Crete: splendours and mythology

Crete Special feature

Charged with a millennium's worth of history, Crete attracts those who are fascinated by legends, delighted to then find that it is equally endowed with superb beaches and blessed with a relaxed Mediterranean atmosphere. At the crossroads of the Orient, the Occident and Africa, the island was constantly the target of numerous conquerors who have left evidence of their cultures here and there. If the Byzantines, the Venetians and then the Ottomans developped specific architecture which the island's town still echo, they were not able however to completely wipe out the incredible wealth of a millennium under the Ancient Greeks in general and more specifically the Minoan civilisation.

Contents

• 1

  The island at the cross roads of civilisations

  
• 2

  An island bringing together the past and present

  
• 3

  The sources of the Cretan diet

  
• 4

  The clemency of the skies

  
• 5

  Wild Crete, birthplace of Zeus

  
• 6

  The north coast: bays, beaches and lagoons

  
• 7

  The south coast: Crete's Garden of Eden

  
• 8

  The towns: from the traditional to the ancient

  
• 9

  In the footsteps of the Kingdom of Minos

  
• 10

  Cretan stroll: between religion and tradition