General information about Crete
The island of Crete is the quintessential Greece. An island of long
forgotten civilisations, the birthplace of Gods and heroic figures, poets,
musicians, writers, artists and radical, inspiring political leaders. From
out of Crete emerged great civilizations of the past and evidence of these
can still be seen in every corner of its land.
Crete is an island that has, over the centuries, seen countless conquerors, coming from mainland Greece
and further afield and, in turn, has seen fierce resistance from its proud
and strong people. It is an island of contrasts: majestic mountain ranges
and serene plateaux and gentle hills; gentle seas lapping golden beaches and
crashing oceans against sheer cliffs plummeting vertically into the water;
mythical gods and ancient kings; immense power and inexplicable demise;
proud and strong people who are, at the same time, gentle, giving and the
proud bestowers of traditional Greek filoxenia.
From all the Greek islands, Crete is the largest and also the second largest
in the eastern Mediterranean. It is the southern most island of the Aegean
Sea and is strategically located at the crossroads of three continents:
Europe, Asia and Africa, which, to a large degree accounts for its
tumultuous history. Its shores are washed by the Libyan Sea, the Sea of
Crete, the Myrtoan Sea and the Karpathian Sea.
The island's appearance is long and narrow, being 260km by 60km the
narrowest part measuring a mere 12km in the region of Lerapetra. Around its
coastline are numerous islands and islets, some habited and popular tourist
destinations whereas others are uninhabited and of interest to mostly
biologists and archaeologists.
Crete has a soaring mountain range that traverses the island from east to
west. This mountainous landscape has, in turn, created an island that has a
plentiful supply of deep ravines or gorges, caves, valleys and high
plateaux, dense woods, rivers, waterfalls and even two freshwater lakes and,
of course, a coastline of glorious beaches ranging from rocky, pebbly or
fine golden or white sands. The island is divided administratively into four
prefectures, Crania, Rethymon, Lasithi and Heraklion. The capital of the
island is Iraklion in the prefecture of the same name and is the largest
town on the island with a population of around 100,000.
Although Crete straddles the two climatic zones of both the Mediterranean
and North African its climate is more typically Mediterranean being
classified as temperate. The summer temperatures are classically dry and hot
with average temperatures between high 20s to low 30s Celsius but can reach
the high 30s to mid 40s and, depending on closeness to the sea, the humidity
can be high in summertime. Winters are usually fairly mild although, in the
mountainous regions, snow is common and temperatures can drop to abnormally
low levels.
Snow can stay on the tops of the highest mountains for the whole year but it
is very rare to have snow in the low lying regions. The southern coast of
Crete which includes the Mesara Plain and the Asterousia Mountain range
falls within the North African climatic zone and consequently has
considerably more sun and higher temperatures all year round. .
The Cretans are warm, friendly open people who love life and the company of
others. Hospitable to strangers, the Cretans make sure that holidaying on
their island will always leave the visitor with a warm glow. As a result of
their turbulent and often violent history it is not surprising that they
also strongly uphold the values of independence and freedom, and this is
reflected in many of their daily customs.
Cretans have very strong family and kinship ties and the Cretan culture is known throughout Greece and
beyond for its notorious clan vendettas, which are still ongoing on the
island. Traditionally, many Cretan families have guns which they keep at
home; this is particularly the case in rural areas. Although the Greek
authorities strictly regulate the possession of weapons within its borders,
in Crete this is less enforced as it is seen as a cultural tradition.
As a proud and loyal people they are determined to keep their traditions,
custom and Cretan dialect alive
The Greek language spoken here has a
distinct Cretan dialect and Cretan specific vocabulary. At social gatherings
and festivals everyone knows the traditional Cretan songs and dances and
many can quote the idiosyncratic Mantinades poetry and play Mantinades based
music which is unique to Crete. It is quite common to see locals wearing
national dress during festivals and also not at all unusual to see people
wearing this traditional dress as their everyday garb, especially older
people in the more remote regions of the island.