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August 27, 2011 by Ray
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Article source: http://crete.wordpress.com/2011/08/27/greece-and-financial-crisis/
The other large Minoan complexes (palaces in Evans-speak) including Malia and
Phaistos, are relatively untouched and are much more of a pleasure to visit.
Phaistos sits in a stunning location beneath Crete’s highest mountain, Mount
Ida. Its twin peaks mimic the Minoans’ sacred symbol, the “horns of
consecration” (or, according to some archaeologists, an abstract mountainous
horizon) — which we are soon spotting all over buildings, clay coffins
(larnakes) and painted pots.
Phaistos has all the typical features of a Minoan “palace”. Here we learn (or
rather, I learn; many of my fellow guests are already much more expert) to
identify pier-and-door systems for flexible open plan living; the paved West
Court with its step-seats and raised pathways like ancient catwalks; light
wells and the huge central court flanked by shrines and storerooms of vast
pithoi like Ali Baba pots.
Bearing all this in mind, I begin to be able to “read” some aspects of other
sites, and to enjoy identifying similarities and differences. We visit a
wide range of places, from Minoan ruins on street corners in modern-day
Chania to deserted ancient cities-turned-pastoral-paradises on the hilltops
above the coast.
One such is Aptera in the Western mountains. Here, with panoramic views all
around, our only company is a shepherd, crook in hand. His vast shaggy
sheepdog (called “Little Baby” according to our Greek-speaking guide) sleeps
among the bright spring flowers while his flock grazes by fallen
Graeco-Roman columns. Sheep-bells tinkle as if Pan himself must appear at
any moment — but the little temple nearby is thought to have been dedicated
to Artemis and Apollo.
We are apparently some of the first tourists to get a proper look at this
ancient town’s amphitheatre, newly excavated and remarkably well-preserved.
Performance was as much a part of the Minoan, Greek and Roman ways of life
as it is ours and at our next ancient theatre we get an impromptu
performance that rolls all four time periods into one.
It happens at Gortyn, a Minoan town that became Rome’s Cretan capital, most
famous for its 2,500-year-old law codes inscribed in Ancient Greek on stone
tablets. (The Laws incidentally provide for rather better rights for women
than were enjoyed by local women at the time the codes were uncovered in the
mid-19th century).
We enter the Gortyn Odeion, once a Roman indoor theatre, and I am suddenly
aware that one of our number is up on stage and singing about Agamemnon and
his wife Clytemnestra to the tune of Oh Dear What Can the Matter Be: “For
his wife and queen she has taken a lover boy, Lots of adultery while hubby’s
away at Troy, And she don’t mean to give up on her Troy-boy Now Aggy’s come
home from the war.”
In five minutes we get the whole of Oresteia-the-musical (with apologies to
Aeschylus) and the cries of encore result in our very own one-man theatre
company launching into an upmarket Carry On version of Theseus and the
Minotaur.
Even its inappropriateness is appropriate. We are standing just yards from the
plane tree under which the legendary King Minos (whom Evans was so sure
lived at Knossos) is said to have been conceived by the kidnapped goddess
Europa and her abductor Zeus in the form of a bull.
Our female guide goes a little red at the thought of such behaviour, but the
guests are unfazed. This is fortunate since the story continues with more
god-induced bull-fancying at Gortyn resulting in the King’s wife Pasiphae
giving birth to the monstrous Minotaur.
Andante clientele are quite unflappable — except when faced with clambering
over slippery rocks. This is no reflection on intrepidity, merely age, and
if the bodies are no longer as agile as they once were, the same cannot be
said of the minds.
Three quarters of this group have travelled with Andante before — several on
six or more occasions. They exchange tales of Syria, Lebanon and South and
Central America. Conversation over dinner — plentiful selections of
delicious local specialities at tavernas recommended by our local guide –
ranges across not only archaeology and history but evolutionary theory, art,
music… and an evening spent with Fidel Castro.
By day though, it is back to the Minoans as we take a small boat to the
delightful little island of Mochlos. Our guides show us around a smart
three-storey terraced villa with gorgeous sea views (they lived pretty well
these rich Minoans) then a couple of us – plus one guide – peel off for a
bit of our own exploring.
We clamber up the narrow Minoan street stepping over fallen blocks of
perfectly cut stone. I pick up a piece of pottery expecting it be dismissed
but, “Yes,” says our guide, “that’s Minoan”. He holds up a smooth
sausage-shaped stone: “And how do you like this ancient pestle?” (he isn’t
joking).
We find some attractively painted pot fragments, a piece of stone vase (“that
should be inventoried”) and a bit of an alabastron, a Minoan clay copy of an
Egyptian alabaster pot. We are really enjoying our little bit of Minoan
treasure hunting until the calls of the tour manager become too insistent
and we have to depart. I hasten to say that we leave everything where we
found it for the new season’s excavators due in a couple of weeks.
Archaeology isn’t always that easy, as we discover at the tiny Sitia museum
into which we are driven by rare rain. The place doesn’t look like much and
the labels are lousy, but we have insider information: one of our guides is
responsible for the dig that produced many of the finds. We stand in front
of the star exhibit, a statuette known as the “Palaikastro Kouros”, a lithe
Minoan male (“dismissive colleagues say he’s a Ken doll”) with a figure not
unlike Evans’s Lily Prince.
We have our attention drawn to the Egyptian influence in the pose, and the
delicacy of the carving on the hands, feet and hair. And then our
archaeologist says, “The legs were in 300 pieces. We sieved six tons of soil
to find them and his eyes… It took the conservator three years to rebuild
him.” Times have clearly changed in archaeological reconstruction — and
that’s no bull either!
Andante Travels’ (01722 713800; www.andantetravels.co.uk)
next “Crete: Minoans, Greeks and Romans” tour runs from May 15-24 2012 and
costs £1,770 per person including most meals (but excluding flights).
In the meantime, another, similar itinerary “Crete Santorini:
Minoan Civilisation” runs from September 20-27 2011 and costs £1,485
including most meals (but excluding flights). Andante also runs
archaeological tours to many other places this autumn including: Albania,
Sardinia, Jordan, Macedonia, Pompeii, Ravenna, Spain, Egypt, Denmark,
Hadrian’s Wall, Athens and India.
Farther afield are the ancient ruins to be found all over Crete. I was
determined to inflict at least one of these on my family, despite no one
else being in the least bit interested. So we set off for Knossos, six acres
of Minoan civilisation built around 1700-1400BC. It’s the site of the ruins
of a vast, sprawling palace, the source of the myth about the half-man,
half-bull known as the minotaur, who hid out in his cunningly designed
labyrinth – and also home to the world’s first flushing loo.
Because my family’s heart wasn’t really in it, we didn’t arrive until midday
and traipsed around in searing heat being deafened by crickets whose din
would rise to a crescendo and then die away as if directed by some unseen
conductor. I enjoyed it, but the children could only stick it for about an
hour, so we headed off instead to the cooler climes of Archanes, a pretty
little village high in the hills.
Every house here boasted climbing bougainvillea and cheery plant pots filled
with geraniums, and many of the narrow little alleys were pedestrianised. We
devoured a reviving late lunch in a small taverna, shaded from the beating
sun by a spreading vine. As usual, we were served a variety of meze. My
favourites were tzatziki and a delicious hummus made from broad beans. As
usual, the bread was a bit dull (every day I hoped for warm fresh pitta and
every day was disappointed) and our daughter had roast chicken. She ordered
that every day for the entire holiday and would brook no parental
opposition.
It was a picturesque drive back though the hills to our hotel, every square
inch of land immaculately cultivated with olive groves, vines, tomatoes,
beans, courgettes, fruit trees – even bananas. But as we found in much of
that part of Crete, the villages were a lot less attractive than their
surroundings. There is a fair scattering of Fifties breeze block and not a
lot of traditional whitewashed walls.
The sea never failed to enchant, though – it was a blue of a warmth, depth and
richness that I can’t find a suitable adjective for, no matter how many
times I click on tools/language/thesaurus on my laptop. The children had
their first taste of scuba diving in it at one of the many local diving
schools. They started off in the swimming pool in a very child-friendly way,
learning to master handstands and somersaults with all the breathing
apparatus and flippers before progressing to the shallows of the sea.
It was without doubt the most exciting part of the holiday for them and they
felt supremely grown up – though I spotted that the instructors had one of
them by the hand at all times (I noticed because I was snorkelling alongside
throughout – anxious mother).
It was a far more successful morning than the one where we decided to use the
watersports available from our hotel. We started off with the jet skis,
which were terrific fun, but then, feeling adventurous, we braved what’s
called the “sofa”, a large inflatable which is dragged at top
speed behind a motor boat. I assumed it would be restful and relaxing.
Instead it was a truly hideous experience during which I thought I was going
to be flung from the “sofa” at any moment, hit the sea at 50mph
and break my neck on impact. Needless to say, the kids loved it.
Following that I was tempted to recuperate by our private pool for the rest of
the holiday, but I did manage to muster the energy for a few more outings.
We loved the tiny village of Plaka, with its tavernas and twinkling lights
overlooking the sea, and its view of the last inhabited leper colony on the
island of Spinalonga.
It’s deserted now, but you can still imagine how the lepers lived just decades
ago. With a pair of binoculars, the people in Plaka could clearly see their
loved ones exiled for life yet just a 10-minute boat ride away. Only one
person ever escaped and was apparently shot – such was the terror of leprosy
spreading throughout Crete.
The Plateau of Lassithi is worth a visit too – an hour from the hotel, up,
down and around tortuously winding roads deep into the hills. The Venetians
built 10,000 windmills in the plateau in the 16th century to irrigate the
fields – about 600 still turn today. On the way there you pass little
villages, the most picturesque being Agios Georgios – lots of flowers and
narrow alleyways, a little folk museum, and bars and cafés lining the main
drag where old men sit to share a glass of firewater with the local priest
while the old women dressed all in black try to sell cold drinks to
passers-by.
As I lay on a sun lounger by our pool and watched the sun set over the Aegean,
I reflected on our week in Crete and felt we’d had the best of both worlds –
surrounded by antiquity but with modern playthings such as scuba diving and
jet skis. And a villa that was like a hotel. Or was it a hotel that was like
a villa? While I pondered that question, I reached over and dialled room
service to summon a gin and tonic – definitely my kind of self-catering.
Gun ownership is widespread on Crete and road signs are often used as target
practice
CV Travel (020 7401 1026; www.cvtravel.co.uk)
offers one week’s stay at the St Nicholas Bay Hotel from £91 per
person, per night, based on two sharing a sea-view double room on a b??b
basis. A week’s stay in a Thalassa Villa with private pool, based on five
sharing, costs from £3,125 to £8,550, for villa rental only. Flights to
Crete and transfers can be arranged on request.
THE BEST RESTAURANTS
Ofou To Lo, Agios Nikolaos ££
There are plenty of places to eat on the seafront (and backstreets) in the
Kitroplatia beach area. This has the most consistently good food, and a
pretty location at the southern end of the sand (Kitroplatia; 0030 28410
24819).
Gorgona Taverna, Plaka ££
Excellent seafood, though it doesn’t come particularly cheap; the views across
the water are beautiful (Plaka; 28410 41073).
Pelagos, Agios Nikolaos ££
Seafood specialities in a stylish, old-fashioned taverna in a mansion close to
the harbour, with a pretty and shady garden terrace for outdoor summer
dining (corner of Stratigou Loraka and Katehaki; 28410 25737).
Go to the fishing village of Mochlos for a memorable fish lunch at a waterside
taverna (about 30 minutes’ drive) and combine with a drive along the
picturesque north road towards Sitia, taking in the archaeological sites,
beautiful views and stopping at the lovely little villages with their local
potteries and bakers selling delicious cheese pies.
Take the road up to Males from Kalo Chorio/Istron village and from the view
point at the top, you will be able to see both sides of the island.
The plateau above the village of Plaka, where you can get the boats to
Spinalonga, is beautiful and worth a tour. It doesn’t get many visitors and
there are plenty of places to stop off on the way.
Take the boat from Lerapetra on the south coast (about 40 minutes’ drive) to
Chrissi Island, with its beautiful sand dunes, clear seas (excellent
snorkelling) and wonderful shells. There is a taverna and kiosk on the
island, but it’s probably best to take your own picnic.
Visit the island of Spinalonga; regular boats from Elounda (15 minutes’ drive)
or take a small fishing boat from Plaka (another 10 minutes from Elounda).
?Kritsa is a village about 20 minutes’ drive inland from Ag Nikolaos with
traditional crafts and old ladies making lace.
?Resorts between Heraklion and Malia on the north coast. You will have to
drive past or through them to get to Agios Nikolaos, but they are nothing
like anywhere else on the island.
On the whole, avoid tavernas with large pictures of food outside.
There are more than 100 gorges on Crete, and the one everyone knows is the
Samaria Gorge – but this would be a very long day out. So visit one of the
nearer ones, which are shorter but no less beautiful, such as Kato Zakros or
the Pefki Gorge in the south-east, which starts in the village of Pefki and
ends in the small resort of Makrigialos, which has a lovely sandy beach with
water sports (about 90 minutes’ drive).
Ferry schedules
Tourist destinations
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Article source: http://www.athensnews.gr/portal/34/51657