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Heraklion and Knossos - Arrival in Crete

Ippubblikat: 11.04.2024

After a collision with another car ended our planned motorhome holiday prematurely, we spontaneously booked a week on Crete.

We hoped to swap the miserable northern German weather for sunshine and warmer temperatures and at the same time explore the Greek island and its sights.


Flight to Crete


We landed almost on time and the collection of our rental car also worked without any problems, so that we arrived at our hotel Civitel Creta Beach in Ammoudara in the early afternoon, not far from the island's capital Iraklion and therefore also close to the airport.


Hotel beach


On this day, we first looked around the area around the hotel and noticed that many hotels and shops were still closed. In one shop that was open, we found out that the season doesn't really start until May, so we were there a little before most of the other holidaymakers.


Ammoudara Beach


It was nice and sunny, but the wind was still a bit fresh.


Ammoudara Beach

That didn't bother us because we had planned a trip to Iraklion and Knossos for our first full day of vacation: not a beach, but a town and an archaeological site.


Venetian Harbor


In Iráklion we parked at the Venetian harbor, from where you can see the fortress Kastro Koúles.


Kastro Koules


The port and the fortress were built during the period of Venetian rule in the 16th century and some of them have survived the centuries that followed.


Venetian Loggia Iraklio


In Iraklio you can see buildings that were built under different rulers on Crete: in ancient times, Greek and Roman rule was followed by the Byzantine period, which was interrupted by an Arab occupation. In the 13th to 17th centuries, Crete became the property of Venice before falling to Turkey. A struggle for freedom followed, which led to autonomy in 1898. This was, however, abandoned again in 1913 when Crete was annexed to Greece.


Agios Titos Heraklion


Our first stop on the way into the city center bore witness to the turbulent history: the church of Ágios Titos was destroyed and rebuilt several times. Under Turkish rule it was used as a mosque, which can still be seen in the architecture today.


Agios Titos Heraklion


Right next to it is the Venetian Loggia, reminiscent of the 17th century and the rule of Venice. It was a kind of “clubhouse” for the Venetian nobility.


Venetian Loggia Iraklio


In the centre of the old town lies Platia Venizelou with the Morosini Fountain, which formed the end of a 15 km long aqueduct.


Morosini Fountain Iraklio


From there we walked through the market street with its many stalls to the old fortifications that surrounded the old town.


Bembo Fountain


We then walked through winding streets back towards the center to Platia Ekaterini with its three churches.


Churches Ágios Minás Iráklion


In the Metropolitan Church of Ágios Minás and the small church next to it we saw the iconostasis typical of Orthodox churches.


Small Church of Agios Minas Iráklion


The third church now houses an icon museum.


Churches Ágios Minás Iráklion


We continued to the Archaeological Museum.


Archaeological Museum


Here the exhibition tells of the Neolithic, Minoan and Roman periods on Crete.


Archaeological Museum


Particularly noteworthy are the exhibits from the Minoan palaces, which date from around 1700-1450 BC.


Bullspringer Archaeological Museum


There was a figure depicting the custom of “bull jumping”: a dangerous sport from the Minoan period in which young men try to jump over a bull.


Disk of Festos in the Archaeological Museum


The exhibition rooms on the upper floor were still closed. Shortly before the start of the season, we were allowed to pay the higher summer entrance fee, but unfortunately we were not able to see the entire exhibition.


Archaeological Museum


Finally, we took a look at the fortress Kastro Koùles from the inside.


Kastro Koules


From here you also had a beautiful view of the harbor and the city.


View from Kastro Koúles


From Heraklion we continued to Knossos, probably the most famous archaeological site in Crete.


Palace of Knossos


Contrary to all the advice in the guidebook and on the Internet, we had not booked tickets in advance. But neither parking nor queuing was a problem: in the afternoon, out of season, there was no one ahead of us and we were able to enter the archaeological site straight away.


Palace of Knossos


A palace has been built on the site since 2000 BC.


Throne Room Palace of Knossos


From 1900 onwards it was excavated again, mainly by Arthur Evans and his team, and largely reconstructed using concrete, plaster and paint.


Bust of Arthur Evans Palace of Knossos


This reconstruction is not entirely uncontroversial because it is unclear whether it corresponds more to Evans's imagination or to historical reality.


Palace of Knossos


In any case, it helped us imagine what it might have looked like…


Palace of Knossos


Some parts of the building and columns are colorful and give an impression of the former splendor.


Palace of Knossos


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