Crete

We had a week off grandparent duties (or as it’s otherwise known, fun) and decided to go away, perhaps to Suffolk or Dorset. But the weather has been so cold and miserable, Phil decided to see where we could get to from East Midlands for a week. One of the places was Crete, so here we are, sitting outside in the evening while I write this, with the sea to look at if I need inspiration.

I must say, though, we suffered for this. East Midlands may be the closest airport, but it must also be the least efficient in Britain. And cheeky - £3 a head for express through security, which wasn’t express at all, because the queues were so long (right out of the terminal)  that loads of people were gritting their teeth and paying up. To cap it all, of four ticket machines, only two were working and they seemed to be on a go slow. The security was alarming, too – the arch beeped at everyone, even small children, so what was the point of it? Then they kept sending things back to go through the XRay again (my shoes and my E reader, but not Phil’s E reader, got the treatment), and as they weren’t wearing gloves and things kept going back and forth, not with their original bags, there must have been a high chance of contamination, had there actually been anything to detect. It all took ages, and it was really stressful, trying to keep track of one’s belongings.  Then Chania must be low down the efficiency rankings even for Greece. East Midlands and Chania were so lousy that we felt full of the milk of human kindness towards Ryanair, so that shows you.

We picked up the hire car and set off for Iraklion. We stopped for a potter round Rethymno, which was pleasant, and has a very extensive fort, built by the Venetians originally. The Ottomans converted the church to a mosque, and there were other ex-mosques, including one or two minarets. It was beautifully warm after England, but very, very windy; occasionally it actually blew one off balance, so definitely not a day for the beach.

The hotel is just outside Iraklion proper, and perfectly fine. So we walked up the road for a meal, very decent, which was lucky because we were absolutely starving.

Today we left straight after breakfast for the centre of Iraklion, and managed after not too fraught a drive, to park near the Archeological Museum. This has been under renovation during the whole of living memory, but there is one small gallery of sculpture and one gallery of the Minoan best bits which are open, and in fact were free, as today is World Museum Day or some such.

I might as well confess, I didn’t manage to choose one object. It was alright in the sculpture gallery – there was a temple frieze of horsemen from the sixth century B.C., very stylised and austere, with the riders much smaller in proportion than the horses, and I’m having that. It’s great. But then the Minoan stuff – well, I just can’t choose. The very early, prepalatial, stuff reminded me of the early things we saw in Syria, although that was even earlier. But then, it was as though the Minoans found their own view of the world, quite different to anything else I’ve seen. The jewellery! You could wear it today, too, it’s not outlandish or over exotic, just beautifully made with exquisite craftsmanship and taste. The pottery was stunning; normally it leaves me rather cold, but this was so lovely that for a moment I considered buying a replica! There was a jar or vase with an octopus painted on it, and a jug with a leaf design that made me think of William Morris. Then there were the bronze swords and knives with gold fittings, the frescos, the vases and jugs in alabaster and such, the famous bull’s head libation cup, with the most amazing and beautiful detail – I could go on and on. So I can’t, I really can’t, choose one thing. Phil chose the Bee pendant, which was utterly exquisite.

So then we had a look at the fortifications, which are Venetian and massive, very impressive, then retrieved the car and went to Knossos.

The Throne Room (as Evans thought.)

I’m glad we did the museum first, and although I’m aware that Arthur Evan’s reconstructions are controversial, to say the least, I was actually quite glad of them, because without the reconstructions, and without having seen the artefacts in the museum, I’m not sure how much the site would have meant to me. I think Crete must have been more fertile then, because looking at the hills around the site, it’s difficult to imagine how they got so rich. But North Africa used to be Rome’s breadbasket. And Crete is certainly in a good position for sea trading. However, it quite often seemed as though Evans had an over active imagination.  I must see if there’s a readable up to date account. Of course, like everyone else of my age,  I read Evans’ The Bull of Minos years ago, but ideas have changes since then, though they still haven’t deciphered Linear A.

Another of Evans' reconstructed bits, but I forgive him.

One of the nice things, was the enormous storage jars. Yo could quite see how king whatever his name was could hide in one when Heracles turned up with the man eating boar. Sorry for the vagueness of my classical mythology - it's age I'm afraid. But I do remember the jar bit, and being slightly puzzled by the idea as a child. 

Then we had a late and very substantial lunch, and went back to the hotel, for a swim and a sit. This is the life.