Greece - Korina Miller [376]
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CRETAQUARIUM
The massive Cretaquarium ( 2810 337788; www.cretaquarium.gr; adult/child over 4yr/under 4yr €8/6/free; 9am-9pm May–mid-Oct, 10am-5.30pm mid-Oct–Apr) at Gournes, 15km east of Iraklio, is the Eastern Mediterranean’s largest aquarium. Several large tanks contain an amazing display of marine life, though really big fish are scarce. Interactive multimedia features and displays in several languages help explain things.
The north-coast buses (€1.70, 30 minutes) leaving from Iraklio’s Bus Station A can drop you on the main road; from there it’s a 10-minute walk. The turn-off to Kato Gouves is well signposted on the national road.
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KNOSSOS ΚΝΩΣΣΟΣ
Crete’s must-see historical attraction is the Minoan Palace of Knossos ( 2810 231940; admission €6; 8am-7pm Jun-Oct, 8am-3pm Nov-May), 5km south of Iraklio in Knossos (k-nos-os) village, and the capital of Minoan Crete.
Legendary home of King Minos’ mythical Minotaur, Knossos was uncovered in the early 1900s by British archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans. Rival digger Heinrich Schliemann, discoverer of ancient Troy and Mycenae, had failed to win over the landowner, and Evans took the glory.
After 35 years and some £250,000 of his own money, Sir Arthur had excavated the site and accomplished partial reconstructions. His efforts proved controversial, with some archaeologists claiming that accuracy was sacrificed to imagination. However, for the casual visitor, the reconstructions are more than sufficient for visualising a real live Minoan palace.
History
Knossos’ first palace (1900 BC) was destroyed by an earthquake around 1700 BC, and rebuilt with a grander and more sophisticated design (Evans’ reconstruction emulates the latter palace). It was partially destroyed again between 1500 and 1450 BC, then inhabited for another 50 years before finally burning down.
Knossos consisted of an immense palace, residences of officials and priests, the homes of ordinary people, and burial grounds. The palace comprised royal domestic quarters, public reception rooms, shrines, workshops, treasuries and storerooms, all built around a central court. Like all Minoan palaces, it was also the city hall, accommodating the bureaucracy.
Until 1997 visitors could enter the royal apartments, but the area was then cordoned off, before it disappeared altogether under the continual pounding of tourists’ feet. Despite extensive ongoing repairs, it’s unlikely to be reopened.
Exploring the Site
Evans’ reconstruction brings to life the palace’s most significant parts, including the reconstructed columns; painted deep brown-red with gold-trimmed black capitals, they taper gracefully at the bottom. Vibrant frescoes add another dramatic dimension to the palace. Additionally, the Minoans’ highly sophisticated society is revealed by details like the advanced drainage system, the placement of light wells, and the organisation of space within rooms – meant to be cool in summer and warm in winter.
The palace complex entrance is across the Western Court and along the Corridor of the Procession Fresco, where a now-fragmentary fresco depicted a procession bearing gifts to the king. A copy, called the Priest King Fresco, is visible south of the Central Court.
Walking straight ahead from the Corridor of the Procession Fresco to the north entrance, you’ll reach the Theatral Area. This series of steps may have been a theatre, or the place where important visitors arriving on the Royal Road were greeted.
The Royal Road, leading off to the west, was apparently Europe’s first. It was flanked by workshops and ordinary residences. Sir Arthur surmised that the nearby Lustral Basin was where the Minoans performed ritual cleansings before religious ceremonies.
Entering the Central Court from the north, you pass the relief Bull Fresco, depicting a charging bull. Also in the palace’s northern section, see the Giant Pithoi, large ceramic jars used for storing olive oil, wine and grain. Evans found over 100 pithoi, some 2m