Heraklion

Ηράκλειο

Past the Golden Horn into the Sea of Mamara and thru the Dardanelles. Past the Hellespont and historic Gallipoli with it’s monuments to the Anzac and Turkish dead, the ancient site of Troy, then across a rolling Aegean Sea. Daytime downpours as we pass through storms; lightening flashes in the night sky as we sail into the Mediterranean to Crete.

Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean. While it retains its own local cultural traits (such as its own music and dialect), Cretans identify themselves as Greeks. Irakleio (Heraklion) is the largest city and capital of Crete.

We dock and pick up our rental car from AthensCars at a cost of 40 Euros a day. Of course we have to add gas @ 1.59Euro a liter, or about $8 a gallon. This is still a bargain as ship’s tours cost four times as much and offer less. We set off in our little Fiesta undaunted by place names spelled three ways: Greek alphabet (Ηράκλειο), Latin alphabet (Irάκleio), and thankfully English (Heraklion). Slow readers will be lost. We manage quite well in the intermittent rain and drive out of town to ΚΝΩΣΟΣ (Knossos). (more…)