Heraklion, Crete, Greece

Heraklion mole and fort protecting the harbour.

 Travel Dates 12th-16th July 2013 
 
I arrived without drama at Heraklion Airport and took a cab to the Kronos Hotel. I booked it months in advance after reading many positive reviews on the web. In the main they were accurate, with some minor exceptions. It is in a great location near the harbour and an easy walk up the hill to the centre of town or along the foreshore to the mole or harbour-side restaurants. 

The room I eventually accepted after a problem with a smoky-smelling first offer was small but comfortable with an oblique balcony view of the sea. I enjoyed my stay there. The only jarring note was the sign in the bathroom advising that used toilet paper must not be flushed down the toilet but placed in the bin. The lady managing the hotel told me that the plumbing system would be blocked if paper is flushed. Later, when I visited Knossos and was reminded that the ancient Minoans were one of the first civilisations to develop indoor sanitation I wondered why the modern Cretans did not seem to have moved far in that field since.

Apart from seeing Knossos I had no plans for Crete. My main intention was to take it easy and relax. Although there were many tourists, Heraklion was more laid back than Rhodes. The average age of the tourists appeared to be ten to twenty years older than Rhodes, with fewer teens and twenties and more in their forties and fifties. There were even some fossils of my own vintage.

Despite the tourists the harbour and the sea are still the focus of the town. The giant ferries bring most of the tourists to town, the fishermen still sell their catch on the mole and the harbour is packed with boats of all sizes.

I walked a lot over the next few days, covering most of the central town within the old walls. 

 

 

There did not appear to be an 'old town' preserved in the same way as those I visited in Iberia, Morocco and Rhodes. Instead various old structures were surrounded by modern buildings. The ancient harbour docks are the structures on the centre right of the picture, well above the modern waterline.

 

Several old sites such as the old dockyards were restored or in the process of restoration and some sites, such as Agios Petros monastery near the hotel, appeared to be active archaeological sites.

 

For most lunches and some dinners I again chose the tasty delights of Greek gyro pitas. A 15cm (6”) circle of pita bread formed into a cone around a filling of marinated gyro-roasted lamb with onions, tomato, possibly other vegetable choices and garnished with tzatziki. Cheap fast food but always delicious. I didn't encounter a gyro pita I didn't like. I usually washed it down with the local beer. A full meal for under 5 Euros. Better still, my blood glucose meter approved the meal an hour after eating. 

When I got tired of gyros there were wonderful fish and seafood choices. One of my favourites in mediterranean countries is mussels.

 

At one stage while wandering in the western outskirts of town I walked into a bar that was a step back in time. The only sign of modernity was an old TV flickering on the wall. The service was similar to Spanish tapas, with a snack appearing automatically together with my order of a glass of inexpensive but very good house red wine, ordered by sign language as he spoke no English and I spoke no Greek. After a few glasses of wine, along with the Greek 'tapas', I no longer needed lunch. This was a bar that would rarely see a tourist. After a while another customer appeared who spoke good English. I had an enjoyable chat about many things, none of which I can recall now. Maybe it was more than a few glasses of wine. Unfortunately, it was my second last day and I had no time to return the next day. Although I may not recall the details of the conversation it was a pleasant afternoon I will never forget.

On my last evening these very loud and cheerful ladies were conducting a protest or demonstration. I have no idea what it was about but the local constabulary appeared to be very concerned as they vastly outnumbered the protesters.
 

 

While in Heraklion I visited Knossos. That post will follow this.

After four pleasant days I left Heraklion for Paris on Aegean Air relaxed and refreshed. 

Cheers, Alan

Old Rhodes

Palace of the Grand Master

 Travel Dates 6th-12th July 2013 

Rhodes has a long and colourful history. Settlement first occurred in the neolithic period. After an early period of growing city states the cities amalgamated to become an independent island state. The island's strategic position close to the Turkish mainland has resulted in being invaded, occupied and controlled by every major civilisation in the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East including, among others, the Persians, Greeks, Byzantines, Egyptians, Arabs, Genoese, Knights of St John, Ottomans, Italians, Germans and Italians again until it finally became part of modern Greece. 

The Old Town reflects all of the occupiers to some degree. Unfortunately each wave of invaders tended to remove or modify much of their predecessor's architecture. Some of the surviving buildings also suffered from earthquakes. There has been significant restoration and reconstruction work since Greek sovereignty was re-established.

The northern section of Rhodes Town is a modern tourist city of hotels, restaurants, souvenir and services shops surrounded on three sides by beaches. There are occasional old buildings in that section but not many. 

 

A short walk towards the south-eastern coast brought me to the older buildings and eventually the walled Old Town. Along the way I passed the Murat Reis Mosque, which dates back to the Turkish presence in the 17th century.

 

Nearby is the Turkish cemetery. 

The Prefecture building is not very old, but I liked the design.

The 14th century Fort of Saint Nicholas guards Mandraki Harbour.

 

I started my visit to the Old Town by strolling along the massive moat (now dry) around the walls.

Entry was via this tunnel to gardens near the Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes.

The knights were also known as the Knights of St John and later the Knights of Malta. The order was originally founded in Jerusalem in the 11th century as a hospital caring for ailing Christian pilgrims to the holy lands. They became a military order during the Crusades. Muslim conquests of the region forced them to move to Rhodes in 1310. They ruled Rhodes under their Grand Master until 1523 when the Turks ejected them. Eventually they settled in Malta and ruled there until they were forced to move to Rome in the late 18th century as a consequence of the Napoleonic wars.

They ruled each land they occupied absolutely but also built a hospital each time and became renowned for their quality of care with the highest medical standards of their time. They are also known as the Knights Hospitaller, Fraternitas Hospitalaria.

The Grand Master's Palace is obviously reconstructed but still impressive. The rooms and courtyard are now a museum with exhibits ranging across the centuries, from classical Greek and Roman times until the mediaeval era of the Knights. 

 

 

This bas relief on a wall of the palace intrigued me. Apparently Fert is an acronym used by the Royal House of Savoy with several different interpretations according to the scholars. The version that seems most apt for the Rhodes inscription is a Sardinian motto: "Fortitu’do Ejus Rhodum Ten’uit", meaning "His firmness guarded Rhodes". This relates to Amadeus the Great, founder of the House of Savoy. He helped the Knights resist a siege shortly after they arrived in 1310.

 

In the narrow cobbled streets and back alleys it was easy to imagine stepping back several centuries as I walked around.

Wandering in places like that is one of my favourite pastimes when I travel, with no particular goal in mind, just looking at the old houses and differences in construction and styles. For example, in the pictures you will notice buttresses constructed across some streets to provide support during earthquakes.

Despite being a listed World Heritage site the Old Town is not a sterile museum; it is a thriving community with over 6000 people living and working there. There are several restaurants within the walls and a few rather expensive hotels.

The Roman ruins were sparse, with just a few sites preserved.

These windmills were used in mediaeval times to grind the grain straight off the ships in the harbour.

On my penultimate day I decided to visit the Acropolis. First, I needed to find a bus in the right direction. I did, but when the bus turned left when the sign to the Acropolis pointed straight ahead I alighted. I should have stayed aboard. It turned in the correct direction at the next corner. The next couple of km were a hot and dusty uphill trek through a fairly modern wealthy suburb on a cloudless 35C day. I plodded along at my usual slow pace, stopping to buy more water at a small shop along the way. 

 

The Acropolis, when I reached it, was a shadow of its former self but still interesting. It dates from the 5th to the 3rd century BC. Down-town the crowds were bustling but up on the Acropolis hilltop I was alone for most of the next couple of hours, with an occasional local family dropping in. I only saw one non-local family until a tourist bus arrived as I departed.

Various old sections are spread over a large area.  

From the Acropolis site there were spectacular views of the town. From the cliff-top path beside the road above it there are also marvellous views of the west coast; the title picture on my previous post was taken from that spot.

Departing took a while. I decided I had walked enough for that afternoon. I climbed up to the road but the only taxis to pass were occupied. The local Tourist Train passed, but refused to let me board because I had to buy a ticket down in the town. I should have been more thorough in my pre-trip research. If I had known about the Tourist Train's route in advance I would have happily taken it. Eventually one of the cabs which passed me earlier returned; he had noticed me wave as he passed before. I didn't really mind the long delay in a very pleasant scenic spot despite the heat.

Cheers, Alan

Rhodes, Greece

 

Travel Dates 6th-12th July 2013

I deliberately planned the final section of my European trip to be in the Greek Islands. I visited Greece in 2003, seeing the Peloponnese and Athens, but I had always wanted to see their major islands and regretted missing them on that trip. I also thought Rhodes and Crete would be good places to wind down and relax after Iberia and Morocco. I had no planned itinerary for them, apart from relaxing, soaking in the atmosphere and visiting the old towns and some ancient sites. 

I had lost a couple of hours with the baggage problems in the terminal. Later planes had arrived and the queue for cabs was long when I reached it. I discovered that there was a set fare of €22 for the 15km trip to Rhodes Town. Because of the crowd I was not surprised when a driver called for someone to fill the front seat when he already had passengers in the back. When I was a cab driver in Melbourne we were allowed to do the same. But in Melbourne the arrangement was that each hirer paid ¾ of the meter fare as they reached their destination. Not in Rhodes. Each hirer pays full fare. Well, at least I got there before midnight. Later I found I could have taken the bus, but when I arrived I had no idea where the bus stopped or its route. The cabs were reasonably inexpensive once I reached Rhodes Town, but rarely around when I wanted one.

I had only booked the first two nights at the City Center Hotel, not knowing what the standard would be like. When I decided to extend the booking I found they were booked out for two of the remaining four nights of my stay. I booked their available nights and ended up at two other hotels for the remainder. I didn't mind as it gave me a different perspective of the town near the western beaches for those other nights, but City Center was definitely the best experience of the three. Originally I intended to do some overnight trips by ferry to other islands, but I quickly realised I had arrived at the peak of the season and those hotels would also be full so I decided not to risk it.

Rhodes was nothing like I expected. In my pre-trip reading I read about its rich history and the many ancient civilisations which left their mark on the island. In my mind's eye I suppose I was expecting a place like Mycenae or Argos, which were almost deserted when I visited Greece in 2003.

I should have spent a little more time reading about modern Rhodes.

Rhodes Town was full. The town is “tourist central” full of hotels, restaurants, cafes, bars and nightspots. 

That had the advantage of lots of choices for meals, although many of the tourist restaurants had identical menus in ten different languages, including all the Scandinavian languages.

I looked for the smaller cafes and tried to avoid most of the tourist traps. It was a pretty forlorn quest in Rhodes Town. If I ever return I will go to one of the smaller towns or villages.

The food was mostly very good. I mainly ate soups or gyros for lunches and fish or mussels for dinners. 

The town was jam-packed with tourists. Not tourists to see the ancient sites but visitors from colder mid-July climes, mainly the UK and Scandinavia, to bask all day in the sun on the island's beaches and drink and party most of the night.

The European custom of paid spaces on beaches for Li-los and deckchairs with umbrellas in military-style formations is a strange one to an Aussie accustomed to free beaches where you find a spot to toss your towel where you can.

Unfortunately for many of the sunbathers the westerly wind became quite fierce for my final four days on Rhodes. Possibly the eastern beaches were OK, but only hardy souls occupied the deck chairs when that wind was blowing.

Although there were a few seniors in the crowds the vast majority of visitors appeared to be in their late teens or early twenties. In the evenings they tended to form groups of four or five of the same gender then go hunting for their opposite numbers in packs. 

 

I enjoyed watching the fun from the upper floor balconies of restaurants. There were David Attenborough moments watching the mating selection habits of Northern Europeans in a warm climate. 

I spent much of my time wandering on the local buses or walking around the old town. The buses were a bit confusing. They stopped for the locals between sign-posted stops, but not for me when I wanted to get out at the same place. I never found a map of the routes, so I tended to get on one going in the direction I wanted then get off as soon as it headed in a different direction. As a result I sometimes walked a lot further than I intended.

 

 

 

I spent a couple of days visiting the Old Town and the Acropolis; the report on those will follow this.

On my final afternoon I took the bus to the airport; much less expensive than the cab. Despite being the 'Airport' bus it is actually a local transit bus; the airport being just one of its stops. About half the passengers were heading for the airport with luggage. The bus was full after the second stop with no place to stack luggage so we all squeezed it in where we could. Gradually, as the bus dropped local passengers en-route it became more comfortable. Check in was a bit odd. After checking in the clerk labelled my checked bag, then returned it to me to be taken to the security x-ray point. I was pleased but slightly surprised to see it arrive on the carousel later in Crete.

One of the odd points I noticed while waiting for my flight was the high number of package-tour planes on the tarmac. They out-numbered the commercial airlines by at least two to one.

Cheers, Alan