Crete is the largest and the most populous Greek island. And one of the islands you should visit!
So let’s find out some trivia and facts about this island!
- Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands
- The 88th largest island in the world
- And the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea
- After Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and Corsica
- It bounds the southern border of the Aegean sea
- Crete lies approximately 160 km (99 mi) south of the Greek mainland
- With an area of 8,336 km2 (3,219 sq mi)
- And a coastline of 1,046 km (650 mi)
- Crete is a recognisable feature of the islands of Greece
- Crete and a number of surrounding islands and islets constitute the region of Crete
- The southernmost of the 13 top-level administrative units of Greece
- The region is the fifth most populous region of Greece
- Its capital and largest city is Heraklion
- Located on the northern shore of the island
- As of 2011, the region had a population of 623,065
- The Dodecanese are located to the northeast of Crete
- While the Cyclades are situated to northwest, separated by the Sea of Crete
- The Peloponnese is to the region’s northwest
- Humans have inhabited the island before 130,000 years ago
- During the Paleolithic age
- Crete was the centre of Europe’s first advanced civilization, the Minoans, from 2700 to 1420 BC
- The Minoan civilization was overrun by the Mycenaean civilization from mainland Greece
- Later, Crete would fall under Roman rule
- And afterwards the Byzantines Empire, Arabs, the Venetian Republic, and the Ottoman Empire successively ruled Crete
- The Cretan people, who maintained a desire to join the Greek state, achieved independence from the Ottomans in 1898 as the Cretan State
- And became part of Greece in December 1913
- The island is mountainous
- And its character is defined by a high mountain range crossing from west to east
- The range of Lefka Ori contains Crete’s highest point, Mount Ida
- Crete forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece
- While retaining its own local cultural traits
- Such as its own poetry and music
- The Nikos Kazantzakis at Heraklion and the Daskalogiannis airport at Chania serve international travellers
- The palace of Knossos, a Bronze Age settlement and ancient Minoan city, lies in Heraklion in Crete
- The island is first referred to as Kaptara in texts from the Syrian city of Mari dating from the 18th century BC
- Repeated later in Neo-Assyrian records and the Bible (Caphtor)
- It was also known in ancient Egyptian as Keftiu
- Strongly suggesting a similar Minoan name for the island
- The current name of Crete is thought to be first attested in Mycenaean Greek texts written in Linear B
- In Ancient Greek, the name Crete first appears in Homer’s Odyssey
- Its etymology is unknown
- In Latin, it became Creta
- In 2002, the paleontologist Gerard Gierlinski discovered fossil footprints left by ancient human relatives 5,600,000 years ago
- Crete was the centre of Europe’s first advanced civilization, the Minoan (c. 2700–1420 BC)
- This civilization wrote in the undeciphered script known as Linear A
- Early Cretan history is replete with legends such as those of King Minos, Theseus and the Minotaur
- Passed on orally via poets such as Homer
- The volcanic eruption of Thera may have been the cause of the downfall of the Minoan civilization
- Crete was one of the most popular holiday destinations in Greece
- 15% of all arrivals in Greece come through the city of Heraklion (port and airport)
- While charter journeys to Heraklion seven years ago made up 20% of all charter flights in Greece
- Overall, more than two million tourists visited Crete some years back
- The increase in tourism was reflected in the number of hotel beds
- Rising by 53% in the period between 1986 and 1991
- Today, the island’s tourism infrastructure caters to all tastes
- Including a very wide range of accommodation
- The island’s facilities take in large luxury hotels with their complete facilities, swimming pools, sports and recreation, smaller family-owned apartments, camping facilities and others
- Visitors reach the island via two international airports in Heraklion and Chania and a smaller airport in Sitia
- Or by boat to the main ports of Heraklion, Chania, Rethimno, Agios Nikolaos and Sitia
- Popular tourist attractions include the archaeological sites of the Minoan civilisation, the Venetian old city and port of Chania, the Venetian castle at Rethymno, the gorge of Samaria, the islands of Chrysi, Elafonisi, Gramvousa, Spinalonga and the Palm Beach of Vai, which is the largest natural palm forest in Europe
