Mic. As a Danish citizen, he would not be allowed to
go with me. We asked the sailors if there was somewhere he could wait and after
a short debate among them, they decided on a cafe near by. The directions were
"go back to the fork in the road, go left, then turn at the tree, turn at the
mailbox, pass here, go there." Much too complicated when everything looked the
same. We were out in the middle of no where. Many of little roads, we had
already discovered, led to someone's house. Even if I could find the cafe,
which was highly in doubt, I would most certainly never find my way back to the
base, then back to the cafe. We decided it wasn't worth it.
On Monday we went to Rethymnon. It's the 3rd largest city in Crete
and unlike Heraklion and Chania, it's quaint streets have retained the charm and
character of the Greek Renaissance instead of looking like any other modern day
city. After wandering down the narrow, pretty streets of Old Town, we came to
the largest fortress in Crete, Fortezza. This huge fort was built in 1573 on
the site of the citadel of ancient Rithimna and the Temple of Artemis Rokkea.
The perimeter is 1300 m (.80 m) long and has 4 bastions on the wall. The fort
is so large, it could hold the entire population of the town when there was a
threat from raiders. You can still see the remains of a church, several
barracks, a hospital, the armory, and storage rooms. You can see huge vats
buried underground, once used for collecting and storing water. In 1645 the
fort was surrendered to the Turks, around the same time as a massive cholera
outbreak. Much later, during the German occupation, the fort was used as a
prison for resisting Cretans, who were later executed. In reading the
description in the guide book, it was easy to picture the fortress back in its
prime. Many of the building described are still standing. The fort is massive,
Mic and were surprised each time we rounded a corner, to see even more space.
The views of the sea and the town were spectacular! The fort sits on a hill
overlooking the town. Each wall we came to had a different view. The city was
so pretty, we spent the rest of the day just wandering around. We had lunch at
a great little place down by the harbor and we watched the fishing boats come
in and deck hands scurrying around cleaning the nets. Every restaurant we saw
had fresh fish on the menu. There were cats everywhere, especially at these
restaurants. They did a good job of looking pathetic and conning people into
feeding them, but I didn't see a single skinny cat the entire time on the
island.
On all of our trips around Crete, we ran into flocks of
sheep crossing the road. Most of the time they were small back country roads and
when we asked, we learned that all the villagers knew who which flock belonged
to, they were never hit by cars, and they never wandered too far from what ever
field they were left in. They had no natural predators, so they were really in
no danger wandering around by themselves. The shepherds would take them out in
the morning and collect them at night. The goats seemed to be more solitary
and had a wider range. I don't think they were watched as close as the sheep
and they were often at higher elevation, in much rougher terrain. I'm sure they
would have been really hard to catch every day.
On Tuesday we headed toward the mountains. Our first stop was the
botanical gardens
http://www.botanical-park.com/. It was a notably steep and winding road up
there, but the views were spectacular. It's website says - "Nearly 20 hectares
of land are waiting to welcome you, full of fruit trees from all over the world,
herbs, medicinal and ornamental plants in a park different from others, where
the land’s formation and the region’s microclimate make it a paradise for
hundreds of plants and animals!" It really was an amazing place; we entered
the lodge overlooking the park. From the beautiful deck, you could look down to
the trails meandering through a remarkable variety of plants and trees. It's
hard to believe the entire park burnt to the ground in 2003. There is an
ancient burnt centennial olive tree at the entrance which gives a glimpse of the
destruction.
There were 150 different kind of fruit trees alone. The only trees
with any fruit were the orange trees and they were weighted down with big fat
juicy oranges. Being from Florida, I'm used to oranges being in season around
Christmas. April seemed really late, but in Crete it was harvest time. We
passed so many trees that I just couldn't help but pick one. I guess it served
me right for stealing, they were terribly sour. At the bottom of the park was a
small pond for ducks and geese. I passed by about 5 geese with no problem, they
didn't even seem to notice me. When Mic walked by however, it was as if a
switch had been flipped and the blood thirsty birds took off after him honking
up a storm with wings flapping. If I hadn't been laughing so hysterically, I
may have tried to save him, but I was useless. A park worker happened by and
managed to head the geese off before they could do any damage. I have no idea
what sparked that reaction, but I think he's scarred for life. As we wandered
around the park, we kept thinking the trail down is very steep and of course
what goes down, must eventually go back up. It turns out it wasn't that bad.
Although it was pretty steep, we were stopping so often to see the views or to
look at a plant that we never really struggled to catch our breath. We turned
around at one point and noticed about hundreds of bee hives in the distance. They were
very brightly colored and we joked that maybe it was so the bees could find
their way home when they were drunk on nectar.
After the botanical garden we drove further into the mountains to
Samaria Gorge. According to the Explore Crete web page, "Samaria or the Samaria
Gorge is one of the main sights of Crete. Every tourist who visits Crete will
have heard of this beautiful gorge or soon will. The locals call it the
“Farangas” or “Great Gorge”, both in admiration at its beauty and to
differentiate it from the many other, smaller gorges on the island. The Samaria
Gorge is in western Crete, in the White Mountains. It is the longest gorge in
Europe, with a length of 18 kilometers. The gorge starts at Xyloskalo (1227 m.
above sea level) on the Omalos Plateau and runs down to the seaside village of
Agia Roumeli on the south coast of Crete." It's supposed to be a great hike,
but much too strenuous for my poor old knees. We wanted to at least go see it,
and maybe hike a little bit of the trail, but the park hadn't opened for the
season yet. We did enjoy the views being this high up afforded us. On they
way back down we stopped at a lake side cafe for lunch. It was so beautiful and
peaceful, we didn't want to leave. The trip back was pretty slow, in part
because of the narrow roads, sharp turns and sheep everywhere, but also because
we kept stopping for pictures.
Mic was supposed to fly back to Athens Wednesday night so he could
catch an early flight home on Thursday. Since the airport was in Heraklion, we
decided to save the largest city for last. Not only is Heraklion the capital of
Crete, it's also the commercial center of the island. As such, it's basically
just a large industrial city. Part of the reason for the city losing its
traditional Venetian charm is because of the need for rapid expansion due to the
Asia Minor catastrophe in 1922.
According to Wikipedia, The Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922, known as
the Western Front of the Turkish War of Independence in Turkey and the Asia
Minor Catastrophe in Greece, was fought between Greece and the Turkish National
Movement during the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire after World War I. The
Greek campaign was launched primarily because the western Allies had promised
Greece territorial gains at the expense of the Ottoman Empire, if Greece entered
the war on the Allied side. These included Eastern Thrace, the islands of
Imbros, Tenedos, and parts of western Anatolia around the city of Smyrna, which
contained sizable ethnic Greek populations. The armed conflict started when the
Greek forces landed in Smyrna. They advanced inland and took control of the
western and northwestern part of Anatolia. Their advance was checked at the
Battle of Sakarya in 1921 by forces of the Turkish National Movement. The Greek
front collapsed with the Turkish counter-attack and the war effectively ended
with the Great Fire of Smyrna by the Turkish forces. As a result, the Greek
government accepted the demands of the Turkish national Movement and returned to
its pre-war borders, thus leaving East Thrace and Western Anatolia to Turkey.
The Allies abandoned the Treaty of Sèvres to negotiate a new treaty at Lausanne
with the Turkish National Movement. The Treaty of Lausanne recognized the
independence of the Republic of Turkey and its sovereignty over Asia Minor,
Constantinople, and Eastern Thrace. Greek and Turkish governments agreed to
engage in a population exchange.
While the history behind it was interesting, Heraklion was indeed
just a big modern city. There were some interesting areas, such as 25th August
street. With a name like that, you know there is a story, so here it is: On
August 25, 1898, on the feast day of St. Titos, the Turks massacred hundreds of
Christian Cretans, 17 British soldiers and the vice-consul of England. They
also destroyed all the houses and shops. The reason? The management of the
toll office of Heraklion was handed over to a Christian official, which was a
term for a new autonomous Cretan State under the supervision of English
troops. This tragedy forced England, Russia and France to accept the Cretans'
request for the banishment of the Turkish army from Crete.
After wandering around the city for a while, we stopped for ice
cream. As soon as he connected to wifi, Mic got a text from Ryan air. There
was going to be a one day air traffic control strike the next day, all flights
were canceled. He could still get to Athens this evening, but couldn't get out
of Athens to Malta the next day. So off we went to the airport to see if he
could get a flight out of Greece before the strike. No luck, either all the
flights were booked or he couldn't get to Athens in time to make a connecting
flight. He was able to book a seat on my flight on Saturday, if the strike was
in fact, only for one day. So back we went to our hotel and a nice dinner in our
village.
Since Mic was supposed to be gone on Thursday, I had booked a bus
tour to some sights around the island. I asked if he wanted to go, but he
didn't like the idea of sitting on a bus all day. I was at the right place at
the right time, waiting on a bus or minivan. A small jeep pulled up and a very
enthusiastic Greek fellow jumped out and asked if I was Lisa. I said yes and he
said hop in. OMG this was a tiny jeep! And I'm not sure how they got in there,
but there were two girls in the back seat. The driver explained that he thought
it would be more fun to cruise around in the jeep instead of the big van. Sure,
more fun for him! We felt more like sardines. I had my seat pulled as far
forward as it would go to allow the girl in the back at least a little room.
Although I offered to switch out several times that day, luckily the girls said
they were ok to sit in the back. There is no way I could have sat back there,
my knees just don't bend that much! I don't think Mic would have even fit in
the car, even if there was a space for him. Good thing he didn't want to
go.
Our tour guide, it turns out wasn't even a tour guide, he was the
driver. But it was off season and he volunteered to act as our guide. What he
lacked in knowledge, he certainly made up for in enthusiasm. He talked non stop
about his village, his life, his interests etc. He had only vague answers to
any questions we could fit into the conversation, but we did learn a lot about
him. He previously lived in Denmark, but showed no interest in letting me
practice my Danish. What he was most excited to talk about was his music. He
was in a band and they traveled around to different villages playing traditional
Greek music.
Our first stop was a monetary know as Arkadi. Wikipedia says: The
Arkadi Monastery is an Eastern Orthodox monastery, situated on a fertile plateau
23 km (14 mi) to the southeast of Rethymnon. The current church dates back to
the 16th century and is marked by the influence of the Renaissance. This
influence is visible in the architecture, which mixes both Roman and baroque
elements. As early as the 16th century, the monastery was a place for science
and art and had a school and a rich library. Situated on a plateau, the
monastery is well fortified, being surrounded by a thick and high wall. The
monastery played an active role in the Cretan resistance of Ottoman rule during
the Cretan revolt of 1866. 943 Greeks, mostly women and children, sought refuge
in the monastery. After three days of battle and under orders from the abbot of
the monastery, the Cretans blew up barrels of gunpowder, choosing to sacrifice
themselves rather than surrender.
The monastery was actually quite beautiful. On the inside were
gorgeous archways all around the compound. In walking around, you did get the
feeling of it once being a fortress. The entire compound was surrounded by four
walls of 1.2 meters thick. There was a beautiful small Church as well as
several courtyards. It seemed like a very peaceful place.
Our guide was very excited about our next next stop which happened to
be the village that he grew up in. As we approached the tiny mountain hamlet, he
began seeing people that he knew. As he greeted them, he told us that woman is
my brother's wife, that man was my elementary school teacher, that man is the
butcher. Honestly they seemed just as excited to see him as he was to see them.
He parked the car and we walked around for a little bit. He took us to a quaint
little church in the center of the village and then around to an outer edge
where he showed us a fountain his uncle had built. We finished up at a small
coffee shop where we sat for an hour while he visited with all the locals. It
was a little bit awkward for me because the two girls talked among themselves in
German. I had previously tried to make conversation with them but they didn't
seem all that social at the beginning of the trip. Of course the guide and the
locals were all speaking to each other in Greek. That left me sitting by myself,
but that's okay because I was really enjoying the scenery. They were high enough
up in the mountains that you could see for miles around.
Our next stop was St. Anthony's Gorge in the lush province of Amari.
This gorge is a well maintained state forest and the hiking was much easier than
some of the other gorgeous we had heard about. There was a river running through
the middle and very steep rock walls on either side. There were trees and
plants all around, it was quite stunning. After a short 10-minute hike we came
to a church carved out of the rock wall. There was an old wooden pulpit and
various pictures of saints situated in various nooks and crannies. We also
noticed tiny pieces of paper stuck in the crevices. We were told these were
prayer request. A little bit deeper in the cave we noticed something hanging
from a stalactite. They were small tin squares with body parts stamped into them
such as a leg, heart or arm. These were prayer request of a medical nature
asking to heal specific body parts for example a crippled leg. Next to these
medical prayer request was a pile of crutches. Perhaps people walked in on
crutches and walked out under their own power.
We came to a fork in the road and our guide asked if we were up for a
more strenuous climb. He said it would take us to the top of the gorge and we
would have a magnificent view of the surrounding area. We all agreed we would
give it a shot. Sadly one of the girls had on very flimsy sandals and the trip
proved very difficult for her. It was worth the climb however because the view
was breathtaking. After we took a few pictures and paused to catch our breath we
continued on our way.
At the next fork in the road we were given the
option of going down a profoundly steep trail to reach a waterfall. This time
the girl with the flimsy sandals and I decided it probably wasn't worth the
effort. So the other girl and the guide set off down the trail alone. They were
gone about half an hour at which time I actually had a very nice conversation
with my travel companion. When the other two came back they showed us pictures
of the waterfall. While it was a lovely, I don't think it would have been worth
the strenuous trip down or more importantly, the strenuous trek back up. The
main hiking path was relatively level ground, but the hikes up and down the side
trails are quite steep and quite rocky.
We turned around and made our way back to the entrance of the park
where lunch was served in a lovely rustic lodge. The food was fantastic,
although we weren't exactly sure what we were eating. There were several types
of meat, potatoes, fried cheese of some sort and vegetables. Our guide was
unsure of the English word for the meat we were eating. I think he thought we
were asking about the cut of meat versus the animal that it came from, but we
decided it was most likely lamb.
Throughout the day our guide talked endlessly of the band that he was
in. He and his mates played at villages all over the island and he was quite
proud of the fact that he was a musician. After lunch he treated us to a little
concert in the parking lot. He played a traditional Greek string instrument,
maybe a Cretan Lyra. It sounded quite similar to a violin and he was very good
at it.
After the concert we wedged ourselves back in the tiny jeep and
headed to our last stop which was Potami lake. Our guide tried to tell us a
story about a lone crocodile that lived in this lake for many years. He was much
loved by the locals but some official decided he needed to go and killed him.
I'm not a hundred percent sure he knew what he was talking about because he kept
talking about baby crocodiles which would appear periodically. I'm not sure how
a single crocodile would ever produce babies. Regardless of whether it was a
crocodile-infested lake or not, as with everything we had seen that day it was a
beautiful late. Apparently you're not allowed to swim or boat in it because it
is a water supply. As with most of what he told us, his details were quite
sketchy. As I said in the beginning, he wasn't a tour guide at all and really
knew very little. He was the bus driver who apparently had only half paid
attention as the tour guide explained things about the local culture, customs,
economic system, history and government. What he lacked in knowledge though, he
certainly made up for in enthusiasm for his Greek heritage, his music, and his
own tiny village. All in all the tour was well worth the €40 that I paid for
it.
Link to pictures
https://goo.gl/photos/3PJHMRfG6tHHrFMk6
Comments
Post a Comment