Heraklion & Knossos
STAY Olive Green Hotel
GO Wineries like Douloufakis & Lyrarakis
JULIO
Heraklion is the largest city and administrative hub of the GIANT island of Crete. Getting off the ferry into a metropolis was a shock after spending two weeks in the quiet Cycladic islands. We walked out into a modern, bustling, graffiti-riddled Greek city. Heraklion is the third largest city in Greece alongside Athens and Thessoloniki and teeming with life. There are cafés upon cafés. Greeks are REALLY into their coffee and casually hanging out while enjoying it. Street after street of restaurants, patios, tavernas, town squares were all enclosed in a fortress-like wall built by the Italians. It's just absolutely full of people at all hours living life. You definitely start to wonder…does anybody have to go work in Greece?
Some of the highlights of Heraklion were the Olive Green hotel, CROP coffee, Erganos Taverna and Peskesi restaurant. The Olive Green hotel is Crete’s first eco-boutique hotel and has every modern amenity reminiscent of “the Standard” hotel in Hollywood (in its glory days, and any high-scale boutique hotel in New York City).
Peskesi restaurant is literally deserving of a Michelin star and is the most memorable dining experience we have had in Greece so far. Our hostess at the Olive Green hotel recommended that we go to there and it literally blew our freaking minds. It kind of creates a post-modern vibe of Grecian, Cretan cuisine and absolutely raises the bar on the Greek dining experience all set in an ancient landmark building that has been restored beautifully. From the breadbox, service, food presentation, drinks, and aromas…the place was downright intoxicating. I took the recommendation of the waiter and literally slabs of farm-raised meat hanging over smoking sage with perfect organic vegetables arrived at our table. It tasted, smelled and looked insane. A mound of fresh grapes, creme- covered chocolate biscuits and rose-infused Raki were brought for desert and capped off the meal so well.
Raki is a BIG deal in Crete. It is like a moonshine made from grapes through the wine-making process and is somewhere in between jet fuel and straight methanol. Strong stuff. It's usually served to you gratis after every meal with a sweet. I counted about 12 bottles throughout our trip. I drank about 9 out of 12 little bottles since Christina wasn’t having any and tapped out not wanting to get ill from mixing the other times.
I am not into the Greek national beer Mythos but a big fan of Alfa. Just a perfect beer in my opinion. Erganos was another culinary stand out in Heraklion. Super traditional with a super helpful and enthusiastic server Vasili. Erganos has been in business for thirty years and passed down father to son with pride and tradition. The stuffed grape leaves were simply the best I have ever had. Loved the vibe and traditional decoration. A great contrast to the super modern Peskesi and deserving of just as much praise.
From a non-urbanite view, this city could be described as filthy, graffiti-covered and gritty but I loved it and would certainly return.
christina
In addition to the wonders of culture present in Heraklion, including the food and general vibe of this cool place, my main intention was to revisit Knossos - an ancient site on Crete, known as Europe's oldest city. I visited here 15 years ago and remembered the sprawling complex, the beautiful murals and the incredible feeling of seeing sacred symbolism including spirals, geometric patterns, griffins, dolphins and bull-leaping men (and women!) mostly in color. This place has been supposedly inhabited since 7000BCE with Neolithic remains scattered throughout Crete. Mythologically, it has been remembered and associated with the legend of King Minos, the Labyrinth and the Minotaur. Perhaps you've heard of it in school - here's a synopsis from Wikipedia that sums it up pretty well:
"The myth of the Minotaur tells that Theseus, a prince from Athens, whose father is an ancient Greek king named Aegeus, reason for the name of the Greek sea (the Aegean Sea), sailed to Crete, where he was forced to fight a terrible creature called the Minotaur. The Minotaur was a half man, half bull, and was kept in the Labyrinth – a building like a maze – by the king Minos, the ruler of Crete. The king's daughter Ariadne fell in love with Theseus. Before he entered the Labyrinth to fight the Minotaur, Ariadne gave him a ball of thread which he unwound as he went into the Labyrinth so that he could find his way back by following it. Theseus killed the Minotaur, and then he and Ariadne fled from Crete, escaping her angry father."
The site itself is amazing and large and the vibrancy of the colors and size of the palace let the imagination run wild (especially if you're interested in archaeology or history).
In Heraklion we were able to visit the museum that houses the original artifacts of Knossos, including the mysterious Phaestos Disc that dates from the 2nd millennium BCE and contains the indecipherable Linear A/B script. Containing symbols, much like hieroglyphics, the script is a very odd thing to witness up close - especially as it's laid out in a circular fashion. Have a look a the wiki link above if this is your thing - it was very interesting to me and had me thinking... another hidden secret in Greece.
The other artifacts that really spoke to me were the recurring images of female Goddess characters, in which their arms were outstretched in almost every figurine. The museum also houses the mysterious Snake Goddess circa 1700-1450BCE, a deity associated with renewal and who also represented the sacred knot/double axe of Minoan civilization known as the Labrys. The abundance of symbolism, especially related to Goddess-worship is present throughout ancient Minoan civilization, Crete and Knossos and I encourage you to check out the links to learn more as it is far too much to unpack here. All in all, I was blown away by all this newfound knowledge and inspiration and can't wait to learn more as I go deeper into understanding this part of our shared history.
Heraklion is surrounded by fortified walls from when it was a Venetian Port
Getting the five star treatment at Peskesi Resteraunt
Tremendous Cretan Olive oil
The sage lamb which came out smoking up the whole place. The sage smoke flavors the meat. Unreal.
Cretan Dakos
Remnants of the Minoan Civilization
The phaestos disk
Awesome food at Erganos
The ancient palace of Knossos known as Europe's oldest city
Greek orthodox church in Heraklion