 Crete Island
Crete
is the fifth largest island in the
Mediterranean, lying between the southern Aegean
Sea and the northern Libyan Sea. It is 257km
long and from 12 to 61km wide, crossed by
imposing mountain-ranges, strewn with
awe-inspiring gorges, featuring thousands of
caves and above all blessed with probably the
mildest climate in Europe. There are three main
mountain ranges crossing the island, the White
Mountains in the west, Mountain Ida in the
centre and Dikti Mountains in the east. Between
these mountains, the land takes different
shapes, with a multitude of plains, plateaus,
and small valleys.
Crete, the birthplace of
Europe's first advanced civilisation, the Minoan
civilisation, has retained its soul unaltered,
the essence of life consistent. Evidence of the
wealth and might of the Minoan civilisation that
flourished on the island 4000 years ago is
prominent at the archaeological and historical
sites scattered throughout the island. Local
museums house unique collections of Crete's
glorious past.
The island's strategic
position at the point where the continents of
Europe, Asia and Africa meet, has always been
the apple of accord for perspective conquerors.
Soon after the island was occupied by the Romans
in 69 BC, it was introduced to Christianity by
Apostle Paul, and by 395 AD it had developed
into a powerful province of the Byzantine
Empire. About five centuries later, in 824 AD,
it was invaded by the Saracens, who ruled it for
a century. Under Venetian rule between 1204 and
1669, Crete became once again the cultural
centre of Greek civilisation until it fell to
the Turks who held the island captive until
1898. Nevertheless, the Cretan culture and
tradition, an integral part of the legendary
Cretan hospitality, has been kept alive through
literature, theatre, music, dance, local
festivals and other art events that take place
here year-round. For travellers who wish to
combine top quality services resting in a wide
choice of luxury hotels with the discovery of a
different experience, the opportunity for
escapades presented in the varied and untamed
landscape of the island, from its sandy shores
to its snow-capped mountains, is unique
throughout the year.
Crete has an extensive
network of good roads and an excellent public
transportation network, linking cities to towns
and villages, offering visitors the opportunity
to explore it from one end to the other. Highly specialised and fully organised travel agencies
offer daily excursion packages across the
island. The major towns of
Chania,
Rethymno,
Heraklion and
Agios Nikolaos (Lassithi) are on the northern
coast, featuring large deluxe hotel complexes,
modern luxury hotels, camping sites and a vast
selection of seafood restaurants and taverns
lining the picturesque bays and long sandy
beaches. Crete has two of the most important
ports of the East Mediterranean Sea, the port of Heraklion and the port of Chania (Souda).
The island is connected
with mainland Greece, the Aegean islands, Europe
and the rest of the world with a large number of
ferries. There are two international airports,
one in Heraklion and a second in Chania, with
regular or charter flights connecting the island
with most of the airports in Greece, Europe and
Cyprus.
Today Crete is
administratively divided into four prefectures:
Lassithi, Heraklion, Rethymno and Chania all
boasting -among other- magnificent luxury hotels
for excquisite stays. |
