‘History’ Archives
Akrotiri – A Detective Story
While visiting Thera, I really should tell you about Akrotiri – a city buried in ash during the Bronze Age volcanic eruption that destroyed the island (see Volcano and Legend). It is a sort of detective story, which begins with the finding of small clues. The detective is a Greek archaeologist named Spyridon Marinatos. Many [Read More]
Volcano and Legend
Saturday morning finally arrives and it is time for us to say goodbye to Pavlos and Eva, and begin our voyage northward into the Cycladic islands. Pavlos drives us to the port of Iraklion to catch the ferry, talking all the while about political cronyism and the ecological damage caused by uncontrolled tourism — which [Read More]
Dark and Mysterious Places
There are over 3,000 caves in Crete (a tribute to nature’s flair for interior decoration), and many are of great archaeological and historical interest. We don’t have time to explore even a small portion of these. However, any inquiry into ancient Crete must include caves – so we decide to visited a few during our [Read More]
The High Plateau
Along the dry north coast of Crete, farming seems to consist mostly of olive groves and vineyards, which survive with little irrigation. The major agricultural production of the island is in the highlands, where rain and winter snow saturates the soil. We planned to spend a day on the Lasithi plateau, the most productive farming [Read More]
The Last Fortress
The longest surviving Venetian fortress on Crete is on a rocky island not far from the Lisithi provincial capital of Ayios Nikolaos. We departed in the morning, traveling east on the new national road, which parallels the northern coast of the island from one end to the other. Although the road is very good, it [Read More]
