Agios Nikolaos
by Rachel972
Agios Nikolaos is a lovely town, worth spending several hours walking around. In the center there's a lake connected to the sea. On the left side there's a pleasant walk in the shade by pretty boats , then at the far edge there's a steep climb for a beatiful view of the lake and the town around it. Getting down to the water after a long walk, the right side is a row of restaurants and coffee places, just right after the trip.
Going on the seaside promenade to the right from the center the view opens up, there's an interesting glass and stone statue, made with stacked thick slabs of greenish glass, see picture. It is illuminated at night, I'll have to return with a steadier camera. Along the promenade there are houses climbing up the hill, several with interesting architecture and painting with fantasy and humor.
From Agios Nikolaos we drove to Eloudna close by, so many beautiful houses, each one different but all in good taste.
Tavernas
by janchan
The tavernas are the typical Greek restaurant, usually not too expensive. You can find them everywhere in Crete also in the smaller villages...
Mezedes are the appetizers and quick dishes (more or less like spanish tapas) that you can enjoy in these places, but also great fish, traditional dishes like Moussaka, Souzukakia.
Retsina is the pine resin wine sometimes served by the kilo into copper jugs.
Crete Easter's traditional sweet, Kalitsunia
by oriettaIT
These sweet cheese pastries use a rolled dough. They are an Easter tradition on the Greek island of Crete, but eaten at other times as well because they're so delicious! These are my favourite cake there!!!
INGREDIENTS:
• For the dough:
• 1/2 cup of olive oil
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1/2 cup of plain yogurt
• 2 eggs, beaten with a fork
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 2 3/4 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup of cognac or brandy
• ----------
• For the Filling:
• 1 2/3 pounds of fresh soft myzithra cheese (or other unsalted cheese such as ricotta, or farmer's cheese)
• 1/2 - 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• 1/8 cup of sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon of grated orange peel
• 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
• 1 egg, beaten (for glaze)
PREPARATION:
Prepare the dough
In a bowl, combine the first seven ingredients to make the dough:
• Whisk the dry ingredients together (sugar, baking powder, flour).
• Add the oil, mixing with a spoon or your hands.
• Stir in the yogurt and eggs and mix with spoon until the dough begins to stiffen, adding the cognac to soften the dough as needed.
• On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for approximately 10 minutes until smooth, and set aside to rest.
Prepare the filling
In a separate bowl, mix the cheese, cinnamon, sugar, egg yolk, orange peel, and flour together until well blended.
Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Lightly grease a baking sheet.
For each piece
Pull off a piece of dough about the size of a whole walnut. On a floured surface with a rolling pin, roll it out to a circle about 4 inches across. Place a spoonful of the cheese mixture into the center of the circle. Raise the rim of the dough up around the cheese and, with wet fingers, crimp around the edges to pull the dough in around the cheese, leaving the center open so the cheese shows.
Repeat using all the dough and filling. Place the kalitsounia on the baking sheet and brush lightly with beaten egg to glaze. Bake at 350F (180C) for approximately 20 minutes until lightly browned. Allow to cool on the baking sheet. Kalitsounia will keep well, covered, in the refrigerator.
Yield: 30-36 pieces
Facts about Those Beautiful Greek women
by Balam
Officially there is equality between the sexes, but still women are paid less.
About 40 % of the Greek women are engaged in active employment.
Theoretically Greek women are liable for military service, but only volunteers are taking part in the service, and the women seem to be satisfied with this situation.
When divorcing, all belongings are equally split between man and woman.
Today a Greek woman may keep her maiden name when marrying.
Today Greek women only give birth to half as many children, as they did before World War 2.
The birth-rate is the second lowest in Europe. Italy has the lowest birth-rate.
Since 1982 it has been legal to have a civil marriage. But still 95 % are married religiously in the church.
Arranged marriages are forbidden by law. Paying dowry is illegal too. But still you can see examples of both!
The average age for Greek women is 80 years. Men can stand the women for 75 years only!
edge of Crete - Kato Zakros
by Spincat
On the far Eastern edge of Crete you'll find tiny Kato Zakros. You get off the bus, and there's this Greek hippy guy who says 'welcome to the edge of the world' (well, he's said it twice!) & it does have that feel to it.
Visit a Minoan Palace, walk along a strange, spooky gorge, swim in the lovely pebble bay. Fishing boats, banana plants & tamarisks, goats, moon on water. Coach parties come during the day; peaceful at night.
The 'Akrogiali' taverna has keys to several Rooms right on the sea: see my accommodation tips.
Gorge makes for a lovely walk of 5 -6 kilos; it took us 2 hours: mostly easy; steeper parts. You can cool off in delightful secret pools at certain times of the year. The signposts direct you to "Dead's Gorge" (!) - the caves above you were once burial chambers. Try walking into it at night, with the palace below you, and the sound of goat bells around you & the cry of the scops owl above you ... fall over a meditating hippy, you'll nearly die of fright.
The Minoan palacewas originally built C1900 BC, and like other Cretan palaces, it was destroyed about 1450 BC. An exquisite Bull's Head artefact was found here in the 1960s, and is now displayed in Heraklion Museum. (I recommend visiting the museum before you go to any Minoan site - the displays really help you to visualise how things might have been.) The eruption of a volcano on Santorini (Thera) is said to have caused the widespread destruction of Minoan settlements.
From Sitia, the most attractive route is via Kato Episkopi, Katsidoni & Adravasti, with lovely mountain views & pretty villages. You can also carry on from Kato Zackros to Xerocampos, which is an even tinier settlement, with a long sandy beach & Rooms. (The road to Xerocampos was very bumpy and rocky when we last went down it in about 2002; we've heard it has been improved a lot now.) Above you here is the Ziros plateau which has interesting villages and churches - Ziros is a great place to stop for lucnh & recover from the winding mountain road.
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Tower at Saint George Monastary, Crete
Pella Restaurant, Gouves, Crete
Lato – 9th century Dorian site Crete 1990
The Morozini Fountain in the Venetian Square
