crete, greece - part II

if history is more your cup of tea, then you'll enjoy yourself immensely. the island is steeped in mythology, legends, and actual history. crete is the mythical birthplace of the greek god zeus and is the setting for the legend of theseus and the minotaur. we were fortunate enough to get a chance to visit a place called knossos. we were told by the staff at our resort that you cannot visit crete without going to see knossos, so central is it to their history and culture. knossos is the site of an ancient minoan palace. the minoans were an ancient civilisation on crete that were very advanced, both technologically and culturally. the minoan kingdom is also linked with the fabled lost city of atlantis, and the cultures bear many similar characteristics.

we lucked out since the day we visited, admission was free of charge (it is usually about 6 euros per person). we spent almost two hours there, since there are so many nooks and crannies to explore. the site is known for its archaeological controversy, since the archaeologist who led the excavation chose to recreate many of the features of the palace (as opposed to preserving it in its discovered form, we assume). we won't jump into the debate, but we will say that, for the average tourist, his recreations helped to get a better sense of the characteristics of the palace. there's a lot to see, including giant stone pots, interesting frescoes, and a massive central stairwell.

the cynics among you may feel that once you've seen one set of ruins, you've seen them all. knossos may not be as spectacular as machu picchu, perhaps, but it is impressive nonetheless. taken together, you get the sense that the ancient civilisations were probably a lot more advanced than we give them credit for. and that's just the stuff they built. who knows, if they were still around today, maybe they'd be able to teach us a few things about proper societal living too.

aside from minoan palaces, crete also boasts remnants from byzantine, venetian and turkish rule. in rethymnon we walked around a venetian fortress that looms imposingly over the harbour it was built to protect (against pirates, most notably barbarossa). the scale of it was impressive, to say the least. it's difficult to convey a sense of how big the structure is, but it's pretty big!

we also visited a monastery that figured prominently in cretan history. it's called moni arkadi and it's tucked away atop a cliff deep into a gorge. again, the road to get there was quite narrow and took us fairly close to cliff edges. luckily for us, it's not a very busy road, since passing any cars along certain stretches would have been quite nervewracking. we did happen to pass a coach bus and can't imagine the stress of the driver in navigating that beast up the roads.

the monastery is very secluded and as soon as we stepped out of our car, we were struck by the absolute serenity and tranquility we found there. there was nary a sound, save for a couple of birds chirping. it was nearing dusk and there were only a handful of visitors left. everyone was respectfully quiet, as only felt proper in such a place. women may enter if they cover their shoulders and legs; wraps are provided for those who have nothing available with which to do so.

the layout, like the buildings themselves were very simple. the monastery is essentially a collection of rooms built into an outer wall, which has a couple of gates for entry. the wall surrounds a church, which is at the centre of the layout. it was very nice, since it was away from the crowds of tourists that haunt many of the other historial features of crete.

the place was beautiful, had so much history, and was definitely peaceful. it's probably a place where you could spend a bit of time, just resting and reflecting. beautiful no?