Places to Go
Eastern Crete is still not as touristy as the Western part of the island. Especially in the South there are still many quiet bays with beautiful beaches and the crystal clear water of the Libyan Sea. Also, the warm winds from Africa blow over the ocean and it is possible to swim and sunbath until late November or even December.
There are many nice beaches in the area of Koutsouras, Magrigialos and Analypsi, which are coastal villages that can be reached within about 20 minutes from Stavrohori.
Going along the southern shore direction East it gets more and more quiet and there are many different beaches to choose from. Some of them are sand beaches, others are sand mixed with colourful round stones and there are rock beaches as well.
Nice little taverns can be found everywhere. They serve traditional Cretan food and tasty local wine. Prices are rather low in these areas.
Historic places
Crete is well known for its prominent history.
The Minoans developed the first ancient civilisation of Europe on the island. Between 2000 and 1500 BC they built their impressive palaces. Archaeologists have been excavating some of them since the late 1800’s.
The most important palaces are in Knossos, Malia, Phaistos, Galatas, und Kato Zakros.
Kato Zakros
Is on the East coast of Crete and located in a beautiful bay. There are the ruins of a Minoan palace and a spectacular gorge with rock tombs. It is a very special place of great beauty and tranquillity with a unique atmosphere.
The Minoan Town of Gournia
In 1901 George Perakis of Vasiliki led the American Archaeologist Harriet Boyd to the Minoan site of Gournia, the name of which comes from the many Gournia (i.e., stone water troughs) visible in the houses. Boyd recognized the importance of the site and proceeded to excavate the palace and its central court, houses and streets in the center of the town, which was built from 1600 to 1500 BC, destroyed ca.1450 BC, and reoccupied in the Mycenaean period, ca. 1375 – 1200 BC. Although the excavated area is only a small portion of the entire town, Gournia, of all sites in Greece, probably gives the visitor the best idea of what a bronce age town looked like. Today only the stone-built ground floors and basements are visible; however, they once supported upper stories, made of mudbrick and wood, which have not survived. The town which actually extended northward as far as the coast where there was a small harbour, may have covered a total of four hectares and had a population of about 1000 people. The town cemetery, which is not preserved today, was to the east of the site along the base of the nearby hill.
Cities
The two main towns in the East are Sitia and Ierapetra.
Sitia
Sitia is the center city of North East Crete. The pretty little town has about 9000 inhabitants and a beautiful harbor with lots of tavernas and kafenions.
Archaeological finds show that there has been a settlement since about 1050 BC. The Venetians designed the city with its rectangular street lay-out which is rather uncommon for a Cretan town. They also built a fortified castle “Kazarma”.
In the 17th century town and castle were destroyed completely by earthquakes and repeated raids of pirates and lay deserted for about 200 years. It was not until the mid 1800’s that the city was rebuilt again.
In the last years the harbor was upgraded and ferryboats connect Sitia with Piraeus, Karpathos and Rhodes.
There is also an airport, which is in the process of being upgraded to an international one. It should have been in operating condition several years ago, but still is not finished yet.
Ierapetra
Ierapetra is the southernmost city of Crete and of Europe. It is located at the narrowest point of Crete: from here it is only 15 km to the North shore.
Economically Ierapetra is the center of market gardening which is the main source of income in this area. All around the city and in the whole region there is a large number of greenhouses, where tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers and green beans are cultivated. Lake!!!
Ierapetra has a very pretty harbor with a beautiful waterfront, where shops, restaurants and bars invite you for a stroll. At the southern tip of the harbor there is a Venetian fortified castle.
The city was founded in Minoan times. Back then it was called Hierapytna and was a place of great importance, especially in pre-Roman times. During the occupation of the Arabs in 824 Hierapytna was heavily destroyed, but then rebuilt again. It flourished during Venetian times between the 13th and 17th century. In this period it got its contemporary name: Ierapetra.
Even Napoleon Bonaparte supposedly spent one night here in 1798 on his campaign to Egypt. Legend has it that Napoleon arrived at the port of Ierapetra at night and was invited by a Cretan citizen, who did not know him, for dinner. Napoleon accepted without lifting his incognito. As it got late, he stayed over night at the Cretan man’s house, but left very early in the morning. In his bed the Cretan found a little sheet of paper, which read that Napoleon thanked him for his generous hospitality. The house were this allegedly has happened can be seen until today.
