©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd Crete Includes ¨ Why Go? Iraklio ..............419 Crete (Κρήτη) is the culmination of the Greek experience. Rethymno ......... 436 Nature here is as prolific as Picasso in his prime, creating Plakias ............ 442 a dramatic quilt of big-shouldered mountains, stunning Hania ............. 445 beaches and undulating hillsides blanketed in olive groves, vineyards and wildflowers. There are deep chiselled gorges, Kissamos (Kastelli) ..451 including one of Europe’s longest, and crystal-clear lagoons Hora Sfakion ....... 453 and palm-tree-lined beaches that conjure up the Caribbean. Loutro ............. 456 Crete’s natural beauty is equalled only by the richness of Paleohora. .457 a history spanning millennia. The Palace of Knossos is but Elafonisi ........... 459 one of many vestiges of the mysterious ancient Minoan civ- ilisation. Venetian fortresses, Turkish mosques and Byzan- Agios Nikolaos .....460 tine churches bring history alive all over Crete, but nowhere Sitia .............. 464 more so than in charismatic Hania and Rethymno. Crete’s Lasithi Plateau ..... 468 hospitable and spirited people uphold their unique culture, cuisine and customs. Local life and traditions remain a dy- namic part of the island’s soul. Best Places to Eat When to Go ¨ To Maridaki (p449) Crete (Iraklio) ¨ Castelvecchio (p439) °C/°F Te mp Rainfall inches/mm ¨ Thalassino Ageri (p450) 40/104 8/200 ¨ Elia & Diosmos (p434) 30/86 6/150 ¨ Avli (p439) 20/68 4/100 10/50 2/50 Best Places 0/32 0 to Stay J FDM A M J J A S O N ¨ Casa Vitae (p438) Apr A painter’s Jun Hit the Sep–Oct Warm ¨ Serenissima (p449) palette of wild- beaches before seas, blue skies flowers blankets they get crowded and thinning ¨ Eleonas Cottages (p435) the island as and rejoice in the crowds as the ¨ Terra Minoika (p467) locals prepare for bounty of local grape harvest Easter. produce. gets under way. ¨ Enagron (p441) 415 History settlers. Cretan resistance was strongest in Although inhabited since neolithic times the mountain strongholds but all revolts (7000–3000 BC), Crete is most famous for were put down brutally, and it was only with being the cradle of Europe’s first advanced the Ottoman Empire’s disintegration in the civilisation, the Minoans. Traces of this en- late 19th century that Europe’s great powers igmatic society were only uncovered in the expedited Crete’s sovereign aspirations. early 20th century, when British archaeolo- Thus, in 1898, with Russian and French gist Sir Arthur Evans discovered the palace consent, Crete became a British protector- at Knossos and named the civilisation after ate. However, the banner under which future its ruler, the mythical King Minos. Greek Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos Minoans migrated to Crete in the 3rd and other Cretan rebels were fighting was Enosis i Thanatos (Unity or Death) – unity millennium BC. Their extraordinary artistic, CRETE architectural and cultural achievements cul- with Greece, not mere independence from minated in the construction of huge palace Turkey. Yet it would take the Greek army’s successes in the Balkan Wars (1912–13) to complexes at Knossos, Phaestos, Malia and G HIS turn Crete’s de facto inclusion in the country Zakros, which were all levelled by an earth- E TT quake around 1700 BC. Undeterred, the into reality, with the 1913 Treaty of Bucharest. T OR Minoans built bigger and better ones over Crete suffered tremendously during WWII, ing due to being coveted by Hitler for its strate- Y the ruins, while settling more widely across Crete. Around 1450 BC, the palaces were gic location. On 20 May 1941 a huge flock of There mysteriously destroyed again, possibly by a German parachutists quickly overwhelmed the Cretan defenders. The Battle of Crete, as tsunami triggered by a volcanic eruption on & A Santorini (Thira). Knossos, the only palace it would become known, raged for 10 days between German and Allied troops from saved, finally burned down around 1400 BC. WA Archaeological evidence shows that the Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Greece. Y Minoans lingered on for a few centuries in For two days the battle hung in the balance small, isolated settlements before disappear- until the Germans captured the Maleme Air- ing as mysteriously as they had come. They field, near Hania. The Allied forces fought a were followed by the Mycenaeans and the valiant rearguard action, enabling the British Dorians (around 1100 BC). By the 5th centu- Navy to evacuate 18,000 of the 32,000 Allied ry BC, Crete was divided into city-states but troops. The harsh German occupation lasted did not benefit from the cultural glories of throughout WWII, with many mountain vil- mainland Greece; in fact, it was bypassed by lages bombed or burnt down and their occu- Persian invaders and the Macedonian con- pants executed en masse. queror Alexander the Great. 8 By 67 BC Crete had become the Roman Getting There & Away province of Cyrenaica, with Gortyna its AIR capital. After the Roman Empire’s division Most travellers arrive in Crete by air, usually with in AD 395, Crete fell under the jurisdiction a change in Athens. Iraklio’s Nikos Kazantzakis of Greek-speaking Constantinople – the Airport (p724) is Crete’s busiest airport, al- emerging Byzantine Empire. Things went though Hania (p450) is convenient for travellers more or less fine until AD 824, when Arabs heading to western Crete. Sitia only receives a appropriated the island. In AD 961, though, handful of domestic flights. Byzantine general emperor Nikiforas Fokas Between May and October, European low-cost (AD 912–69) won Crete back following a carriers and charter airlines such as easyJet, nine-month siege of Iraklio (then called El Germanwings, AirBerlin, Fly Thomas Cook and Jet2 operate direct flights to Crete, from all Khandak by the Arabs). Crete flourished un- over Europe. Aegean Airlines (www.aegeanair. der Byzantine rule, but with the infamous com) operates direct flights to Iraklio from many Fourth Crusade of 1204 the maritime power European airports, including London-Heathrow, of Venice received Crete as part of its ‘pay- Milan, Paris, Marseille and Rome. Travellers from ment’ for supplying the Crusaders’ fleet. North America need to connect via a European Much of Crete’s most impressive surviv- gateway city such as Paris, Amsterdam or Frank- ing architecture dates from the Venetian furt and sometimes again in Athens. period, which lasted until 1669 when Iraklio To reach Crete by air from other Greek islands (then called Candia) became the last dom- usually requires changing in Athens, except for ino to fall after a 21-year Ottoman siege. certain flights operated by Aegean Airlines,As - Turkish rule brought new administrative tra Airlines (www.astra-airlines.gr) and Crete- organisation, Islamic culture and Muslim based airline Sky Express (www.skyexpress.gr), which has very strict baggage allowances..