Olive groves in the foothills of the
Asterousia Mountains near Pirgos.
It is documented
that Crete is
home to over
1.5 million olive
trees, and if you
are born on Crete,
it’s a birthright
that you own at
least one or two.
Over a breakfast of locally grown eggs, olives, honey, herbs,
grains, fruits and vegetables and locally produced breads,
pastries, cheeses and yogurts—most bathed and brushed in
Cretan olive oil—I discovered why my husband chose Crete.
Yes, he remembered the stories of my childhood, but mostly he
was following the history of civilization as we know it through-
out this European journey, and Crete was the gateway to that
journey. Just as I was intrigued with mythology, Mark’s interest
in history was even more poignant.
“Crete is the cradle of civilization,” he said. “The Minoans
were the first Europeans to create a literate civilization 6,000
years ago. They were the first to record history . . . and they
lived right here, in Crete.”
Ancient history goes back even further, back to Knossos, the
largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete and considered
to be Europe’s oldest city. Located less than 10 miles southeast
of Heraklion, the Minoan palace of Knossos draws visitors from
around the world. A mosaic of cultural layers colored with time,
Heraklion, the municipal center of Crete, is the social hub of the
island and has survived as a strategic seaport through the ages
as well as the rule of the Byzantines, Venetians, Turks and even
the Germans during World War II. Architecture throughout the
old city mirrors the phases of rule over the Cretan people, but
the liveliness and business of the city today suggests these people
have not been defeated by conquest and rule. There’s a sturdi-
ness about them and a respect for all things Crete.
We did not stay long in Heraklion. Our destination was a
Cretan home in Tris Ekklisies, a small village nestled between
the Asterousia Mountains and the Libyan Sea. We found the
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home on Airbnb, and George and Anna, the owners of the home,
were to meet us at a roundabout near Pirgos, the largest village
near Tris Ekklisies, which offered shopping options.
Tris Ekklisies is a 90-minute drive from Heraklion through
foothills and small valleys of farmland. Olive and citrus trees
dominate the landscape. Vegetable gardens hug Cretan homes
made of rock and concrete, accentuated by bright blues and
orange. To the west, the snowcapped Ida-Gebirge mountains
loom high over the Mesara Plain, an expanse of olive and
grape groves made green by expert irrigation techniques. I
imagined Zeus growing up in a cave on one of those moun-
tains, being entertained by the Cretan people who lived and
worked around him.
It is documented that Crete is home to over 1.5 million olive
trees, and if you are born on Crete, it’s a birthright that you own
at least one or two. Cretan olive oil, the base of all prepared foods
in Crete, is considered to be the best in the world, and just about
every farmer on the island knows how to prepare and store it.
Cretan food is known for its freshness and fragrance. More
than 30 species of native herbs grow wild on the island. Cretan
women, through the ages, foraged and dried the herbs, as they
still do today, and sheep and goats find the herbs to be a sustain-
able diet on the rocky cliffs of the mountains. The grocery store in
Pirgos did carry canned goods, but unlike the U.S., the vegetables,
olives, dried beans, fruits, herbs, honey, eggs, meats and cheeses
and even milk was locally produced and sold in the village market.
Our shopping experience happened to correspond with
Tsiknopempti, or Burnt Thursday, of Apokries, or Carnival.
Celebrated in all of Greece, the three-week