Day 26, Knossos and Agios Nikolaos, Crete

We are in Greece, renting a small German car whose owner's manual is written completely in Italian. Go figure!

Today we first went to the Knossos Palace near Heraklion. It was a major center of the Minoan Civilization. The site was discovered by a Greek in the late 1800s and was "restored" by an Englishman, Sir Arthur Evans who made some major and controversial restorations. 

Below is a copy (the original is in a museum) of the dolphins fresco in one of the restored rooms. It is reported to be a fantastic example of an early Minoan painting. 

I zoomed in to highlight the the details. 

The column is an example of the type of restoration the Sir Evans did. Behind it is a copy of the Charging Bull fresco. 

Next we drove to the eastern side of the island, to the charming and beautiful fishing village of Agios Nikolaos (Saint Niklaus).

Agios Nikolaos seemed like the love child of Venice and a Caribbean town. We both were enchanted by it.

We had to have a light lunch there, and what a view!

After lunch, we walked down to the waterfront, passing by a playground with a beautiful and colorful mosaic. Too bad the shadow partially obstructs the view.

Here's a look at a closeup, again to show the details. 

This statue is of Europa, daughter of a Phoenician king, mother of King Minos. She was abducted by Zeus who turned her into a white bull (!) to seduce her. Obviously Zeus needs someone to sit him down and tell him that is no way to treat a lady.

The final photo shows a now-restored Venetian fortress built in the 16th century in Heraklion.

When we got back to our apartment, our hosts gave us a mini carafe of their homemade lemoncello! They also gave us a sample of their own olive oil, made from the olives ftom their 350 olive trees. Such sweet people, and so very kind.

Carol