Nov 30 – Dec 5: Heraklion, Crete, Greece

Crete was an unintentional destination, chosen mainly because it was significantly cheaper to fly to Crete (with a plane change in Athens) and then back to Athens, than to fly directly to Athens. Hm. Rather than flying directly back to Athens, we decided to check out Crete. We stayed in an Airbnb in the capital, Heraklion (or Iraklion), about 15 minutes from the airport.

The best part of our stay, by far, was our host, Maria Tsichlaki and her husband, Michail. From the moment Maria greeted us with a two-cheek kiss (I love those), we felt like we were visiting family. Maria was born in the building, raised her son and daughter there, and lives in the downstairs unit below with Michail. Her mother lives in the building next door. When we walked in the door, it felt oddly familiar. I told Jeff later it reminded me of “Aunt Edie’s house,” the cozy basement floor of Aunt Jean and Uncle Al Holt’s house in Edmonds, WA where we stay when we visit. (Aunt Edie was married to my dad’s Uncle Matt, Al’s father, and she lived with Al & Jean after Uncle Matt died.) At any rate, we loved it.

Maria showed us out to the large deck overlooking Heraklion Harbor and the old Venetian fortress, Koules. And when she opened the fridge, it was filled with eggs, cheese, turkey, milk, beer, raki (not a fan), bread, butter, jam, fresh fruit, and vegetables. On the counter, cookies. All for us. 

Before leaving us to unpack and get settled in, Maria sat down and gave us all kinds of suggestions for things to do and places to eat during our short stay – at the top of the list – the Archaeological Museum and the Palace of Knossos to learn about the Minoan culture.

We went to the museum first, as it’s a short walk from our apartment. We were really surprised to see the sophistication of the Minoan artifacts – the pottery, game boards, seals for various purposes, murals, and incredible jewelry.

The bull was revered in Minoan culture and worshiped as an idol. It was associated with the sun and the cow with the moon.

Next, we took the bus to Knossos Palace. We arrived just one hour before closing, but it was just the right amount of time and we were the only people there.

Here is how Knossos Palace might have looked THEN:

And NOW:

When Maria first mentioned Minoans, saying something like, “Of course, you know about the Minoans?” we all responded with something like “Oh yeah, the Minoans, sure,” but we didn’t know Minoans from Mycenaeans. One documentary and the aforementioned trips later and we’re officially in-the-know, at least a little. The Minoans were awesome. And they were awesome back in 2000 BC – that’s 659 BT (Before Tut – my way of putting it into perspective). They had a written language (two actually, neither yet fully deciphered), advanced architecture and engineering, organized sport (bull leaping anyone?), and women were not only respected, but given positions of authority. No one is sure why the Minoans disappeared, but it’s likely the rise of the Mycenaeans on mainland Greece and an enormous tidal wave resulting from an earthquake on Santorini were contributors if not direct causes.

Minoan comes from Minos, as in King Minos, but it’s hard to tell, when reading about Minoan history, whether he was real or mythical or some of both. Let’s see, his parents were Zeus and a Phoenician named Europa. His wife, Pasiphae, had an affair with a white bull, a gift from Poseidon, which resulted in the half-bull/half-man Minotaur/bastard child, whom Minos ordered hidden at the center of a maze beneath his palace at Knossos. I’m leaning towards myth. Read this “Legend of King Minos” and decide for yourself.

When we returned home for the evening, we ran into Maria, who invited us over to visit. On her coffee table, were an assortment of nuts and dried fruit, foil-wrapped chocolates, and drinks for us to choose from. I had a glass of her homemade sherry, made with cherries and cognac and spiced with cloves (delicious, tasted like Christmas). Jeff had Scotch and Mick had Coke. Michail showed us his family tree – about 20 sheets of letter-size paper taped together and rolled up,  an impressive display of his large Greek family, many of whom live in Boston. He also showed us a black-and-white picture of himself and Maria when they were first married and wow, like movie stars. Maria told us that her grandfather was killed by the Nazis and Michail’s grandfather was killed by the Turks. We talked about our trip, their children and grandchildren, and things we should do in Athens before eventually heading upstairs to make dinner.

The next day, we  rented a car and we headed west along the coast to explore Chania, another of Maria’s suggestions.

Hania or Chania or Χανια or Xania (thank goodness for GPS) is about two hours from Heraklion. It’s a beautiful city with a history similar to that of Heraklion, evidenced by the Minoan and Venetian ruins. We parked the car just west of the Firka Fortress and walked along the water to the lighthouse and old Venetian Harbor of Hania, where we had a leisurely lunch.

There was much more to explore but, not wanting to drive after dark, we headed home shortly after our late lunch. In addition to a beautiful sunset behind us on the way home,  we were treated to a spectacular moonrise – a huge, low, glowing full moon and its reflection on the sea, out our front and side windows. I took lots of pictures, but none captured the beauty or merited inclusion. Maybe Mick can draw it?

Back in Heraklion, we got in some exercise (Jeff the most, as  usual) by walking to the harbor and continuing out to the end of the 1.25-mile jetty. It’s great to do at sunset.

On the morning we left, we stopped by to say goodbye to Maria and Michael. Mick gave them a rock he’d found at the beach on our way to Hania, carefully decorated with a map of Greece on one side and its flag on the other (he used blue, black and gold nail polish as we couldn’t find pens at the store nearby), which they loved. Maria then gave us a little bag and told us she’d made what was inside. What was inside were two ornaments, a stuffed triangular Santa Claus and a decoupaged metal pomegranate.

To say I was touched is an understatement. I love Christmas ornaments, always have. As a child, all the ornaments on our tree were either handmade by someone (crocheted hearts from Aunt Lenora, embellished balls from Aunt Hilda, salt dough painted masterpieces by my cousin, Jan) or a gift (many from my grandparents, Aunt Lani & Uncle Dave, and Aunt Lois). Now all those ornaments adorn my tree, each associated with something or someone. Also on our tree are ornaments from Mom, the result of a years-long tradition of picking out an ornament each year, usually from Macy’s Union Square or Orchard Nursery in Lafayette. When Jeff and Mick arrived on the scene, Mom got them ornaments, too. I have carried on this tradition with Mick, but I miss doing it with Mom. When I pulled out the ornaments from Maria’s bag, that missing of Mom (always just under the surface) combined with Maria’s thoughtfulness caused my throat to constrict and my expression of thanks to be a bit choked. From the double-kiss and hug I got from Maria, however, I think she understood.

Maria ~ This is where your ornaments will be December 2018: