Óåëßäá äéáèÝóéìç ìüíï óôá áããëéêÜ (áêïëïõèïýí ôá êåßìåíá óôá áããëéêÜ)
ABOUT GREECE
ABOUT CRETE
Crete was the centre of the Minoan civilisation (ca. 2600-1400 BCE), one of the first civilizations in Europe, a literate and highly artistic Bronze Age culture, the island bearing witness to their achievements in the form of palaces, tombs and sacred sites. Towards the end of the Late Bronze Age, Mycenaeans from the Greek mainland superseded the Minoans. Thereafter, Crete very much followed in the classical slipstream of Greece and - much later - Rome. It was also the site of an airborne invasion by German troops, and a spirited resistance by Allied (mainly British and Australian) troops and the People of Crete during the 1941 Nazi invasion of Greece.
Crete is one of the most popular holiday destinations in Greece. Fifteen percent of all arrivals in Greece come through the city of Heraklion (port and airport). Today the tourism infrastructure in Crete caters to all tastes. There is accommodation of every possible category, from large luxury hotels with all the facilities (swimming pools, sports and recreation facilities etc.), to smaller family owned apartments, to camping facilities.
There are many contrasts in this region, you can go from incredible beaches to impressive mountains, from big (and chaotic) cities to really small picturesque villages, from very dry, almost desert areas to very green zones like the springs in the centre.
Tourist attractions in Crete include the ruins of the ancient Minoan civilization in Knossos, Faistos and the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion, the big variety of landscapes in a short distance: the wilderness and solitude of the Cretan mountains some hundred metres away from the coast, the eccentric culture of Crete in the traditional cafes (kafeneia), the gorge of Samaria.
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