Crete - A Few Words About The Island

The Place with the amazing contrasts, Crete located between Europe, Asia and Africa serving as a sort of natural bridge that joins the three continents geographically and culturally. Crete is a superior and matchless place. It is the biggest island of Greece and the fifth largest in the Mediterranean sea after Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica and Cyprus. It lies 100 kilometers from the Peloponnese, 175 from Turkey and 300 from Africa. It is divided into four counties, the county Heraklion, Chania, Rethymnon prefecture and the prefecture of Lasithi.

The principal cities are Heraklion, Chania, Rethymnon, Agios Nikolaos, and Sitia Ieraptera. Due to its geographical location, Crete was always a cross road between the three services (Europe, Asia and Africa) and this is obvious across the island so the scattered archaeological sites and culture of its inhabitants. The only problem with Crete is even if you have more than several months to spend, you will still only be able to discover a fairly small range of what the Cretan island can offer. Many people who travel to Crete have an attention in the island's past and this is to be found right across the island. What makes the island unique is the unique combination of natural beauty, history, culture and tradition. From the imposing palace at Knossos and Phaistos to the steep ravines and wild beauty of the Gorge of Samaria and of the quiet and secluded beaches on the Libyan Sea to the noisy and crowded beaches on the north coast of the island, Crete, causing the visitor to explore. The dissimilarities are standard on this island. In Crete beyond the natural beauty that strikes you is the people themselves. The Cretan hospitality is famous throughout the world and only close one can experience this feeling.

On the other hand, the Cretans have their quirks and their own perception and not willing to change it easily. The island is oblong with a length of 257 km. At its widest point reaches 60 km, while the narrowest in the area of Ierapetra, not exceeding 12 km. The island of Crete is the southern entrance to the Aegean Sea, and always has been an attraction for travelers between Europe, Asia and Africa. Crete is located in a geologically unstable area and had previously been affected by frequent by big earthquakes, some of them in the Bronze Age, which created significant damage to palaces and cities. There were some other environmental changes with less power that affected the island's history. For example, proof houses and ports in many parts of the coast indicate that sea level rose over the ancient times. The geological situation and the seismic upheavals suffering to the island for centuries were filled with hundreds of caves and shelters some small stone, and more vast. In the closest centuries, like many times before, the caves were used by Cretan refugees as points of resistance and survival. Many were connected with the Christian religion. Even today there are a lot of churches hidden in Cretan caves. Approximately two thirds of the entire surface of the island consists of jagged mountains and barren. Most of the people traveling to Crete are interested in the history of the island and you can find this across the whole island.