Kreta - Crete - Κρήτη

Ano Zakros, a little village in the eastern part of Crete, is well known for its fresh lush green water source. The crystal waters - about 800 cubic meters per hour - flowing ceaselessly for centuries, making the surrounding land fertile and supplying the olive trees with water. In the past this source gave power to function numerous watermills.

Freshly harvested peppers in a pickup truck in a street in Ierapetra. Ierapetra is the centre of agriculture on the south coast of Crete. Besides the traditional olive cultivation, the area also exports large quantities of fruit and vegetables. These are grown in plastic greenhouses, which are spread over an area of 15,000,000 square meters around the town of Ierapetra.

Gortys, (also called Gortyn or Gortyna) was the most important Roman town on Crete, but its origins go back to the end of the Bronze Age. It is one of the most important cities in Crete with an unbroken history of 6.000 years and one of the most extensive archaeological sites in Greece. The city was destroyed in the 9th century by Arab raiders and the area has been uninhabited ever since. At the end of the 19th century Italian archaeologists began excavating ancient Gortys, which continues until today. The pictures show a small Roman amphitheatre, where musical recitals were staged. There are still four carved stone stepped rows of seats and two flights of stairs. The stage is paved with brick and marbles; the semicircular orchestra has white and grey marble slabs. The north wall of the stage has four niches, which were used for statues.

Sunset at the beach of Matala. Matala once was the place of the flower power and the hippy-scene. Before 1970, when the flower-children and the hippies overrunned the quiet fishing village, Matala only existed of ten houses, one tavern, a beautiful beach and of course the ancient cave houses to which Matala owns her fame. Nobody knows quite who started cutting these caves, but it seems likely that they were first hollowed out as Roman or early Christian tombs. The artificial caves, with their passages, stone beds and fireplaces, have now been put under monumental care.

Unlike many other churches we visited in Greece and Crete this church (Saint Peter and Paul Church or Saint Raphael Church ??) is a quite modern one, being built in the early 1990’s in a tasteful way. The church is located just outside the village of Spili - at the seat of the bishop of the Diocese of Lambi, Sivritos and Sfakia. It is home of a theological seminary and most probably one will see many priests (in training) in and around this little town. We were free to walk around and admire the arched entryways, marble-floor courtyard, nicely decorated church and numerous illustrations of religious motives.

The Kourtaliotiko Gorge (Κουρταλιώτικο Φαράγγι) is considered being one of the most beautiful gorges in Crete. It follows the Kourtaliotiko River flowing southwards between the mountains of Kouroupa (984 m) and Xiron (904 m). Coming from the north the gorge starts nearby the village of Koxare winding almost three kilometers among bare vertical cliffs, which reach a height of hundreds of meters. The elevation difference between the entrance point and the outlet is hundred and fifty metres. The Kourtaliotiko Gorge is named after the clapping sounds which can be heard when a strong wind is beating against the rocks of the gorge. These sounds are called “kourtala” in the local dialect PiP1: the entrance of the gorge seen from the road below the village of Frati. PiP2: Agios Nikolaos, about halfway the gorge steps are leading to this picturesque chapel

The single arched bridge is known by many as the ‘Venetian Bridge’, but although the style is Venetian the bridge was built in 1850 by the monks of the nearby monastery. The bridge comprises of two inclined stone laid levels of 13,30 meters width and 7,60 meters height. The construction is highly regarded both from the architectural and the aesthetic points of view. Right by the bridge is a summer taverna (PiP) and just up the road from the bridge are the ruins of Kato Moni Preveli. The bridge crosses the river Megas Potamos (literally ‘Big River’) which flows towards the sea through the palm forest of Preveli. It is one of the few rivers in Crete which has water all year round.

Aptera (literally meaning "without wings") is a lesser known archeological site not too far away from Chania. It was the most powerful city of western Crete from Minoan through Hellenistic times. The earliest mention of the Aptera is found as “A-pa-ta-wa” on the Linear B tablets of Knossos, dating back to the 14th-13th centuries BC. The currently findings of the excavations indicate that the place was inhabited from the 8th century BC until the 7th century AD, when abandoned due to a strong earthquake and attacks by the Saracen Arab pirates. Archaeologists finished in 2009 the first face of the excavation at the carved-in-ground amphitheater of Aptera. Originally it was thought to be a Roman theater but actually it dates back to the Hellenistic times and was rebuilt during the Roman occupation of Crete. More recently the theater was restored.

Lake Kournas is the only natural lake in Crete. It is one of the very few areas with plenty of fresh water throughout the year; for this reason, it is protected under the Natura 2000 program. Lake Kournas has been created by accumulation of groundwater coming from the White Mountains. There are also two springs in the lake. Located just a couple of kilometers from the beach it is surrounded by the mountains and olive groves. The lake is not that big with a perimeter of 3.5 kilometres, has a maximum depth of 22.5 metres and lies approximately 20 metres above sea level. The volume of the water is summer is 7.5 million cubic metres. The dark colour of the lake is caused from the seaweeds coming from the depth of the lake. Many species of birds find shelter here, like moorhens, ducks, herons and cormorants. Lake Kournas has always been known for its eels. The surrounding wetlands also host water snakes and terrapins