Ah, Greece.... Such a long history, and equally long beaches.... I am finally here!
Yassas (hello) everyone!
I left the elegant beauty of Madrid on Friday and, after a good long day of flying, landed in Iraklion. Iraklion is the capital city of Crete, Greece's southernmost island. Inhabited since 7000 BC, Crete is most famous for being the cradle of Europe's first advanced civilization : the Minoans.
I had booked a private room in a hostel away from the city, hoping for a bit of peaceful beach time. Turns out I am staying in a somewhat cheesy, touristy area with a strip of beach running along an industrial sector, with factories belching grey clouds out of smokestacks. Oops.
The hostel itself is simple but clean, with a nice pool just outside my room.
Nonetheless, that ugly beach (outrageously named Heaven Beach) has sand, water and sun -- and so I spent my first day attempting to get rid of my farmer's tan. After a month on the hot Spanish trails, you can imagine how tanned my face, legs and arms were, and how the rest of me was pasty-white.
Unfortunately, I couldn't walk on the sand in my bare feet because my blisters were still raw and 'open' and my toenail was still missing. I am proud to say I was the only person on the beach wearing gauze and socks on her feet -- I looked like a total idiot but I was soooo looking forward to lying in the Grecian sun. People looked at me quizzically. I didn't care. I had my beach.
Unfortunately, I couldn't walk on the sand in my bare feet because my blisters were still raw and 'open' and my toenail was still missing. I am proud to say I was the only person on the beach wearing gauze and socks on her feet -- I looked like a total idiot but I was soooo looking forward to lying in the Grecian sun. People looked at me quizzically. I didn't care. I had my beach.
Nice windsurfing beach, blue seas, blue sky, great view of Dia Island in the background. And then you look to the left and....
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Wait for it
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........uuugh! Heaven Beach.
My bad. Must research more thoroughly next time.
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Venetian port and fortress in Iraklion, Crete
In the background, you can spot 5 vaulted Venetian arsenals, where ships were built and/or repaired. Of the original 19, only these 5 remain.
As good a day as any for catching one's supper
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Day 2 brings me just South of Iraklion to the ancient Minoan ruins of Knossos. Now, the Minoans were an ancient but remarkably sophisticated civilization that ruled southern Europe over 4,000 years ago. They are credited with inventing the first flush toilets (water was poured down by hand, but still...) and their buildings had drainage, sewerage, and heating/cooling systems. They venerated mostly goddesses; there is not much evidence of male gods (history's first feminists??). Greek is Europe's oldest written language -- second only to Chinese in the world -- and it is traceable back to the Linear A and B scripts of the Minoans. They built huge vessels and ruled the trading world; their artwork, music and cultural endeavors were impressive as well.
The Minoans suddenly became extinct around 1500 BC. Hypotheses range from the cataclysmic volcanic eruption of Santorini -- which wiped out other cultures as well -- to alien intervention to giant tsunamis caused by huge earthquakes. The volcano theory seems to be the generally accepted one. There are SO MANY paintings and images of extraterrestrials and other bizarre creatures in Minoan art that one can imagine why the alien theory popped up. Interestingly enough, I wasn't allowed to photograph any of them to show you... Conspiracy theory, anyone?
To sum up Knossos... The huge ruins are believed to be those of an ancient palace and are made up of a court, royal apartments, two- and three-storied houses, storage units, a theater, etc. Just massive. It took me a good 3 hours to walk through it and I did not explore every nook and cranny. I also visited the Iraklion Archaeological Museum which houses many frescoes (wall paintings) and treasures from Knossos. The following photos were taken at both the ruins and the museum:
''Prince of the Lilies'' 1700 BC - Despite the name, some scholars believe this is a woman (we were usually painted white, whereas men were painted red). Whoever this is, they are wearing a codpiece (so let's vote for MAN, please!), a necklace of lilies and peacock feathers in his/her crown. He/she is leading an unseen animal to sacrifice (and not holding on to a phallic appendage of sorts. Ahem -- it's not that kind of fresco.)
Griffins (body, mane, tail and legs of lion -- head and wings of eagle) figured prominently in Minoan art and sculpture.
Cool ax handle, panther-shaped and beautifully sculpted. 1800 BC.
''The Ladies in Blue'' Possibly queens, but definitely ladies of stature. They are showing off their jewelry with their hand and head poses. 1525 BC.
The famous Phaestos disk, one of the world's most mysterious archaeological pieces. Still undeciphered, from 1850 BC.
These giant vases, called pithoi, were 6 feet tall. They were used to store oil, corn, grain and wine.
I love the detailed carvings on these. I don't suppose they sell them at Winners....
''The Charging Bull Fresco'' - Bulls held a sacred status in Minoan culture.
''The Bull Leaper'' - Bull leaping was central to Minoan culture; it was a ritual associated with bull worship. Two types of bull leaping are depicted: 1- Leaper faces charging bull, grabs horns and somersaults backwards over the bull, or 2- Leaper dives over horns without touching them and pushes himself off with his hands on the bull's back, doing various acrobatics. In this fresco, the male bull leaper is red and the two rather ballsy females are painted white.
Knossos -- or at least a very small part of it.
''The Cup Bearer'' - Another fresco at Knossos, photographed between the Horns of Consecration, which have been restored in concrete. These guys really liked their bulls.
The view down my hostel's street.
Tomorrow is Monday, and I leave the capital city for the smaller, former capital city of Hania, on the Western part of Crete.
Efharisto (thank you) for reading!
