- CRETE

CRETE: Visit to Heraklion. "Scribblings" and PhotoGallery [Click on photos at bottom of page to enlarge]

Heraklion is wonderful! It has been described as the Athens of the South, and I totally agree with that! If you love Athens - and don't we all - for its shambolic nature, noise, bustling population, traffic jams and general buzz, then you will love Heraklion. It's Athens without much of the clutter or the smog!

I spent just five days in Heraklion on this my first visit to Crete. I went ostensibly to visit Knossos and the Byzantine icon museum. And I was not disappointed!

I was able to balance each day during my visit with activities of a cultural nature, as well as simply lolling at cafes around town watching the world go by! Perfect!

Knossos, of course, was glorious! I spent about four hours there. I didn't need a guide. I had done my reading in advance, and the signage around the site is sufficient to enable you to learn much about it.

The icons at Agia Ekatarini are superb and must not be missed. The church houses the Museum of Religious Art, and this is the finest collection of Cretan icons anywhere. I can assure you they are most impressive; especially the group of icons on the right-hand wall as you enter the church. They are by Michael Damaskinos and are brilliantly executed.

The Archaeological Museum was closed for renovations [ I was aware of this before I went to Heraklion!], but the Historical Museum and the Museum of the Cretan Resistance are fascinating and well worth a visit

Then, of course, it is important to pay homage to Nikos Kazantzakis' tomb on the Martinengo Bastion of the Venetian wall. It was here, sitting on the steps of the tomb, that I sipped my first raki! [ I bought a miniature carafe at the market!] I'm sure Nikos would have approved. It was my Zorba moment!

If your'e a shopaholic, Heraklion is great. Very smart shops with all the latest fashions and various other gizmos. And don't forget the city market. I strolled through it every day. Vibrant! It has a great buzz and and there are some super ouzeries there, where I took a lunchtime ouzo and meze every day.

In order to experience a bit of rural Crete, I took, on one of the days, a bus trip down to Arhanes. A lovely village set in a semi-valley about 45 minutes fom Heraklion.. Lots of alleyways and winding streets to explore. And being in the middle of wine-producing country, almost all of the houses had lovely vine-covered courtyards, verandahs or terraces. I reckon it gives a real taste of rural Crete. The town square is lined with cafes and tavernas and is extremely picturesque.

Back in Heraklion, there are loads of great places to take an afternoon frappe or an evening ouzo. I particularly liked chilling out in Venizelos Square. It is so easy to sit there for hours watching the world go by. Happy, smiling, ebullient locals going about their business, or just strolling around and doing what I was doing! You see a great cross-section of Cretan society passing through the square. I even spotted a bearded madwoman, as well as the local bougatsa-mountain! All lovely people....and so friendly and welcoming!

Crete is Crete, but it's still Greece. And Greek. Go!