Crete - Gouves & Knossos

I went to Crete in July 2014. Stayed at Kato Gouves which is on the north coast, just east of the capital Heraklion. It's a small quiet place, and several km west of the main party areas around Malia.

The beach area is split by natural headlands into several small sections, some of which are quite rocky. There are lots of beach chairs, however I didn't actually go onto the beach at all.

There is a nice chapel by the sea

We stayed in Iraklis Taverna which has a small pool

There are many olive trees, apparently there are 60 million on Crete. On the coastal areas, there are also potatoes, bananas (in green houses), figs and grapes -

There used to be 50 rivers on Crete but now there are only 5, due to deforestation many years ago, and overuse for irrigation. So now some areas are really dry in summer. A water pump -

The cicadas were often noisy

Many of the 'chimneys' on the houses had covers that looked like a bird from a distance -

I wasn't over impressed by Greek food. I had many salads but they were all basically lettuce, cucumber, cabbage and sometimes tomato, with a dressing of oil, vinegar and honey. Some mezze and a baklava

There are many shops run by Russians selling fur. I was told they are actually into money laundering!!

Sunset over the beach -

The hill behind Gouves -

I had to visit Knossos. Knossos is the most famous archaeological site on Crete and dates back to the Bronze Age, the first settlement dates to about 7000 BC and the Minoan civilization. The term Minoan means ancient Cretan. The first palace dates to 1900 BC. The site was discovered in 1878 and excavations began in 1900 by the English archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans (1851- 1941) and his team, and they continued for 35 years.

The word Minoan had been in use since ancient times and comes from King Minos. According to Greek mythology, King Minos lived in a palace at Knossos. He had Daedalus construct a labyrinth where he kept his son, the Minotaur.” The Minotaur was a half human monster.
€6 entry. It was so crowded, there was a queue for the ticket, then so many people going round.

Parts have recently been ‘rebuilt’ and look too new, with new concrete structures and floors. It was apparently a palace with 5 floors and 13,000 rooms.

© Liz Price
No reproduction without permission