CRETE - Heraklion, Chania, Matala, Samaria gorge

CRETE: Reference to classical and pro classical Greece could not be complete without a brief mention of Crete. Here, between 2500 and 1100BC grew one of the greatest civilizations in the Mediterranean. You can visit some of the most impressive buildings of the copper period in Phaestos, Zakros, Mallia and Knossos.

Heraklion is the biggest city of Crete with a wonderful archeological museum. This great museum contains many splendid artifacts from different time periods and localities. Artifacts include the famous clay Phaestos disc, a detailed bee pendant, sculptures of the snake goddess with a serpent in each arm and a cat on her head, and the Hall of Minoan Frescoes among numerous other items. The treasures kept here and in the Archaeological museum of Athens reveal the high level of civilizartion that the inhabitants of this island had achieved. The Heraklion museum rivals the National Archeological Museum in Athens and should be considered a must see.

From Heraklion you can organize two day trips. To the nearby Knossos or further south to Phaestos and Matala.

The famous site of Knossos is nearby Heraklion and is Crete's most interesting archeological site. The Minoan civilization grew up and prospered around the palace at Knossos where the mythical King Minos lived. It can be described as the first Greek city-state. Knossos is the larger site of the two and has had extensive excavations and reconstructions. The excavations brought to light the signs of an earlier palace, built around 2000BC. which was destroyed around 1700BC after an earthquake. It was here that King Minos supposedly had his labyrinth planned and built by Daedalus in order to confine the Minotaurus.

Phaestos is a smaller, less visited site that has no reconstructions. This site is preserved in its natural state. However, it is more difficult to visualize what it must have been like in its glory days. Phaestos' location stands out in our memory as being the more impressive with a nice view from its perch up on a hill. The complex included a large central court, royal quarters, servant quarters, store room, etc. Everything you would expect in a palace! By visiting both Knossos and Phaestos you get a good combination of seeing how impressive these palaces were through the reconstructions at Knossos but also a chance to experience only the original artifacts at the relatively undisturbed ruins of Phaestos.
The recorded history of Crete began around 4000 BC. The Minoan civilization developed on Crete and persisted here for over 1000 years - the peak years being between 1700-1400 BC. This was an impressive culture that developed a number of Greek firsts including the first greek government, religion, and art. The Minoans also produced a number of impressive palaces as Knossos, Phaestos, Malia and eleswhere. Around 1400 BC the Minoans were overwhelmed by a disaster which may have been the eruption at Santorini and/or a Mycenean invasion. After the catastrophe, the Minoan culture hung on for several centuries longer as refugees brought it to the mainland.
You will see the ruins of the two palaces at Knossos and Phaestos. Knossos is located in the north-central section of Crete near Heraklion and is by far the most well known ruins on Crete. Phaestos is not as well known and is located in the south-central section of Crete near the beach resort town of Matala. In their present day condition the two palaces are very different but it is worth visiting both due to these differences.
Archeologists have found that both Knossos and Phaestos (as well as all the other palaces) underwent two phases of construction. The first phase was from 1900-1700 BC. A great earthquake destroyed the palaces in 1700 BC. Construction began again in 1650 BC and went until the great Minoan catastrophe (mentioned earlier) in 1400 BC which left them permanently ruined.

The drive to the southern coast is beautiful! It's a scenic drive through the mountains where you see plenty of farms, mountains, valleys and terrace farming.
The enjoyable day trip to Phaestos can be combined with a visit to the beach resort town of Matala. The drive south (past Phaestos) to Matala is particularly scenic. Going south you drive across the mountainous center of Crete leaving the Sea of Crete behind. You descend down to the Messaria, the largest plain on Crete, heading towards the Libyan Sea.
Matala is a charming beach side town and a very nice place to stay. In Matala you will see the famous tiers of caves by the beach. It was interesting to look at these ancient hand dug caves that were used by the Romans as tombs and were perhaps inhabited as far back as the stone age. Additionally, the nearby "Red Beach" is an even more secluded beach. The hike is approximately 30 minutes to get to the beach and you do get a tremendous view on the way. The beach is very nice and with fewer people than the main beach of Matala.
Also of interest in Heraklion is the Venetian harbor fortress named “Koules”. All the guide books mention it but do not explain how interesting of a place it is! You must explore the fort inside (which is nice and cool) and out. It is both interesting architecturally and so unique that it will stand out in your minds. It should take less than an hour to thoroughly look it over and it is well worth the time spent. After that, if you have the energy and time, you can take a LONG walk down the harbor's protective sea wall. That thing must be a mile long.
After the nice day trips to Knossos, Phaestos, and Matala as well as exploring Iraklion, it is time to shift to Chania. The drive from Iraklion to Chania is approximately two hours long. There was a Minoan town named Kydonia which was built on Kastelli Hill near the harbor. Not much is known about this town but it was referred to in a number of ancient manuscripts as being an important commercial center. The town declined from those days on and it did not rebound until 1252 when the Venetians began to build in the same area. Various extensions and reinforcements were added over the centuries until work around the harbor was completed in 1590. Chania's defenses was the first Cretan city to fall in 1645. It remained in Turkish hands all the way until 1898!
The Old Town of Chania is very scenic and built around the harbor. The old town has a unique atmosphere as you walk through its alleyways. It is extremely pleasant and does have a very nice harbor which the old town encompasses. Many of the houses which stood there during Venetian times survive to this day. The old Venetian light house is in the process of being restored while the more touristy places to eat are right on the harbor.
In addition to exploring Chania, the 11 mile hike down the Samarian Gorge, located near the southwestern coast, can best be described as wild and imposing, Europe's longest gorge. Two million years in the making, it is a beautiful but very strenuous hike. A bus takes you to the gorge entrance. It's approximately an hour and a half ride from Chania to the Gorge. The park opens at 08.00am. The hike itself is VERY strenuous. For one thing, it is 11 miles which by itself is more than a lot of people are used to. Don't be fooled by the fact that 95% of the hike is downhill. The first third of the trail in particular is fairly steep in many places and there are rocks and boulders throughout the hike that we were constantly stepping on or over. It's the type of hike where one spents much of the time looking at his feet - except for when we stopped to enjoy the scenery. By the end of the hike our legs were incredibly sore. In fact, by always going downhill it tended to overuse muscles that normally we don't use that much since we spent so much of our time trying to slow ourselves down the steeper parts. Slowing down was made even more difficult by the fact that the rocks are often slippery due to being covered in dust and are polished by the millions of hikers. Tennis shoes or hiking boots giving that extra grip are a must.
Injury is a definite possibility on this hike. We saw many people around Chania with bandages around ankles and knees and we can't help but think that the injuries probably occurred in the gorge. In fact, one member of our group both sprained his knee and had heat exhaustion. So, while the vast majority of people make it out just fine you do have to be very careful.
There is a glorious (yes, you will think it's glorious when you are hot, tired and hiking down the trail!) very cool, very clear river that follows the path and you cross over it at numerous points. This is clean mountain spring water that is perfectly safe to drink. There are rest stops where it is literally gushing out of fountains but you can drink from the river anywhere. In fact, we really didn't need to bring our own water--just an empty bottle to fill up between stops. We made sure to drink plenty of it on the way. Also, be sure to bring something to eat to give you energy.
Approximately halfway through the hike we started seeing short stacks of rocks. You can see these in the picture below if you look carefully. The number of stacks will vary depending on the time of year you visit and the amount of rainfall during the winter. These stacks don't have any sort of deeper significance. Every year the rocks that have been swept down the bottom of the Gorge during the winter floods have to be removed from the trail before hikers can be admitted in May. This entails a large number of volunteers moving the rocks out of the way. One time around 1994 some local school children began to stack them rather than just setting them to the side. When hikers were admitted that year they began creating their own stacks and this has become a tradition ever since. Generally all the stacks are washed out by the rushing water every winter. However, during the winter of 1999/2000 there was so little rain that there was no flood of water. The result was that when we visited the Gorge in May 2000 there was an usually large number of stacks for so early in the season. There were literally thousands and thousands of these stacks--and we were sure to add a few more ourselves!The last third of the hike is generally considered the most impressive. This is where you'll find the "Portes"--the gates of the Samarian Gorge. It was very impressive since we were walking along the rocky river bottom with the cliff walls towering above us on both sides.
So, is the hike worth it? We definitely thought so. The gorge is as magnificent as we could have hoped for. We don't feel that it is over-hyped since it definitely lives up to its reputation as a must see. We were there in May so it wasn't too crowded or hot. However, the crowds and the heat both significantly increase during the peak season (July & August) which may adversely affect your hike. In fact, our guide said that some days in the summer they need to close the Gorge because it gets so hot in the Gorge that there is not enough oxygen! They close it for that reason if the temperature reaches 35 degree Celcius by 8am.
The hike took us approximately 6 hours including our rest stops. The trail ends in the town of Agia Roumeli. There isn't much in this town since it exists mainly as a resting stop for tired hikers. There is a nice beach for those who want to go swimming, a number of tavernas, convenience stores, and several hotels for anyone interested in spending the night. The only way out of Agia Roumeli is to take a public ferry. From the point you disembark the ferry, the bus ride back to Chania takes about 2 hours. The drive back is particularly scenic. Remember that, everybody is sore for several days afterwards despite being avid walkers.