PLACES TO VISIT IN CRETE - SFAKIA

The Sfakia region is one of the most mountainous, wildest and unspoilt landscapes and contains the most and largest gorges.

The main town of this county is Chora Sfakion, a picturesque harbour where boats from Agia Roumeli dock, bringing the hikers from the Samaria gorge. But despite this, visitors can enjoy the quiet and calm of the village at the seaside cafes and tavernas. Visit http://www.beeinnet.com/ to find where to stay in the Sfakia Region.

Chora Sfakion is famous as one of the centres of resistance. The White Mountains in the north, combined with the rocky beaches in the south, helped the locals to defend their freedom against all invaders.
Not only a paradise for hikers, apart from the gorges Samaria, Aradhena, Anopolis and Imbros, there are also several beaches accessible from Chora Sfakion.

The more adventurous visitor can follow the European hiking footpath, the E4, which crosses Crete from west to east.
Apart from the outstanding natural beauty of the indented rocky shoreline, the small Venetian fortress at Chora Sfakion, built in 1526 as part of a defence system of towers and fortresses and later taken over by the Turks, is worth visiting.
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Palace of Phaestos

The palace of Phaestos stands dominantly on a hill at the edge of the Messara Plain with a wonderful panorama view of the plain to the Asteroussia Mountains and the Ida Range where, according to mythology, King Radamanthes, son of Zeus and brother of King Minos, ruled over the city with the same name and over the south of Crete, 4000 years ago. You can check all arcaheological sites in Crete. make your reservation now through http://www.beeinnet.com/ and visit the Land of Myth and Heart...

The city controlled the whole of the Messara Plain; its ports were Kommos and Matala.
Stone Age settlements covering the whole area up until 2600 BC have been documented.
The building of the first palace took place in 1800 BC and was destroyed in 1700 BC by a huge earthquake. The new palace was built on the foundations of the old one in 1600 BC, but was smaller. A natural disaster completely destroyed the complex in 1450 BC and it was never rebuilt.
Most of the ruins, which are visible today, are from the new palace. Any form of reconstruction was consciously rejected.

The finds of the new palace were not as splendid as those of the old palace. In Phaestos neither rich frescoes nor valuable things were found as in Knossos for example. As valuable finds were made in 3 km distant Villa of Agia Triada, it is assumed that the ruler of Phaestos used the villa as residence.
The Italian archaeologist Fredrico Halbherr, who had mainly been digging at Gortyna, began the excavation of Phaestos in 1900.
The most well known find is the Discus of Phaestos; up until today the script has still not been deciphered.

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CRETAN WINE & RAKI

Wine - the nectar of the gods

For centuries, much mythological and historical information indicated that Crete is the homeland of wine. Archaeological excavations have brought to light the oldest wine preparation system.
The long hours of sunshine, the temperatures, the earth and the sea are the best conditions for the vineyards on Crete.
Wine producing areas are spread over the whole of the island, giving a large choice of local wines ranging from dry white to rose and liqueur wine.

The best-known wine producing areas are Dafnes, Archanes, Peza and Sitia, just to mention a few.

Raki - The diversity

The diversity of raki is apparent as it is drunken in relaxed company with friends, used for cooking and baking, or even for medicinal purposes.
Raki is produced from the must or skins of pressed grapes, and is only allowed to be distilled during the months of August and September. Often the distillation is accompanied by a small celebration with grilled meat and lasting until the early hours of the morning.
Raki has an alcohol volume of 40%. One really should try raki, but shouldn't try to keep up with the consumption of the local inhabitants.

THE CRETAN DIET

The Cretan diet allows Cretans the highest life expectation in the whole of Europe, as doctors and scientists already discovered 15 years ago. A diet of nutrients containing vitamin E, which is to be found in poultry, seafood, wheat and raw or cooked green wild vegetables, protects against heart attacks, as published in a study by the American Heart Society. The fact that simple fatty acids in pure Cretan "extra virgin" olive oil, together with Vitamin E, slow down the oxidation process and protect the arteries against deposits of "bad" cholesterol, was only recently discovered by doctors.

For cooking, use only original, cold pressed olive oil with a fat content of 0,1 - 1% which Cretan cooperative societies and exporters send directly to the supermarkets of Europe.

An absolute must is the enjoyment of a glass of real, pure Cretan red wine, a naturally fermented wine, which ensures you a long and healthy life and which was delivered to all the royal courts of Europe in the Middle Ages by Venetian traders.

HAVE A GOOD JOURNEY WITH BEEINNET.COM !

Every year thousands of sun-hungry tourists visit Crete and search, each in his own way, during the few days of holiday a year, to fulfil the personal ideas, which have become the essence of sensible travel. Some like to educate themselves, others just want to "switch off" and enjoy themselves, some want to just enjoy life on the beach and others just to become conscious of themselves.

We have collected some information for a carefree holiday. The information contains a lot of different useful tips as well as background information about the country and the people.
We hope that our Blog will be of help.
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