Our 10 day trip to Greece had been organised as a replacement for a cancelled tour of Egypt as a result of the civil unrest and UK travel warnings. Late October is not the typical tourist season in the Hellas but this was good news for us - an absence of crowds at the tourist sites, beautiful warm mid 20 degree weather, clear blue skies, free museums (first Sunday in November); and experiencing the cultural street celebrations of Ohi Day - the anniversary of Greece's entry into World War II when the Prime Minister denied Italian soldiers (fighting for Mussolini) free passage through Greece.
Overview of our Trip
Our trip took us through three contrasting areas of Greece:
- the laid back town of Heraklion in Crete;
- the stunning and romantic Santorini in the Cyclades;
- the capital Athens where we took two day trips to the ancient sites of Delphi and Mycenae in the Peloponnese.
The three parts of the trip have been divided into separate blog entries - peppered with photos of architecture, food and notes on the daily history lessons we had in this warm and welcoming country.
Heraklion, Crete
Our motivation for visiting Crete had originated from reading ancient history textbooks on the Minoan civilization, and the excavation of the Palace of Knossos in the early 20th century. Crete's capital, Heraklion is easily accessible via the Easyjet route from London and as the flight was scheduled for 7:30am on a Friday morning, the plane tickets were quite cheap.
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| At the Palace of Knossos |
Exploring Heraklion
We arrived in Heraklion at lunchtime and paid 1.20 euro each for the bus from the airport into the Old Town that had been built as a citadel with thick stone fortifications dating back to the Venetian rule and the Fourth Crusade.
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| The Venetian Harbour |
La Boutique Hotel
Our hotel - La Boutique Hotel, was a family run boutique hotel overlooking the Port and was highly rated in Tripadvisor alongside its rooftop restaurant, Herbs.
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| A busker against the sea walls |
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| Dessert at Herbs overlooking the Harbour |
Venetian Fortress
The Venetians purchased Heraklion in the 1200s AD and influenced the culture of the city. Three of the most famous tourist sights are the Venetian (Koules) Fortress, the Venetian Loggia (a form of club house for the aristocracy) and the Venetian shipyards used to build their impressive naval fleet.
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| The Lion of St Mark (symbol of Venice) on the Fortress |
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| Outside the Fortress |
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| The Venetian Loggia in the background |
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| The Venetian shipyards at night |
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| The shipyards used to exhibit scenes from the movie El Greco that were filmed in Heraklion |
St Titus
The Venetians were defeated in a siege with the Ottoman Turks that lasted for 21 years, ending in 1669. Similar to what was happening around Eastern Europe at that time, churches were converted into mosques and now exist once again as churches. One of the more famous basilicas - St Titus is named after the bishop and martyr whose skull, a relic is housed in Heraklion.
The Venetians were defeated in a siege with the Ottoman Turks that lasted for 21 years, ending in 1669. Similar to what was happening around Eastern Europe at that time, churches were converted into mosques and now exist once again as churches. One of the more famous basilicas - St Titus is named after the bishop and martyr whose skull, a relic is housed in Heraklion.
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| Basilica of St Titus, where evidence of its former use as a mosque are still visible |
Harbour walks
Walking around the Harbour, we saw a blend of modern and ancient structures - the paved esplanade with wooden benches and cafes suddenly make way for an archaeological site. We also stopped to watch an old man fishing with a long pole and line. The man waved at us and we noticed that he was very successful at catching small silver fish at a rate of one every few minutes. Perhaps this was a well known spot that generations of fishermen had visited over the centuries.
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| Walking west from the Fortress |
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| Roman ruins under the pavement |
Izmir Kebab
For lunch we headed back into the centre of the Old Town where there are many cafes located near the Morosini Lion Fountain and we ate a small pork souvlaki at Izmir Kebab.
For lunch we headed back into the centre of the Old Town where there are many cafes located near the Morosini Lion Fountain and we ate a small pork souvlaki at Izmir Kebab.
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| The Morosini Fountain, a landmark in Heraklion |
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| Souvlaki in the traditional way with chips |
Kip-Kop
Located on the other side of the Lion Fountain is cafe Kip-Kop, famous for its 'bougatsa' - a sweet pastry made with mizithra cheese. The cafe faces the main square, making it an excellent place for a coffee and people-watching.
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| Bougatsa with coffee |
Restaurant Baltas
Walking around the city soon wore us out and we retreated back to our hotel to relax, the unfamiliar heat and sunshine sapping our energy. We headed back out in the evening, seeking out a traditional tavern but the ones we had bookmarked were closed. We ended up back at the Lion Square, eating lots of meat (lamb chops and a mixed grill platter) and local beer at Restaurant Baltas.
Walking around the city soon wore us out and we retreated back to our hotel to relax, the unfamiliar heat and sunshine sapping our energy. We headed back out in the evening, seeking out a traditional tavern but the ones we had bookmarked were closed. We ended up back at the Lion Square, eating lots of meat (lamb chops and a mixed grill platter) and local beer at Restaurant Baltas.
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| First of many platters of grilled meat |
Cretan thyme honey
The next day we ate breakfast at the hotel and discovered the wonders of Cretan thyme honey with stewed peaches and Greek yogurt. Then taking the advice of fellow Tripadvisor travelers, we visited the Archaeological Museum of Crete in the early morning to read up on the history of Crete/Minoan civilization before taking a bus out to the Palace of Knossos.
Archaeological Museum
The Archaeological museum owns a wide range of artifacts, including the original frescoes from the Palace of Knossos, shields and weaponry from Corinth and pottery that is over 4000 years old.
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| Bronze shields |
Highlights of the collection
The most well known artifacts in the collection are pictured below - the Bull head rhyton (a ceremonial drinking horn) and the Phaistos Disc (a clay disc with symbols in a hidden language dating back to 1600 BC.
The Palace of Knossos
The Palace of Knossos is the main tourist attraction of the Heraklion area. It is located about 20 minutes away by public bus #2. There is no need to pre-book an organised day tour, as you will be approached by several guides offering their services in a range of languages once you walk through the gates.
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| Waiting for our English guide to recruit more people for the tour |
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| Standing at the main courtyard |
End of the Minoan Civilization
In ancient times, the Palace was located near a harbour that supported a trade route with other empires of the Bronze Age such as Egypt and Mycenae. The popular legend of the end of the Minoan civilization is that the volcano Thera (modern day Santorini) erupted with such force that a storm surge destroyed the Palace and disrupted agriculture on Crete.
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| One of the first paved roads in the world |
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| The edge of the site, valley in the background is the river used for trade to the sea |
English guided tour
We chose to use an English speaking guide and she was very good at explaining the history behind the excavations, identifying the structures that were original vs reconstructed and also putting into context how advanced a civilization the Minoans were - such as evidence of a proper sewerage system, multi-story housing and flushing toilets.
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| Remains of a toilet where water could be poured down to 'flush' away the sewerage |
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| Remains of multi-story buildings |
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| Ancient pithoi used for storing grain and oil |
Minotaur Legend
During ancient times and according to Greek legend, King Minos of the Crete had a labyrinth that housed the Minotaur (half man/half bull) that was fed by an annual tribute by Athens of young men and women. Our guide provided a different interpretation, stating that the Palace was a huge complex of hundreds of rooms, it was decorated with the double-headed axe known as 'labrys' and bulls played an important role in Minoan culture.
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| Carved labrys (double headed axe) as a mason's mark |
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| Leaping bull fresco |
Frescoes
During the excavation of the site, many brightly coloured frescoes were discovered. The originals are in the museum and reconstructions exist at the site.
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| The Dolphin Fresco |
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| The throne room |
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| The Procession |
Vranas Tavern
We returned to Heraklion in the early afternoon and walked through the market district that included a street selling fresh seafood and a small tavern - Vranas where we ate lunch. The menu was seafood based and we ate fried anchovies, pickled octopus and seafood pasta.
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| Fried anchovies with fresh lemon |
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| Pickled octopus |
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| Seafood pasta |
Herbs Restaurant
Later that night we ate at the hotel restaurant - Herbs. The restaurant offered a fine-dining experience in comparison to the kebab shops and taverns we ate at during most of our trip.
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| Goat with pasta |
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| Lamb cooked in vine leaves |
Goodbye Crete, Hello Santorini
The next day, we started our journey to the island of Santorini. Unfortunately for us, the only flights were via Athens and we spent most of Sunday at the airport waiting for our flight. But on a positive note, although our plane was delayed, it meant that we were perfectly timed to approach Santorini at dusk and were treated to an amazing sunset from the plane.
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| The first of many photos of sunset in Santorini |
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