The Island of Crete
(click on the small image below to see the full size image)
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Crete is the largest of the Greek Islands. It is a beautiful island and has a variety of scenery and personalities to enjoy. The island is 8.26 square miles and is home to 600,000 people. |
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| This is the view as we arrived in the major city of Iraklion (Herakleion). Iraklion is on the northern coast of the island and is the main port for the island. |  |
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Crete is an island with a long history. It began in the neolithic period (7000 - 3000 B.C.E), continued through the Minoan civilization 3000 B.C.E (see page on Knossos for more details) until today. Crete was occupied by the Turks in the early middle ages. In the 14th century A.D the Venetians came and assisted the Greeks in freeing themselves. Around Irakleon there are many remenants of the Venetian's occupation of Crete. In the port, there is a Venetian Fortress. It jets out into the harbour itself and is quite imposing. You can visit the fortress for 3€. Walking around Irakleon you will find other Venetian buildings. We happened across the city hall which is a beautiful Venetian building. The detail is exquisite, just watch out for the pigeons! On our walk we also came across the Bascillica of St. Titus which was inset from the street. Again it is a beautiful building. |
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Crete is full of picturesque coastal towns. It is a very popular spot with Europeans for beach vactions. We stayed in a small town about a 1/2 hour outside Irakleon called Kato Gouves. We could get to the city easily and cheaply by bus. The area is quite picturesque and our hotel was right on the beach. This is the sunset from our hotel room, and you can see why it is such a popular spot! |
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We rented a motorcycle one day to try to see the inland parts of the island. The roads are narrow and windy so I would not recommend renting a motorcycle or scooter unless you are an experienced motorcycle rider. As you can see, the scenery is spectacular!(This is a large image and may take some time to download on a dial-up connection)The inland island is full of mountains and vineyards and orchards. If you do decide to rent a vehicle, please be on the defensive when driving. Motorists tend to go around motorcycles and scooters, and when they are coming around the mountain curves they do not leave much room for the vehicles that are coming in the opposite direction. The roads are crowded with monuments to people who have been killed in accidents on these roads, please do not add another monument. |
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