One of the recommendations I will have for you is to consider spending the holidays in Crete. It’s one of the most spectacular islands of Greece and definitely one of the main touristic spots of the world.  Here are five reasons why I believe that this is one of the best places to celebrate these festivities:

1 Greece is one of the countries of the western world where traditions continue to be an important part of the everyday life for most people. They continue to celebrate their holidays in an authentic way that will make every visitor feel like the whole country is united in celebration. With roots buried deep in the past, they have a unique way of mixing with the modern trends.

2 The Christmas festivities continue for 12 whole days, and include the Christmas itself, the New Year and Epiphany. That’s plenty of time to enjoy a great time, serve great food and meet incredible people.

3 It’s the perfect time of the year to see the cultural differences between the Greek and the rest of the world. Greece is a Christian Orthodox country and while the core belief is the same, the rituals and festivities involved differ remarkably a lot. Religion plays a big part any Greek’s life.

4 While snow is one of the things that create that fantastic Christmas atmosphere that we all know and love, you’ve most likely seen plenty of snowy holidays. How about trying something new this year and pending the holiday in Crete where although people have never seen snow, they’ve leaned to create an incredible holiday with everything else they’ve got around.

5 The traditional Cretan dish is fantastic! Eating there any day of the year, you will think that there’s way too much food, both in the quantity they serve you and in the range of choices. But wait for the holidays and that’s where you’ll see the true spectrum of available choices. Every cook in Crete will try his best to deliver some of the most tasty and fantastic looking meals.  Inevitably, you will put on a few pounds.

The list can go on and on, but these were the most interesting facts. I hope you got a little more interested in spending your Christmas in Crete and if you will decide to do it, I promise is will be one of the most memorable holidays.

The town is carefully laid out, with multistory buildings and an adequate number of parks, but the seafront is largely hidden by large hotels.

The old town, however, has plenty of surprises for the visitor: Byzantine and Venetian churches side-by-side with minarets, arched passageways, Venetian mansions, Turkish fountains, narrow alleyways and old houses with heavy wooden doors and windows.

The Venetian Harbor In Rethymno

Also in the old town is the little Venetian harbor with its tall houses, vaulted shops and Turkish cannon mounted here and there.

As we walk through the old town, we will see – among other buildings – the Loggia, built in the sixteenth century. This is a fine, square Venetian structure, which was originally used as a meeting and recreation place for the local nobles and aristocrats. Now it houses the Archeological Museum.lo

The Venetian Loggia In Rethymno

The Fortezza, Rethymno’s fortress, stands on Palaiokastro hill to the north of the town. It was built in 1573 by Venetian commander Alviso Lando. Today only the walls have survived (restored), together with cisterns and a mosque with a huge dome: This was originally the Cathedral of St, Nicholas, which was converted by the Turks into a mosque.

The Fortezza Of Rethimno

The Rimondi fountain, on the north side of Petychaki Square, was erected in 1629 on the site of an earlier fountain by Rimondi, a governor of Rethymno.

Among other interesting buildings is the Bishopric, a neo-Classical structure with an absolutely symmetrical facade.

The Rimondi Fountain In Rethymno

The Prefecture Building is also in the neo-Classical style; built in 1869, it has a large number of windows on two storeys. A Turkish school has survived mext to the church of St. Francis, a single-aisle wooden roofed basilica which was used as a poorhouse in the Turkish times, was restored in 1971 and impresses the visitor with its architecture and sculptural ornamentation.

A Typical Street In Rethymno

The Church of Our Lady of the Angels dates from the closing period of the Venetian rule. It is also known as ‘Our Lady the Lesser’, and is located in the old town. Our Lady of the Angels in a three aisle church without a dome, dedicated to St Mary Magdalene by the Dominican order of monks.

The Cathedral of the Presentation of the Virgin, a new church modeled on the Church of the Annunciation on Tinos, has a fine carved wooden screen and good modern wall-paintings. I also preserves an outstanding portable Byzantine icon of Our Lady of Passion, unsigned and undated.

Church In Rethymno

It consists of the Old Town, enclosed by the Venetian walls, and the New Town which has spread outside of these. The walls form a triangle which has the sea as its base and the Martinengo Bastion as its apex.

A tour of the city can take as its starting point the Venetian Harbor, which is to the left of the large modern harbor. It was of an enormous commercial importance as well as a naval base during the Venetians. Of interest here is the Kastro, known as theKoules fortress, at the entrance to the Venetian harbor.

The Herakleio Harbor

This was built by the Venetians to protect the harbor from enemy attack. On its three sides parts of the reliefs of the lion of St Mark built into the walls have survived. Its interior was used for warehouses, a prison, and accommodation for the guards.

The fortress is open to the public, while there is an open-air theatre on top of it. The Venetian walls are the most important monument dating from this part of the city’s history.

They were first built in the 15th century, with additions and improvements in the 16th and 17th. Their main designer was one of the most distinguished military engineers of the 16th century, Michele Sammicheli from Verona. The total length of the triangular walls is three kilometers and they were protected by bastions, all of which have survived of its four gates, three can still be seen.

The Chania Gate on the western side of the walls dates from 1570. On its inner façade a medallion containing a relief bust f Christ as the ruler of All with the inscription (‘Omnipotens’) (‘Almighty’) has been preserved. It is this which has given its alternative name of the Gate of the ‘Pantokrator’ (‘Almighty’).

On the outer façade there is a winged lion of St Mark in the relief and above this another relief bust of the Pantokrator, with an inscription in Greek. This was the gate from which the whole of western Crete was reached.

The other surviving gate is on the south side, the Jesus Gate or New Gate, dating from 1587. On its inner façade it has architectural decorations consisting of an entablature, triglyphs and metopes. In the middle can be seen an inscription giving the date of its construction and the name of the Governor of the day, Mocenigo.

As the wall continues to the south, we come to the Martinengo Bastion. Here, on a platform, is the tomb of Nikos Kazantzakis, with its simple inscription: “I hope for nothing, I fear nothing, I am free”.

Church Of St Titus

About midway along 25 Avgoustou St, which climbs from the Harbor, is the square containing the Church of St Titus, the patron saint of Crete. Its architecture combines various Eastern and Western features, reflecting its troubled history. Here is preserved the head of St Titus, which was returned to the church in 1966 from Venice, where it was taken when Herakleio fell for the Turks.

The loggia at the end of square is the restored Loggia of the Venetians, which houses the Town Hall. This rectangular two-storey building, the centre of the public life of the nobility under Venetian rule, was built in early 16th century. The building which stands on the site today is a faithful reproduction of the old monument.

The Venetian Loggia in Herakleio

The Basilica of St Mark stands in Venizelou of Kritis Square, to which 25 Avgoustou St leads. It was built in 1239 by the Venetians and dedicated to their patron saint. Today, it is used as the premises of the Literary Society and houses a permanent collection of copies of byzantine wall-paintings from various churches in Crete.

Agios Minas Cathedral In Herakleio

The Cathedral Church of St Minas, which is in Ayias Aikaterinis Square, was built between 1862 and 1895 and, in terms of size, is one of the islands most impressive churches. It is in the form of a cross with arms of equal length, topped with a dome.

At the western corner of the Cathedral is the small, older ‘Church of St Minas’, with fine carved wood decorations and 18th century icons, and the old Church of the Presentation of Christ.

Older building of interest include Vikelaian Library, which is housed in the ‘Aktarika’ municipal building, the Public Services Building – once the Turkish barracks and now the prefecture offices and law courts – and the picturesque Public Market.

Fontana Di Morosini

The city has kept fountains from the Venetian period: the Morosini Fountain, in the middle of the Venizelou Square, the Bembo Fountain, in Kornarou Square, and the Priouli or Delimarkou Fountain in Delimarkou ST, in the northern part of the city.

There are five quarters, without any distinct dividing lines between them: Top Hana (or Topanas), Ovriaki, Syntrivani, Splantza (Plaza) and Kastelli. Narrow alleyways twist in and out among the Venetian and Turkish buildings – signs of the conquerors who once ruled over this place.

The Old town is surrounded by fifteenth-century Venetian walls which are a good example of the military architecture of the time. There are also sections of the medieval wall which have been incorporated into later buildings.

Topanas is the westernmost part of the Old Tow, and it has Venetian mansions lining medieval lanes. Under the Turks, this was the aristocratic Christian quarter, and the Great Powers had their consulates here. The name is of Turkish origin, coming from the topia or cannon in the San Salvatore bastion.

The northernmost part of the area, at the entrance to the harbor, is occupied by the Firkas Fortress, built in 1629. This was where the Greek flag was first raised in 1930 to mar the island’s union with Greece.

Now the Fortress houses the Chania Maritime Museum and there is an open-air theatre. Over the entrance towers a Venetian lighthouse, built in the sixteenth century.

To the south of Topanas and to the left of the large Venetian church of St Francis – which now houses the Archeological Museum – is the Jewish Quarter (Ovriaki).

To the south of this area is the Schiavo or Lando Bastion, together with a section of wall. The old quarter of Syntrivani centers around Eleftheriou Venizelou Square, which was the heart of Chania at the time when Crete was independent. All the pioneers of art and intellectual life in early twentieth century Crete met here.

Around stand some old buildings, including the Mosque of Hasan Pasha, and Arab building which now houses the municipal information bureau, and theHarbor Kiosk, on the site of the old customs house.

The Kastelli quarter, on the east side of the harbor, was the acropolis of ancient Cydonia. In 1252, the Venetians used the site to build their Castel Vecchio, perhaps because of some sort of Byzantine fortress was already in position there.

The palazzo of the Venetian governor of Chania stood of the highest point. Later, under the Turks, the pashas had their quarters there. Today, none of the buildings in this district has survived with the exception of the north side of the wall.

The Splantza or Plaza quarter is to the north-east of Chania, close to Kastelli and the harbor with its boat-sheds built by the Venetians in the late fifteenth century. Today, nine of the twenty three arches under which ships were once repaired have survived.

The square in this part of the town is dominated by the Church of St Nicholas, once a part of Dominican monastery, which the Turks converted into The Mosque of Sultan Ibrahim.

Behind the church is the little Venetian chapel of St Rocco, with the Church of Sts Cosmas and Damien a little further on. This was a Turkish quarter under Ottoman rule.

Among the walls, the best-known districts are Kum Kapi (the name means ‘sea gate’), the attractive and historic district of Halepa, Kainourgia Chora and Bolari.

Crete lies in the south of the Aegean Sea, in the centre of the East Mediterranean basin, at the point where Europe, Asia and Africa meet.

It is oriented east-west and is a long and narrow island, thus explaining its ancient name Dolichi (long). On the north coast there are large bays and sandy beaches, while on the south – the side facing the Libyan Sea – the indentations of the coastline are much smaller. Souda Bay, up the north coast, is the largest natural harbor.

There are a number of islets – Ayii Theodori, Ayii Pantes, Spinalonga, Pseira and Gavdos to the south, all uninhabited save the last – scattered around its coast. Gavdos has been identified with Calypso’s island in the Odyssey.

The terrain of Crete is very variable. In the west, orange groves alternate with mountain plateaus, and in eastern Crete palm trees interrupt verdant mountain slopes on which olives and vines grow. Yet most of Crete is mountainous, with three major mountain ranges – the White Mountains, Ida Mountain (or Psiloritis) and Diktis Mountains (or the Lasithi Mountains) – crossing the entire island and rising to heights of 2500 meters.

There are mountain plateau high among the summits, fertile plains (especially inn the south) and numerous gorges. Rivers are short and few in number and there is only one lake – Lake Kourma – beautifully situated in the Prefecture of Chania (sub prefecture of Apokoronou).

Crete also has a wealth of caves. Most of them have been known since Neolithic times, when they were used as human habitations and as religious sanctuaries. The Diktaean Cave and the Idaean Cave are the most important caverns.

The climate of Crete varies sharply from the mountains down to the coast via the plains. In general, however, the climate is Mediterranean – indeed, it is the mildest and healthiest to be found anywhere in Europe. Thanks to this variety of natural and climatological features, Crete has an unusually wide range of agricultural products, many of them cultivated al year round.

The island produces olives, grapes, citrus fruits, aromatic and medicinal herbs, garden products, bananas, avocados and kiwi fruit. There are extensive forests, and flowers, bushes and herbs grow in abundance – including Cretan dittany (Origanum dictamus), whose medicinal powers have been known since ancient times.

The fauna of Crete is rich too, and can boast a unique species of wild goat (locally known as the kri-kri or agrimi), which lives in the Samaria Gorge, the ravines of the White Mountain and on the surrounding islets.

Stock-breeding and fishing play an important part in life on Crete. Sheep and goats are bred, and dairy products of exceptional quality – graviera (the Greek Gruyere), anthotyros and myzithra – are easy to find.

With a population of over 500.000, Crete is one of the ten Greek regions. It consists of four Prefectures: those of Chania (with its capital Chania), Rethymno (Rethymno), Herakleio (Herakleio) and Lasithi (Ayios Nikolaos).

The main road winds up into the mountains, through Prases (a charming village with many Venetian houses), Potami with its fertile fields, Apostoli and Ayia Foteini.

From here, a turning to the left will take us to Thronos on the hill called Throniani Kefala, which has a superb view of Psiloritis Mountain.

If we go strait on at Ayia Foteini, we will come to the Asomaton Monastery, which since 1927 has functioned as a School of Farming, and to Amari, a little upland village which is the ‘capital’ of the Amari sub prefecture

In order to continue our route, we return to the main road at the Asomaton Monastery and head south, in the direction of the pretty port of Ayia Galini on the safe Bay of Messara, looking out to the Libyan Sea.

In the space of just a few years, Ayia Galini has changed from being a simple fishing village into a bustling resort. Along the coast to the west of the village are caves which can be visited only by boat.

Near Ayia Galini we can visit Tymbaki, in the midst of a fertile farming area, the settlement of Kokkinos Pyrgos (‘red tower’: there is a medieval structure which answers this description), and Kalyviani Monastery.

To return to Rethymno we take the road through Spili, chief town of the Ayios Vasileios sub prefecture. This very attractive village stands on an outcrop on the south-western slopes of Kedros Mountain.

The setting is verdant, with numerous streams, and the courtyards of the houses are full of flowers. The little square with its 25 fountains were, where cool water pours from sculpted lion’s heads, will revive and relax us shortly before the return route ends and we reach Rethymno.

Here we can turn south to visit Margarites, the village where the famous storage jars are made in the ancient style, and Eleftherna, which occupies the site of an ancient city.

Ancient Eleftherna is approximately 30km to the south-east of Rethymno, in the foothills of Psiloritis Mountain (Ida), at an altitude of approximately 380meters above sea-level. The inhabited area was widespread, focusing on two nuclei on natural outcrops: Prine Hill and the flat hilltop on which the modern village now stands.

We can continue from here in the easterly direction, after Mourtziana we will come to the village of Garazo, in a verdant valley through which flows the river Oaxos or Yeropotamos. The same river also passes through the village of Axos, which stands below and ancient city called Axos or Oaxos.

Some of the inhabitants of Axos were compelled by Venetian persecution to flee further r to the east, where the founded the village of Axika Anoyeia or Xinganoyeia; this takes its name from the word ‘ano’, ‘up’, in the reference to the altitude of the village, high on the northern slopes of Ida Mountain just below the peak known as Armi.

Anoyeia is one of the most important centers for handcrafts and cottage industries in Crete, and it is also the starting point for the ascent of Ida Mountain (Psiloritis), with access to the Idaean Cave.

At Zominthos are traces of a Minoan villa discovered during recent excavations; further along, up a step path is the Idaean Cave. The cave is located on the superb Nida Plateau on Psiloritis, at an altitude of 1538meters; the local shepherds call it the ‘Shepherd Girl’s Cave’.

The cavern became a place to worship in Neolithic times, and retained this function in the Minoan era. In the Hellenistic and Roman periods it retained much of its glory, but with the coming of Christianity it ceased to have any religious importance and became shelter for shepherds.

According to the myths, Rhea gave birth to Zeus in the Diktaean Cave and then brought him here to hide him from his father Kronos, who would have swallowed him.

After returning to Anoyeia, we can either head west back to Rethymno or east for Herakleio.

After driving through olives groves and oak forests we reach Armeni, at an altitude of 380m. In the vicinity, 167 shaft tombs hewn out of the rock have been found.

After 19km we come to a turning on our right, which leads to the village of Ayios Vasileios  and the Kotsyfou Gorge. The road straight ahead leads thrugh the wonderful Kourtaliotiko Gorge, by which the Kourtaliotikos River passes between Kouroupa Mountain and Xiro Oros Mountain.

As we emerge from the gorge, shortly before the village of Asomatos, a road to the left leads through a verdant landscape to Preveli Monastery, which  stands high on a bare rock looking out to the sea.

The Monastery, dedicated to St John the Divine, was founded in the sixteenth or seventeenth century. Like almost all the monasteries in Crete, it had an important part to play in the island’s struggle for freedom.In the Monastery is a gold crucifix studded with pieces of the True Cross and precious stones which is believed to be wonderworking.

A footpath sets out across the rocks from the Monastery and leads us to one of the most idyllic natural settings in south Crete, Preveli beach, where the Kourtaliotikos River runs into the sea.

We return to Asomatos and continue our itinerary, hading left. Along this route we will come to Myrthios, a village on a naturally amply theatrical site with a view towards the Libyan Sea, and Plakias, which has developed into a popular tourist resort.

From here, short trips can be made by caique to Frangokastello, Preveli Monastery and Ayia Galini. To the north-east of Myrthios is the Kotsyfou Gorge, between Kouroupa Mountain and Kryoneritis Mountain.

At the end of the gorge the road passes through the mountain villages of Ayios Ioannis and Ayios Vasileios, the latter of which gave its name to the entire sub prefecture, and then join the road back to Rethymno.

After 16 km. along the road we can turn left to visit the village of Ayios Konstantinos, with attractive villas and mansions which have been the summer residence of the Venetian overlords of Rethymno.

In Roustika, nearby, is the Monastery of the Prophet Elijah.

We continue along the main road, traveling through the fertile valley of the river Mouselas to Megali Episkopi, the last village in the Prefecture of Rethymno in a western direction. From this point we can visit Argyroupouli, a village which stands on a charming site at an altitude of 260m., between the Mouselas and Petre rivers.

Here the road divides. If we bear right, we will reach the pretty village of Asi Gonia, in the sub prefecture of Apokoronou. The village stands at an altitude of 480m and will provide a relaxing note with plentiful streams and abundant shade. Since Venetian times, Asi Gonia has been the natural frontier between Rethymno and Chania areas.

In facts, it is now administratively part of the prefecture of Chania, but access to it is easier from the Rethymno side.

Its natural position – easy to fortify and difficult to approach – made it a center for Cretan revolutionaries, as its name, meaning “Rebel’s Corner”, implies (the Arabic word “asi” means “brave fellow” and, by extension, “rebel”).

Turning left in Argyroupoli will bring us to the mountain village of Myriokefala, whose name comes from the “myriad” (“many”) “kefala” (“hills”) in the vicinity. The area is well known for the Myriokefalon Monastery, built at an altitude of 500m, which has its feast day on the 8th of September.

The inaccessibility of the site on which the monastery stands combined with the manner of its construction – with high thick walls – to determine the history.

The monastery consists of a fortified block with two main entries, guesthouses, a refectory, cellars and a gunpowder store. It may have been founded in the second period of Byzantine rule (by a monk called Arkadios), or perhaps in the sixteenth century, if we were to believe the inscriptions on the bell tower.

Arkadi Monastery

The main church is a two-aisled basilica dedicated to St. Constantine and the Transfiguration of Our Lord.

On 7-9 November each year, there are celebrations to mark the anniversary of the holocaust of the Monastery, which took place in 1899, when its defenders blew the gunpowder store – and themselves – so as to not fall into the hands of the Turks.

In the museum of the Monastery you can find a collection of remains, including the bones of the freedom fighters killed when the Monastery exploded.