Crete - the Cradle of the European Civilization
GA
Galiya Abdrakhmanova
Wed, 08 Jun 2022
Perhaps many of us had the book Legends and Myths of Ancient Greece by Nikolai Kuhn at home. A beautiful series of Soviet cartoons was based on this book. We remember by heart the exploits of Hercules, the legend of the Minotaur, and the brave Argonauts. Democracy, the Olympics, theater... the list of Greek things goes on and on. For me, a history graduate, visiting Greece was a dream come true.
The main point of our Mediterranean trip was Crete, the largest of the Greek islands, with many interesting beaches, olive groves, serpentine roads, and wonderful views.
Most visitors arrive in Crete via its capital, Heraklion. Here are the main air and seaports of the island.
In the city, we visited the so-called Palace of Knossos, the center of the first true civilization in Greece and Europe, known to historians as the Minoan civilization (named after the legendary King Minos of Crete). The Minotaur's Labyrinth, according to legend, was located here.
The artifacts found at the excavations at the site of the palace of Knossos can be seen at the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion. I strongly recommend you visit it to learn more about the history of Crete and Greece.
Another myth related to the island is the origin of the name Europa. It is believed that Europa was the name of the beautiful daughter of the Phoenician king, who was kidnapped by Zeus in the image of a bull and hidden in Crete.
We chose the city of Chania, about an hour west of Heraklion, as a base of our short vacation on the island.
There are a lot of big and small car rental companies in Crete. We used the services of one of them and didn’t regret it at all. The Cretan roads - wide enough highways with crazy views of the sea, mountain serpentine, and streets of simple villages - are a sheer pleasure. Driving along the olive groves, you can stop to buy olive oil, often from the hands of the farmers themselves. Here you can be one hundred percent sure of its naturalness.
The city of Chania in the Middle Ages belonged to the Republic of Venice for a long time. Today you can walk through the Venetian harbor, and admire the lighthouse and the arsenal, left from those times. Here, on the seashore, there is a monument of another important period in the history of Crete and Greece - the Ottoman rule - the Küçük Hasan mosque.
Of course, we went to Greece for not only the impressions and emotions from the historical sites but also for a beach holiday. An hour and a half from Chania in the southwest of Crete there is one of the most beautiful beaches - Elafonisi.
It is a luxurious beach with pink sand and clear water. The entrance is very gentle and generally shallow, so it is especially suitable for families with small children.
We left not only our hearts on Elafonisi but also an inflatable unicorn, which sailed away from us unnoticed into the open sea.
A couple of hours by ferry from Crete there is probably the most "Instagrammed" island in Greece - Fira (better known by its Italian name, Santorini). It is a small volcanic island, clad in white houses with blue and round roofs.
It is its white and blue houses that designers love to use on the packaging of Greek products - all kinds of yogurts and cheeses. It is believed that the myth of the sinking of Atlantis came from here. The black sand on Santorini's beaches is also a result of the island's volcanic past.
We sailed to Fira for one night to watch a gorgeous sunset. And it did not disappoint us.
The island is quite mountainous, so there is a lot of walking to do. Once the main means of transportation on it were donkeys, today you can also ride them if you want.
Our family was impressed by the cordiality and openness of the locals. For example, the owner of a small restaurant in Chania, treated our children to ice cream for free every time we had lunch there. Once even quite exotic one, which was made of goat's milk.
Greek cuisine, in my opinion, is one of the most delicious in the world. The fried octopus in Santorini was great. In general, fresh fish, seafood, vegetables, cheese, and olives - are all worth trying. The only thing, the natural Greek yogurt was too thick unlike the usual Greek from our supermarkets.
Unfortunately, it is impossible to grasp the immensity, and we did not have the time to visit many interesting places. For instance, the Samarian Gorge - the largest in Europe and, as they say, one of the most beautiful; the fortress on the island of Spinalonga and many other places of interest.
Our vacation, like any vacation, was short. However, the memory of the cradle of the European civilization - sunny and ancient Crete, with its wonderful beaches, delicious cuisine, hospitable people, and a place of wonderful recreation for the whole family - will forever remain in our hearts.