St. Constantin Village

Eat, drink and have a good...

by anniina

Eat, drink and have a good time! But don´t go to the obvious 'turist' restaurants, walk a little bit away from the center of Iraklion and you will find small bars and pubs for local people! THOSE are the best ones! But you have to take your dictionary with you because the menus are only in greek

Hey Mister Can We Get Our Ball Back?

by johngayton

So there I was walking past the church - which one? Well I don't know!! I kinda impressed myself tho' as the kid's football landed just in front of me. Well obviously I didn't "Bend It Like Beckham" but impressed myself with a foot-to-foot pass back - hopefully they said "Cheers Mister!" - I felt like joining in and suggesting being the "goalie" but my Greek isn't quite up to that!

Little human touches - that's what chill-out trips are all about :) Not the time to be wearing your suede loafers!!

Not especially Heraklion, but...

by travelstevie

Not especially Heraklion, but all of the island Crete is worth to visit. Various landscapes, in summer very hot! Spring (May) is very pleasant to visit. Small villages seem to have life like back to 1900. Beside of that are the greek people very friendly.
The ancient palace 'Knossos' is a must. Everything is well explained and beautiful architecture.

Go to 'VAI_BEACH'
This is the...

by Juliet67

Go to 'VAI_BEACH'
This is the only palm beach in Greece and the whole of Europe.
There are 5000 palm trees and its name originates from the word 'vayies'which is the Cretan word for palm trees.It covers an area of 250 m2 with thick vegetation.

It isn't known how they came to Crete but one possible explanation is that they were planted by pirates or by Ptolemaius or by the Phoenix.

BIRTHPLACE OF THE MINOAN CIVILIZATION

by travelgourmet

"THE PALACE OF KNOSSOS"

Four thousand years ago, wow, that was a long, long, long time ago. In fact, I'm sure it is hard to fathom that man was living much the same way in 2000 BC, as in 2000 AD. The proof in in the pudding, in this case by the storage jars. The Palace of Knossos, rediscovered in 1900 AD by Sir Arthur Evans, is living proof. Legend has it, that King Minos, the bearer of the name, Minoan Civilization built one of the layers of the Palace, built first roughly 2000BC and destroyed and rebuilt in 1700 BC. It seems as things were destroyed by earthquake, fire, or even volcanic ash, new building went up on top of the old. The actual Palace is many layered and multi-roomed, thus the legend of the Cretan Labyrinth and the Minotour, bull like man, enter the area and you cannot find your way out. King Minos per legend, imprisoned Athenian young men and women in the labyrinth to be sacrficed to the Minotour. His daughter, Ariadne fell in love with one, the son of the King of Athens, Theseus, and helped him kill the Minotour and escape.

We have proof of a stone sewer system, a water system, a storage system, bathrooms, dining rooms, and a king's throne room. Art was on the walls and floors, and religious symbols adorned rooms. The language has not been deciphered, so we can only base the thinking of life in the Minoan Age on the artifacts and structures found, and rebuilt. The storage jars showed proof of food sources for wine, grains, and oils, staples of today,used in rooms as used today.