Crete Travel Guide

Per square mile, Crete must be one of the most "loaded" places in the world -- loaded, that is, in the diversity of its history, archaeological sites, natural attractions, tourist amenities, and just plain surprises. In a world where more and more travelers have "been there, done that," Crete remains an endlessly fascinating and satisfying destination.

Few travelers need to be sold on the glories of the Minoan culture of Crete. But Crete also offers cities layered with 4,000 years of continuous inhabitation, including the vibrant heritage of centuries-old Orthodox Christianity and the distinctive imprint left by almost 700 years of Venetian and Turkish rule. Not to mention endless beaches, magnificent mountains, intriguing caves, resonant gorges, and countless villages and sites that provide unexpected and unforgettable experiences.

An elaborate service industry has developed to please the many thousands of foreigners who visit Crete each year. Facilities now exist to suit everyone's taste, ranging from luxury resorts to guest rooms in villages that have hardly changed over several centuries. You can spend a delightful day in a remote mountain town where you're treated to fresh goat cheese and olives, then be back at your hotel within an hour, enjoying a cool drink on the beach.

To be frank, Crete isn't always and everywhere a gentle Mediterranean idyll -- its terrain can be raw, its sites austere, its tone brusque. But for those looking for a distinctive destination, Crete never fails to deliver.

Crete's Wildflowers -- Among the glories of Crete are its wildflowers: A walk in almost any locale outside the center of cities provides a glimpse of their diversity and loveliness. There are said to be at least 1,500 individual species, of which some 200 are endemic or indigenous to Crete. One need not be a botanist or even especially knowledgeable about flowers to appreciate them, although there are several available guides to be found in bookstores and stalls around the island. But there is a hitch: the greatest profusion is in the spring, which comes early on Crete -- early March to early April is prime time. However, those who cannot be there for the spring showing will be treated throughout much of the summer to the miles and miles of blooming oleanders that line the national highway from Chania to Ayios Nikolaos.

A Look at the Past

Crete's diversity and distinction begin with its history, a past that has left far more remains than the Minoan sites many people first associate with the island. After being settled by humans around 6500 B.C., Crete passed through the late Neolithic and early Bronze ages, sharing the broader eastern Mediterranean culture.

Sometime around 3000 B.C., new immigrants arrived; by about 2500 B.C., there began to emerge a fairly distinctive culture called Early Minoan. By about 2000 B.C., the Minoans were moving into a far more ambitious phase, the Middle Minoan -- the civilization that gave rise to the palaces and superb works of art that now attract many visitors to Crete every year.

Mycenaean Greeks appear to have taken over the palaces about 1500 B.C., but by about 1200 B.C., this Minoan-Mycenaean civilization had pretty much gone under. For several centuries, Crete was a relatively marginal player in the great era of Greek classical civilization.

When the Romans conquered the island in 67 B.C., they revived Knossos and other centers as imperial colonies. Early converts to Christianity, the Cretans slipped into the shadows of the Byzantine world, but the island was pulled back into the light in 1204, when Venetians broke up the Byzantine Empire and took over Crete. The Venetians made the island a major colonial outpost, revived trade and agriculture, and eventually built quite elaborate structures.

By the late 1500s, the Turks were conquering the Venetians' eastern Mediterranean possessions, and in 1669 they captured the last major stronghold on Crete, the city of Candia -- now Iraklion. Cretans suffered considerably under the Turks, and although some of Greece finally threw off the Turkish yoke in the late 1820s, Crete was left behind. A series of rebellions marked the rest of the 19th century, resulting in a partly independent Crete.

Finally, in 1913, Crete was for the first time formally joined to Greece. Crete had yet another cameo role in history when the Germans invaded it in 1941 with gliders and parachute troops; the ensuing occupation was another low point. Since 1945, Crete has advanced amazingly in the economic sphere, powered by its agricultural products -- particularly olives, grapes, melons, and tomatoes -- as well as by its tourist industry. Not all Cretans are pleased by the impact of tourism, but all would agree that, for better or for worse, Crete owes much to its history.