I

nfoP
ackHe
rak
li
on
 Cr
ete
Cr ete(Gr eek: ,Kr
ti['kriti
];Anci entGr eek: ,Krt )isthelargestandmostpopul ousof
theGr eeki slands,andt hef i
fth-l
ar gestisl
andi nt heMedi t
erraneanSea.Cr eteandanumberof
sur roundi ngi slandsandi sletsconst it
utether egionofCr ete),oneoft he13t op-l
eveladmi nist
ra-
tiveuni tsofGr eece.Thecapi t
alandt helar gestcityi sHer akli
on.Asof2011,t her egionhada
popul ationof623, 065.
Cr etefor msasi gni f
icantpar toft heeconomyandcul t
uralher i
tageofGr eece,whi l
er etainingits
ownl ocalcul turalt r
aits(suchasi tsownpoet r
yandmusi c).Itwasoncet hecent reoft heMi noan
civili
zation( c.27001420BC) ,whi chiscur rentlyregar dedast heear l
iestrecordedci vil
izati
oni n
Eur ope. Her akl i
oni sthelar gestci tyandcapi talofCr ete.Thepr inci
palciti
esar e:
Her aklion( IraklionorCandi a)( 173, 993inhabitants)
Chani a( Hani )( 108,642inhabi tants) Rethymno( 34,300inhabitant
s)
Ierapet ra( 23, 707i nhabitant s) AgiosNi kolaos(19,462inhabitant
s)
Si t
ia(14, 338i nhabi t
ants)

He
rac
li
on
Irakli
on (GR:
-also transli
terated asHer akli
on orHer aklei
on)ist he l
argestur ban
cent reinCrete,t hecapit
aloft heregionandt heeconomi ccent reoft heisl
and.Thef i
rstEur ope-
an civi
li
sation,t heMinoanci vi
li
sation,flourishedont hisland5000year sago.Cur rent l
yt he
popul ati
onoft hemuni ci
pali
tyofHer aklioni sappr oxi
mat ely150.000peopl e.Itisaver ydynami c
andcosmopol itant own,particularl
ydur ingt hesummerper i
odwhent housandsofvi si
tor scan
beseenshoppi ngi nthemarketorvi sit
ingt hemuseumsandot herplacesofi nterest.Dur i
ngt he
l
ast20year st heci tyhasmadeal soar emar kablepr ogressi ntheacademi candt echnol ogi cal
fi
elds .
Her akli
onliesal ongt heNorthcoastoft heisland,havi ngt othewestatabout80km t het ownof
Ret hymnonandat135km t heci t
yofHani a.Tot heeasti sthet ownofAgi osNi kol
aos( 60km)and
thet ownofSi tia( 130km).
 Ac
ces
s
TheHer akli
onai rport(HER),namedaf tert heCr et anwr it
erNi kosKazant zaki
s,isoneoft hebig-
gestinGr eeceandr eceivesappr oximat ely15% oft hetotalt
our i
sttraf
fi
cofGr eece.Her akli
on's
airporti
sabout5km eastoft heci ty.Majorcar -rent alcompani eshavedesksatt heair
port.Taxiand
publicbusar eavai lablef
ortr ansf erfrom/ t
oI r
aklion.
Irakl
ional sor eceivesal otofvi sit
orsbyboat .Ther ear edai l
yferrytri
pst oandf rom Pei r
aeus
(Athens' port)
,andmanyweekl yonest oandf r
om ot herisl
andsandt ownsi nGreece.Thet erminal
atHer aklionpor tiswithi
nwal kingdi stancef rom t het own'scent erandt hereisplentyoft axi
st o
takevisitorstothei rdest
inations .
TheCr etei nt
rar egionalBust ermi nalisal solocat edcl oset otheport.

F
aci
l
iti
est
ovi
si
tor
s
Her akliont oday ,asamoder ntown,hasext ensivef acil
iti
est hatcat erf orallneedsofi t
svisitors.
Ther eisal otofhot elsr angingf rom Luxur ycl asstosmal lr
ent -a-room andyout hhostelsoper at-
ingal lyearr ound.Mostoft hem ar el ocatedi ntheol dtown.
Travelbur eausof fer i
ng ex cursionsand speci alevent s,carhi recompani esand ot hert ourist
relatedagenci esar eal socloset otheol dtown' scent erandt hepor t.
Asf arasent ertai
nmentgoest heopt ionsar eal mostunl i
mi ted.Her akliotesar eapeopl et hat
enjoygoi ngoutal ot,eitherf orlunch,di nner,acof f
eeoradr ink,oral loft hem -t heweat her,of
cour se,hel psal ott othi s.Sot herei splent yofr estaur ant
s,f ami lytaver ns,luxurycaf -snack
bar s,traditional coffeeshops( Kaf eneia),musi chal l
swi thtraditional Cr et
anorBouzouki (
Rebet i
-
casongs) ,di scos,smal lpubsandmusi cbar s,eitherindoor sorout door s,opent hroughoutt he
yearandf requent edbyvi si
torsandl ocalsalike.
Her aklion,bei ngthebusi nesscent erofthear ea,haspl entyofst oressel l
ingcl othes,shoes,jew-
eler yetc.St or esar eopeni nt hemor ning(9a. m.to2p. m.)andi nt heeveni ng(5p. m.to9p. m. )
witht heex cept i
onoft heeveni ngsofMonday ,WednesdayandSat urday .
Cu
ltu
ral
Lif
e
Herakli
on'sl
onghi storyandcosmopoli
tancharact
erisrefl
ectedtoi
tsr i
chcultur
alli
fethroughout
theyear.A wealthofcul t
uralevent
sfr
om music& dancer ecit
alst
ot heat
ricalperf
ormances,t o
l
ectures,toartexhibit
ionsandmuchmor earehostedinthemanyprivateorpublicplacesthatthe
cit
yoffers
.

I
mpor
tan
tVe
nue
soft
heCi
ty
Comi ngt oHer aklionf ort hef ir
stt i
me,t hevi sitornowadaysmaybesomewhatsur pr
isedbyt he
changest hatar et akingpl acei nCr et
e''scapi talcity;Her akli
oni scel ebrat
ingi tsr i
chhistoryand
movi ngonwar dstoaf uturef ullofpot ential.
Wher e,atonet i
me,t henumberofcar si nt heci t
ycent rewoul dhavemadewal kingdiffi
cult
,you
willnow f i
ndl argeci ty-cent r
espacescl ear edoft raf f
ic.Youcanenj oywalkingi noneoft hemost
historicallyandsoci allyfasci natingcitiesf aci ngt heMedi terranean,onst reetsf reefrom traffi
c
noiseandr ush.Theci tyhasopenedupi nsomanyways,maki ngt hecityapl aceofdi scover y.
Thesechangesbr ingahar monyt oo;bet weent hetr aditionallywar m,consider atepeopl eofHer -
aklion,andt hefinebui ldingst hatsur roundus,t heopenpubl icspacesandvi ewsovert heocean.
Manyl andmar kstelltheirst oryaboutt heci t
yandt hei slandt hatgavebi rt
ht ogods,t or ebelli
on,
andt oapl acet hatinspi resever yonewhof eel sthespi ritofCr et e.
Her akliont odayi sli
vingbet weent hef astmovi ngcur rent sofr egener ati
onandadeepdesi r eto
mai ntainl i
nkswi thapast .Bot ht hesest r andsdef inei tschar acter.Inthel asthundr edyear s
alone,wehaveseenhugechanges,whi chcanbequi teeasi l
yfol l
owed,i nbui l
dingsandst reets
thatr eflectthechangi ngf ortunesofCr ete.The ol dt own' 'areasoft heci ty
,est abli
shedf rom
medi aevalt imes,now of fervisitorssomef ant asticwal ksi nthehear toftheci ty.
Kou
lesa
ndh
arbou
r
Ifyoubegi nawal kar oundHer aklion,st arti
ngatt hef i
shinghar bourcl oset otheRoccaal Mar e,but
i
snow knownbyi tsTur ki
shname,Koul es.Ithasami xedhi story;forcent uri
esi twasusedaspr o-
tectionagainstinvader s,aswer ethegr eatci tywal l
sanddi tches .Thesear eamongt hel ongestci t
y
wal l
si nEurope.
Withi tshugedar khal lwaysandcel l
s,t hef ort
resswasal soapr i
sont omanyCr etanr ebel sand
thosewhobr oket her ulesi mposedbysuccessi veoccupi er sofCr ete.Koulesisbui ltont wot i
ers
andof f
ersacommandi ngvi ew ofHer akl i
onf r
om t hebat tl
ement s.Nowadays,t hehar bouri tselfis
homet obr i
ghtlycol our edfishingboat sandbusyt avernassel l
ingfr eshfi
sh.
Looki ngbackt owar dst heci tyyouwi l
lseet hestrongar cheswhi chhousedboat sunderr epai rand
wer eusedasanar senalf orst oringgunsandgunpowder .Thegr eatestthreatt ot heVenet ian
strongholdofHer akli
on,orCandi a,asi twasnamed,wast houghtt ocomef rom t heseawar dsi de
oft heci t
y,andi ndeed,manynavalski rmisheswer ef oughtof fthi scoast.Thevi ew nor thwar d
takesi nt he uninhabi ted island ofDi a,wher e evidence ofanci entMi noan set tl
ement( appr ox
2700- 1450BC)wasf oundbyt hedi ver,JacquesCoust eau.Boatt ripscanbebookedf r
om t ravel
shopst hr
oughoutcent ralHer akli
on,ascanex cursionst ovar iouspl acesofi nt
er est.

2
5tho
fAu
gus
tSt
ree
t
Thecarf r
ee25AugustSt .isdirect l
yopposi tetheOl dHar bourandext endst oLionSquar e.I t
takesitsnamef r
om amassacr eof mar t yrs''
whi choccur redi n1898.Thisinvolvedtheki ll
ingof
manyCr etansand,cr uci
ally
,Br i
tishint hi sar ea,byt heTur ks,fi
nall
yforcingthe GreatPower s''
(Brit
ain,FranceandRussi a)tor ecogni zeCr ete'
'sst ruggle.Theseevent sl edevent uall
yt ot he
declarati
onofaCr etanSt ateand,f inally,uni fi
cationwi thGr eecein1913.Ol dandmoder nbui l
d-
ingscompet ef orspacenow ont hest reetnamedt oremember25t hAugust .
Walkingupt heshor thill
,andpassi ngt heshopsandt ouri
stof f
ices,wer eachSt .Titus'
'Cat he-
dral,animpr essivesi ght.SaintTi
t us,af ellowt ravellerofSai ntPaul,preachedt hegospel inCr et e
during Roman r ule and wasmar tyred i n Gor tyn,wher e a 7th Centurybasi l
ica standsi n hi s
memor y
.Hi schur chi nHer akli
onwasbui ltdur i
ng thesecond Byzant i
neper i
od,wheni tf i
r st
servedast heci t
y''
scat hedral.Dur ingVenet i
anr ule,ithousedt heseatoft heCat hol
icarchbi sh-
opandwasr enovatedi n1466,onl yt ober uinedi naf i
rei n1544.
Dur i
ngt heTur kishOccupat i
oni tservedasamosqueandcal ledVi zierTzami ,whenami nar etwas
added,now gone.Thepr esent-dayst ructur ei st her esultoff urtherr enovati
onsaf teri t
sal most
entir
edest ructionbyast rongear t
hquakei n1856,andl at erwor kwhi chfoll
owedi n1922.Theskul l
ofStTi tuswast ransferredher ef r
om Veni cei n1956andhassi ncebeenkepti nt hechur ch.Ift he
cathedralisopenwhenyouvi si
t,itiswel lwor t
hgoi ngi n.
Alitt
lefurtherandyoudi scovert heVenet ianar chitect ur eoft heLoggi awhichf unct i
onedasacl ub
forthenobi l
it
yt ogat herandr el
ax.TheLoggi aisawonder f
ulexampl eofVenet ianbui lding unmi s-
takeablewi t
hi tssemi -circularar ches,itwasbui l
tint he16t hcent ur yandwasl ocat edi nthePi azza
deiSi gnor i(Squar e of t he Admi nistr
ative Aut hor i
ties).Today ,t he Loggi a,decor ated wi t h
sculpturedcoatofar ms,t rophiesandmet opes,housespar toft het own-hallofHer akli
on.The
Loggiawasawar dedt heEur opaNost r
af i
r stpr i
zei n1987f ort hebestr enovatedandpr eser ved
Europeanmonumentoft heyear .
St.Mar k''
sBasi lica,almostnextdoor ,i snow t heMuni cipalAr tGal l
er yandof tenhostt oar tand
craftsexhibiti
ons,al mostal waysopent ovi sit
.Bui ltin1239i nt hePi azzadelleBi ade( Squar eof
Blades),itwasatonet i
met heCat hedralofCr et e.TheBasi l
icabel ongedt ot her ei gningDuke,
eventuallybecomi nghi sbur ialplace.
InMay2006,t heBasi lli
cawashostt otheFi rstI nter national Conf erenceonEt hicsandPol i
tics,fea-
turi
ngspeaker sf rom allovert hewor l
d.Youwi llwel comei tscool ,di gnifi
edinteriorandmaybegi n
tofeelthegr eatageoft hiscityini t
svener abl ewal l
s .

L
ion
dar
ia
,orL
ionSqu
are
Thisi st hehear tofHer aklionwher et our istsandl ocalsshar et hesmal lspacear oundt hef oun-
tain,ex changi nggl ancesandper hapsaf ew wor ds.Busi nessandpl easur ecombi neher e,andi t
i
st hepl acet omeetf orwhat everpur poseornopur pose.Togi vesomebackgr ound,i tmightal so
be cal l
ed t he Mor osiniFount ai
n or ,Liondar iai n Gr eekor ,mor e proper ly,Pl ateia Eleft
her iou
Veni zelou,af t
erVeni zelos,Cr ete''sgreatestmanofst ate.Thedecor atedf ount ai
ni scomposedof
eightci sternsanddecor at edwi thstoner el
ief,depi ctingfiguresofGr eekmyt hol ogy,Nymphs,
Tritons,seamonst ersanddol phi ns,whilet hemai nbasi ni ssuppor t
edbyf oursi t
t i
ngl ionsbal anc-
i
ngaci r cul
arbowl ont heirheads .Itwasl eftbyFr ancescoMor osi ni
,theI tal
iangover norwhohad
i
tbui l
ttocommemor ateVenet i
ansuccessi nbr i
ngingmuchneededwat er,throughabr i
ll
iant l
y
execut edvi aductsyst em f rom MountYoucht as,tot hecent reoft heci ty.Mor osi niwasst il
lin
char gewhent heTur kscapt uredt hecity.Nowadaysi tisalwaysi nteresting,thehubar oundwhi ch
Her aklionr evolves.
Noneedt obehungr yher e.Thebougat sas,orvani l
lacr eam pi es,ar egr eatf orbr eakfast,and
ther ear epl entyofomel ette,cr epeandsouvl akipl acesar ound.Youwi l
lalwaysbegi venwat er
whenyousi ttoor dersomet hing,andmi ghtwel lbechar medi ntosi tt
ingf orqui teawhi l
einanyof
thesewor t
hwhi leest abli
shment s .Ont hef arsi deoft hesquar e,youmi ghtpr efert herenewed
HandakosSt reet,now cl osedt ot raff
ic.Handakos,abusyt hor oughfar esi nceant i
quity
,i san
attractivepl acet owal k,shoporr est.
Th
eMa
rke
t
Wal kslowl ythrought heAgor a,theMar ketStreetthatr unsal ongsideashoppi ngboul evardcal led
1866,af teraCr et anupr i
sing.
From topt obot tom,wi thsomeshadedsi dewaysexi ts,t hisoldMar ketStreeti ssti
llapl acef or
Herakliotes''t
ocomeever ydayt ofindsocks,shir t
s,her bs,fishandf reshmeat .It
''
sagoodpl ace
tof i
nd t hyme honey ,raki(the Cretan cl
earspi rit)from among shopssel l
ing ever yt
hing from
selectionsofCr etanmusi ct othefinestcheese.Thi smar kethasal onghi story,alwaysapl acet o
meetandmakepl ans.Wal ktheside-str
eetsandyouwi llsmel lgoodCr etanfoodandf eelthebuzz
aroundyou.
Cafsher edonotdi st
inguishmuchbet weenGr eeksandf oreigners,neitherdot heinexpensi ve
eating housest hatser vegood f ood toallwhoent er.Ther ear esomet ouri
stt raps,butal lar e
fri
endlyandof fergoodqual it
y.Atthetopend,att helastt urn,findthef i
shmar ketandsomegr eat
li
tt
lefishouzer ies( smallerandlessformal t
hanat aver na)t hatfil
lupatnightandpr ovideex cel
lent,
simple,seaf ood.

Pl
ate
iaKor
nar
ou
PlateiaKornarou l i
esatt het opoft hemar ket ,withal ovel
yVenet ianf ountainofi tsown,t he
BemboFount ain,probabl ytheol dest ,anditbear ssomever ygooddecor ation,al t
houghi thas
ceasedt ofount.TheBemboFount ainwasbui ltin1588byVenet ianarchit
ectZuanneBembo.I tis
decor at
edwi t
hcol umns,Venet ianf ami l
ycoat s-of-armsandaheadl essmal est at
ue,br oughther e
fr
om I er
apetra.Atonet i
me,peopl ebel i
evedt hatt hest at
uehadsuper naturalpower sand,ever y
May ,rel
igi
ousr it
ualswer eor gani sedi nitshonour .Theat mospher i
ckaf eneioal ongsi deit,stil
l
servingGreekcof feeandaper it
if
sf rom anant iquestonepavi l
lionatitscentre,isagr eatremind-
erofCr ete'
's Turkish past.The Pl atei
ai t
sel fis named aft erVitsenzos Kor nar os (1553 to
appr ox.
1614),composeroft he epi c poem Er ot
okr i
tos,which isregular l
yper formed ar ound
Crete,andstill
evokespr i
deinever yCr etanhear t
.From here,itiscl
oset oAgi osMi nasCat hedr al
or,i
nt heopposi t
edi rect
ion,Freedom Squar e.
Agi
osMi
nasCa
the
dra
l
Youwi llf
indpl entyofl if
ear oundt hewi despacei nfrontoft hecat hedr al
,dedi catedtothePat r
on
SaintofHer akli
onandoneofGr eece''
slar gestchur ches,compl et edi nacr uciform shapewi th
twint ower s.Thechur chsuf fereddamagei nt hebat tl
esf ortheci t
yandneededt hirt
yyear st obe
rebui l
t.In1896i twasi naugur atedwi t
hlavishcel ebrations.
Thepl ateiaalsocont ainsawonder fulcollectionofr el
igi
ousi conpai ntings,housed insidet he
strongwal lsoft hemuchol derchur chofAgi osMi nas,andt heBasi l
icaofAgi aEkaterini,(Saint
Kat herine)builtin1555andt hesi teofar enownedschoolofRenai ssancepai ntersandwr it
ersi n
the16t hand17t hCent uries.Insidethechur chcanbeseent hewor kofMi kailDamaski nosamong
otherr epresentativesoft heCr et
anSchool .Thepl ateia(squar e)her et akesi t
snamef r
om t his
chur ch,r at
hert hant hegr eatcat hedral.

Pl
ate
iaEl
eft
her
ia
s,orF
ree
domSqu
are
The spaci ousPl at
eia El
eft
her iasiswor t
h expl
oring,bui l
ti n a crescentshape al ongside the
Archaeol ogicalMuseum andcl osetoHer akli
on'
'smuni ci
palbui l
di ngsandt hemai nfor ei
gnCon-
sulates.Apar tfr
om breathi
ngspace,i tof f
erstheshadedpar kofGeor giades,afinepl acetorest
thefeetandwat chthebusiesti nter
sectioninHerakli
on.Ont heseawar dsideoft hesquar eisthe
entrancet oSt .George''
sGat e,usedf rom Veneti
ant i
mesasapassagebet weent heci tyandi t
s
port,theent ranceisdownst onest eps,leadingt
oanat mospher icdome- roofedchamberandt he
lowerexi t.Thepassagemayst il
lbeaccessedandi sof t
ent hevenuef orar texhibi
tions.Iti
sal l
thatremai nsnow ofani mpor tantmedi aevalent
rancet otheci ty.
Ar
cha
eol
ogi
cal
Mus
eum(Wewi
l
lvi
si
tth
isv
enu
etoge
the
r)
Thewor l
df amousHer akli
onAr chaeologicalMuseum wasbui ltbet ween1937and1940onasi te
thathad beenoccupi ed dur ing theVenet i
anPer iod byani mposi ng Catholi
cmonast er yofSt .
Francis,whi chwasdest royed byt heear thquakeof1856.TheMuseum housesar chaeol ogi
cal
fi
ndsf rom alloverCr ete.Pr i
deofpl acegoest othet reasuresoft heear li
estEur opeanci vil
izati
on,
theMi noan,whi chcanher ebeadmi r
edi nal li
tshi storicalcontinuity.
Youmayl eavePl ateiaEleftheriasbylooki ngt othel eftoftheci nema,cal l
edAst oria,toashoppi ng
streetcall
edDai dalou,namedaf t
erDai dalos,thet eacherofI kar oswhof l
ew toocl oset ot hesuni n
hisef f
ortstoleaveCr ete.Itisachi cshoppi ngst r
eett hatbor der s,ont heright,ani nterestingol d
sectionknownasKor ai,thepl aceforsmar tHer akliotestogoatni ght,withsomever yi nteresting
caf''
sandbar sandani ght-t
imepar tyat mospher e.Att hefarendofDai dal
ou,your etur nHer ak-
li
on''sfamousLi onSquar e.

Ammou
dar
aBe
ach
Ammoudar aBeach-ofHer akli
on-ver ycl
oset ot hewestoft hecapital.Assuchitis
aver ydevelopedbeachwi t
hr esortsandhot el
sallalongit.Therear eunsightl
yfact or
iesinthe
west,soi fyouar econcernedaboutpeaceandqui etandpr ivacy,don'tchoosethisbeach.
Therear eacoupl eofpointsofaccesst othebeach,pl entyofaccommodat i
on,r ooms,afew
domat iaandl otsofrest
aurants.ThelargeCar r
efoursupermar ketishereinAmmoudar a.
means' bigsand'inGr eekanditisa7km l ongsandybeach.I tiseasilyaccessedby
l
ocalbusser vicesfr
om thecity
.Someoft hemostex cit
ingOl ympicsoccermat chesoft hewere
playedher easHer akli
onwasanOl ympicci t
y,andthesoccerst adium ishere.
Youcanr eachAmmoudar abybusno6whi charri
vesever y15mi nutes.
Pr
act
ica
lTi
ps
Ar
ri
val
The teams f
rom It
aly and Cabo Verde ar
e arri
ving i
n Nikos Ka-
zantzaki
sAirpor
t.We know t he t
ime ofyourarrival
,and we wi l
l
comet ocoll
ectyouandgetyout othehotel.Theteam fr
om Br azi
l
willarri
vebyboatt hesamet i
meast heGr eekTeam,so wewi l
l
reachtoget
heratthehot el
.

Ho
tel
Thehot elyouar est ayi
ngi scal l
edI r
aklioHot el
(http:/
/www. i
rakli
on-
hotel.gr /
en/index. html.Thi spr opertyis12mi nuteswal kf r
om t he
sea.Feat uri
ngr oomswi thfreeWi -Fi,spaciousloungewi thbarand
a24- hourf rontdesk,I raklionHot elisamoder n,fami lyrunhot el
cent r
allyl ocatedi nHer akli
on.Hot elIrakli
onof fer
sai r-conditioned
roomsequi ppedwi thsat ell
iteTV,refrigeratorandhai rdryer.Sui t
es
alsoincl udescal es.24-hourr oom serviceisalsopr ovided.I rakli
on
Hot elisjust5mi nutesf r
om t hepor tand10mi nutesfrom theai rport.
TheAr chaeol ogicalSi t
eofKnossosabst ains2.5km f r
om t hehot el.
Cont actandAddr ess
Kalokai rinou&Del i
mar koust r.128
Her aklionCr ete
PostCode.71302
E-mai l
:info@i raklionhotel.gr
Tel.+302810281881
Wh
at'
sth
ewe
ath
erl
i
kei
nJu
nei
nCr
ete
Junecont i
nuest hewar mingtrendthatstart
edinCr etanspringand
bringsaboutt hei slandssignaturesummersun.Thesemont hsar e
virt
uallyrainfreeandt hemi ddayhotnessismit
igatedbycool winds
thatdropt emper aturesint heevenings.Thesewindscomef rom the
mount ainsidesandcanl astthroughoutthesummer ,maint
aininga
comf ortableafternooncl imate,perfectforrel
axingaf t
eradayon
thebeach.Theaver aget emperatureforthi
smont hi s24degr ees.
Sobebr i
ngl i
ghtcl otheswi thyouandofcour seaswi mmi ngsui t
,
youar egoi ngtoneedi tforourex cursi
oninMat al
a,onWednesday
28th.

Cr
edi
tCa
rds&Cu
rre
ncy
AllmajorCr editCardsaswel lasEur o-
chequesar er ecognizedand
acceptedi nmosthot el
s,shops,t r
avelandcarr entalagenciesand
rest
aurant sinCrete.St
ickersinthefrontwindowswi l
ladvi
seyouas
towhichcar dsar eacceptable.
Thecur rencyinGr eece,li
kemostoft heEur opeancount ri
esisthe
Euro(),whi chcomesi n7differ
entbanknot esof500,200,100,50,
20,10and5eur oand8di f
ferentcoins;2and1eur o,50,20,10,5,2
and1cent .Theeur oreplacedt heGr eekdrachmai n2002.Eur ois
pronouncedas" evro"(easinegg)i nGr eek.

Gr
eekF
ooda
ndWi
nes
TheGr eekcuisinehasal ar
gevar i
etyofdishes:diff
erentki ndsof
star t
ers,alsoknownasmezedes,f oll
owedbymai ndishes,usual l
y
eithermeatorf i
sh wi
th chips.Because oft he l
arge varietythe
Gr eek kit
chen isprobablyt he mostappropr i
ateforveget arians.
Desser ts and sweets are a dif
fer
entissue,butdef ini
t el
y wor t
h
trying.Youshoul dal
sot astethewinesofCr eteandot herar easof
Gr eece.Youmayaskf orabot tl
eofwi neoracar afeofhousewi ne
(cheaper )
.Readmor eaboutGr eekfoodandt heCretewi nes.

Ts
ikou
diaorRa
ki
AlloverGr
eece,andmuchfurt
heraf
iel
d,af i
re-
watercall
edrakii
s
producedf
rom t
hegrapeski
nsandmustl
eftoverfr
om winepr
oduc-
ti
on.
Toknow Cr et e,youal mostcer t
ainlywillbecomeacquai ntedwith
thisfinespirit.I
nCr eteiti
scal l
edt s
koudia
Thisisacl eargr apespi ri
tproducedbymanyagr icult
uralcoopera-
ti
vesandf ami li
esal loverKr i
ti.Thisisthecrystalcleardrinkmany
visit
or sareof fereduponar r
ivaltoahouse,ahot elandeveni na
shop,asCr etanhospi t
ali
tysuggest sthatever yvisit
orbeof fer
ed
thishear t-
stoppi ngandhear t-warmingdr inkuponar r
ival
,orafter
dinner .
Tsikoudi ai
smadebydi stil
lat
ionYouwi l
lbeof f
eredt s
koudiabythe
roadsi de,i
nt aver nas,inhomesandshopsandhot elsalloverKri
ti.

Ma
nti
nade
s
"

,
,
!"
A Cr etandoesnotsayi npl ai nwor dswhathef eels,wi t
hmant i-
nadesheweepsorwi t
hl aught erhepeal s!
Mant inades( pluralofmant inada)ar et hemostcommonf orm off ol
k
songandar ewi despr eadacr ossCr ete.TheCr etanmant i
nadai sa
15-syllabler hymi ng coupl eti nCr etandi alect.Eachmant inadai s
compl et
ei nitselfinspi t
eofi tsshor tlength,li
keal imer i
ck.Ther e
arehoweversomemant i
nadesusedt oanswerot hers,inwhi chcase
theirmeani ngi scompl ement ar y
.
Themant inadai st heuni quewayi nwhi chyoungandol dinCr et
e
can expr esst hei rmanyand var ied emot ions:sor r
ow,j oy,hope,
desire,l ove,anger ,r evenge,nost algia.Thousandsofmant i
nades
havebeencomposedandar est i
llbei ngimpr ovisedonever yfacet
ofhumanl i
fe.Mostar et odowi thl oveandr omance,butt herear e
alsosat iric,didact ic,t easingcoupl et sorver sesonexi le,engage-
ment ,mar riage,ever ydayl ifeandofcour sedeat handl osingl oved
ones .
Mant inadesar et oldatf estival saccompani edbyt helyre,oront heir
owni ncompany ,att hecaf e,inever ydayconver sation.Mostar enot
wr i
ttendowneveni nanot ebook,and evenf ewerar epubl ished.
Manyar et oldandf or gotten,butt hebestar el earntof fbyhear tand
passedonbywor dofmout h.
R
eli
gi
on
Reli
gionofCrete.Reli
gionisanimport
antinf
luencetoo,asdemon-
str
atedbytheirstr
ictadherencetorel
igi
ousholi
daysandf est
ivals
.
95% ofthepopulationofCretearebapti
sedintotheGr eekOr t
ho-
doxfait
h.TheChur chplaysamajorrol
eintheli
vesofmostCr etans.

Cos
tsdu
ri
ngt
hepr
oje
cts
emi
nar
Asyouar eallinfor
medi nourprivateconversati
ons,allmaincosts
arecoveredbyt hepr oj
ectandbyus .Thatmeanst hatt hecost
sof
tr
ansportati
onf r
om andtotheairportorporttothehotel,t
herooms
ofthehotelfrom Sunday25t hofJunet oSat ur
day1stofJul y,the
costsf
orf oodandt ranspor
tati
onf r
om Monday26t ht oFriday30th
areful
lycovered.

I
mporta
ntc on
tac
tso
fth
e Gr
eekP
art
ner
sfr
om
Act
ionSyn
ergy
Incaseofemer gencyorifyouwantanyaddit
ionali
nformati
on,you
cancont actt
hemember softheGreekPart
ner si
ntheirphones
Alexandros
00306937597557
Domi kos
ni
00306978213996
Kostas
00306947439728