Crete - the jewel of the Mediterranean

Crete is the largest (about 250 km long) and most southern island of Greece. Its scenery is stunning and full of surprises - majestic mountains, wide plateaus, deep gorges, fertile valleys, endless beaches interchanged with rocky shores.

Crete is home of the Minoan civilization, the Earliest European civilization, which left us some wonderful art and architecture and some fascinating legends that have survived time like the story of the Minotaur and the famous Labyrinth.

The island, because of its unique position between three continents and its natural riches, has been a sought-after prize for many conquerors: Romans, Arabs, Venetians, Turks, all came and left leaving behind traces of their cultures. This makes Crete even more fascinating today as alongside Minoan palaces you find Roman ruins, Byzantine churches, Venetian castles and old Turkish quarters. Throughout its turbulent history, Crete retained its character and its people remain proud, fiercely independent and extremely hospitable.

Crete is renowned for the variety of its vegetation and wildlife. Several species of plants and animals are unique to Crete and the island is a key stop for migrating birds. There are chestnut, oak, cypress forests and, more unusually, palm and cedar forests. Medicinal herbs and fragrant shrubs grow naturally in mountainous areas while on the fertile plateaus and valleys you find olive groves, grapevines and all sorts of fruit trees. The famous Cretan olive oil is one of the best in the world.

Crete is divided into four administrative regions (prefectures):
Chania – the Minoan settlement of ancient Kidonia, home among other things of the famous 18km long Samaria Gorge National Park and Kri-Kri, the wild Cretan goats.
Rethimno – the birthplace of Zeus and the intellectual capital of Crete since the 16th century when it flourished economically under the Venetians.
Iraklio – named after Hercules (Iraklis in Greek), it boasts two of the most famous Minoan palaces (there were over 100 in total!), Knossos and Festos. It’s also the birthplace of the famous painter Domenicos Theotokopoulos (also known as El Greco) and the writer Nikos Kazantzakis (known abroad for ‘Zorba the Greek’).
Lasithi – the easternmost of the Cretan regions, with many wonderful beaches and rich cultural heritage.

Wherever you are on the island, there is much to see, explore and visit as well as wonderful places to relax and unwind. Cretan cuisine is excellent, using freshly-grown local produce to create cheeses like ‘graviera’ and ‘myzithra’ and specialities like yogurt and honey, 'kalitsounia' (sweets tarts), pies made of wild greens flavored with fennel, 'staka' (fried cheese), rabbit or goat stew as well as fresh fish, sea urchins, octopus cooked on charcoal – all to be washed down with some excellent Cretan wine or 'tsipouro'.

In the bustling towns, you can buy locally made jewellery and silverware while in the villages you can find traditional hand-woven fabrics, embroideries, woodcarvings, ceramics and leather goods. You may even get the chance to see these age-old crafts being practised. Activities you can enjoy include mountaineering, hiking, mountain cycling, windsurfing and sailing. In bigger resorts you can also water-ski.

The island is easily accessible by air (two international airports - Chania and Iraklio) and by sea (regular ferries form Piraeus). Crete has an extensive network of good roads and regularly scheduled buses serving all areas of the island.

CRETAN CAVES

There are 4,700 caves in Crete and less than half have been explored to date.
Many caves were inhabited or used for ceremonies since Neolithic times.

Many Cretan caves have wonderful stalaktites and stalagmites and can be visited with organised tours.

According to legend, Zeus was born in a cave on mountain Dikti and was nurtured by a goat. Later, he was hidden in another cave on mountain Idi, to be saved from his father Kronos who was afraid his son would take over his leadership.