Crete is a beautiful island with many different landscapes and vista, including places of ancient ruins from a history long gone.
The Palace of Malia is a significant archaeological site to visit and explore this interesting historical setting. The environment is stunning with the sea to the north and mountain ranges to the south. It’s so serene and very peaceful. There are plenty of free parking spaces for cars and located not too far from the city centre. You do have to a pay 6 Euro entrance fee but comparing to most of the museums we go to, this price is very reasonable.
The ruins cover quite a large area as the site itself has been extensively excavated. Area considered to hold more importance are covered by huge, arcing roofs. A varying number of waist-high walls can be clearly identified as previous individual rooms.
There is a small exhibition near the entrance which shows the excavators portrayals of how they think it would have looked like back then. There are also aerial photos and plans of the site, especially Quartier Mu where many important discoveries were made.
The site has not been restored in the way most other museum have done. It feels quite a bit more “original”. It was amazing to walk around the ruins, going up steps that are thousands of years old and imagine the palace as it would have been.
The only constructive criticism I would give is the lack of information. It would be nice to know more about what life was like when the palace life was like it its hay day as well as which rooms were for who, etc.
Because of the large area of the ruins, I would say it could take you about an hour to wander around. As it is an exposed site, it can get quite windy and hot, so make sure you are covered up or have plenty of sun cream at your disposal.
Right next to the site, you have fabulous Potomas beach area to relax at afterwards, and may I also add there are some cracking little tavernas, like the Kalyva Tavern that we went to afterwards.
The Kalyva Tavern is a family run beachside restaurant that has been established there for more than 50 years. A wonderful setting which features coastal views in front and mountains behind and they serve up lots of fresh seafood as well as Greek classic dishes.
Plenty of Greeks were eating there which is always a good sign, lol! I ordered fresh, grilled calamari and my husband had a half chicken cooked on a spit. Food was well prepared and excellently presented in a simple, homely fashion. Everything tasted incredible!
I finished up with a refreshing, healthy smoothie. It contained a blend of mangoes, strawberry and melon. All my favourites! The flavours were so soothing on such a hot day. They literally burst in your mouth! That hit the spot nicely. :)
I was planning to go to Potamus beach next to the restaurant, but because I ate so much, I had to give it a miss and check it out another day! Crete is proving to be a fantastic place to visit and have fun in the sun.
Beautiful pictures of a beautiful island, upvoted you ;)
Beautiful pictures. They are real and teaching. Thank you for sharing.
The weather was so hot. It was awesome out there. :)
Thanks for the great comment! :)
I had plans to visit Europe sometime this year but inhave been really short onnfunds so i changed it to some sunny time on the beaches of east Africa .Hope
One day i get to visit crete. I love the history of Past civilizations and role crete played in the past.
It's such a beautiful island. You're right. So much history and the people there are so friendly. :)
Rea nice post,,It seems that you had much fun...but you lost something on this trip, you should have visted Albania too..It's a rare gem hidden on Southeastern Europe.. with so many secret beaches, with huge mountains and old history...worth to visit next year ;)
I agree! And the fascinating thing I found on my tour of Albania was the greek-speaking place of Saranda, at which you feel like you can almost swim to Corfu when on the beach it looks that close!
Thanks for letting me know. I'm already thinking of booking my next holiday so that's now an option. :)
I'm glad :)
https://steemit.com/vacation/@qaopao/an-albanian-beach-among-the-best-in-europe
Always wanted to visit the Crete along with its much smaller neighbouring islands its amazing history of civilizations occupying the Island.
Crete was always to my list of places to visit. I went to Mykonos a few years back which was so beautiful so I'm a big fan of the Greek Islands.
Indeed, Malia palace has not been reconstructed with concrete like Knossos... It gives it a feeling of authenticity. You need to work a bit more with your imagination, but at least no one is doing the job for you :) Good photos, @rea ! Missing Crete a lot now haha
So true. At the ruins, you could really "feel" how the structures may have looked back in the day. Plus the information centre showed so many amazing pictures and photos from long ago.
Upvoted/followed/impressed! That's so cool. What a beautiful place. You're lucky to live there. We're lucky that you've shared it!
Thanks, but I don't live there, lol. Though sometimes I wish I did! :)
is that @ezzy on the reflection on your chic shades? :D
warm out there!
have fun and thanks for the free trip!
Lol, yes, how did you guess! We had an awesome time out there. :)
I'm headed here for the first time in two weeks time :-) REally looking forward to it. Thanks for the ideas. :-)
I can almost guarentee you'll love it. Hope you found my pictures helpful when organising your travels. :)
I think I might @rea
Awesome pics and very inspiring - ive been to crete once but stayed just in a hotel. This post made me think about giving this place a second chance ;)
Oh yes! Come back again soon. There's so much else to see on the island.
I've always wanted to go there. now I REALLY want to go!
You must visit at least once if you can. A week or more is preferable. :)
Oh that's really awesome! Would love to go there maybe next vacation. :)
Do you know that the Apostle Paul wrote in the bible concerning the Cretans? :-D
He quoted what is known as the Epimenides paradox.
Wikipedia:
In the 1st century AD, the quote is mentioned by Paul of Tarsus as the words of a man who was insubordinate, an empty talker and a deceiver, yet spoke truly in this statement.
:)
Wow, that's a cool little fact! Whenever I heard the word "Cretan", the first thing I thought of was the food! :)
LOL
That's a good one!
I love the pics. I always wanted to go to crete, but I'm too scared to leave the country. Maybe someday I'll muster up the courage.
Don't worry! It's just a plane ride away! You'll love it out there!
This post received a 3.3% upvote from @randowhale thanks to @rea! For more information, click here!
its nice..
Thanks. :)
I am following you now. Have resteemed you, but very tired and recharging.
Looks like a must visit, hope you had a great time over there!
Thanks for sharing, Upvoted!
It was awesome. Thank you for checking out my blog. :)
thanks for sharing it with us
Great stuff @rea ! Crete looks really amazing! And the food looks so delicious too! Thanks for sharing! :)
No probs, thank you for stopping by. :)
was in Crete. Very nice
Glad that we can relate to it's beauty. :)
Good post, I hope the input is in pot and sharing.
Thanks. :)
thank you for good posting.
No probs, thanks for taking your time to check it out. :)
Beautiful pictures.
Thank you. :)
Nice pictures, following you now :)
Thanks. :)
Very cool pictures. The food looks amazing and now I'm ready for a smoothie!
A smoothie will go down great in this hot weather, lol! :)
I like it I vote you plz you interested in nature and tourism visit my page to support me thanks again
Thank you. :)
Iran:
come with me and visit:
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Europe is my next trip ! Ancient history looks very nice
If you love history, this is a great place to visit. :)
Wow! The place and the food looks wonderful <3 You have captured the beauty of the place nicely. I am also passionate about travelling. I wish I could visit Crete some day.
Upvoted!
Following u, would love to be followed back :)
It's a great place to visit. So many places to see and food to eat. Thank you for stopping by. :)
very close to that place there is a place called palm beach (I think) its is so beautiful
Oh cool. You sure you don't mean Potamus beach?
ya I'm sure its got palm beach. its got a restaurent and lots a hammock just a wonderful place. really dreamy.
beautiful snaps , this island is simply mind blowing really lovin it upvoted you and followed
It certainly is. Thanks very much. :)
that looks amazing!! you must have had such a great time!! i hope to see you soon in london!!!
Hey there, Alla! Thank you, it was incredible! Let's definitely try to catch up soon. :)
Enjoyed your tour, upvoted!
Thank you, @carry0n. :)
These archaeological site is a reminder of how vulnerable we are.
Good to visit. BTW, watch your voting power. I heard 25% is the new 100%
Hey there @ace108! Thanks for the heads up for my voting power. I'm sorting it out now but it did get a little low before. And yes, any place of historical ruin has a unique story to tell. :)
You are welcome. I still recuperating too. :-)
Have a good weekend.
You too, @ace108. :)
Nice article, nice photos
Thanks you. :)
Crete is a place of incredible historical significance and I am enormously jealous that you got to visit there.
Crete was the home of the ancient Minoan civilization, the earliest true civilization in what would eventually become the Greek world. While the people on mainland Greece were still in the Stone Age or only just barely past it, the Minoans were a thriving Bronze Age Civilization.
The Minoan kingdom lasted from around 2600 BCE up until around 1100 BCE, which pretty much exactly coincides with the era that all of the great Greek Myths took place in. The Minoan civilization fell for not well understood reasons right around the time the Trojan War occurred, which is more or less the turning point where Greek Myth turns into Greek History.
Some of the oldest written language in the world was unearthed at Crete. With the famous Linear A and B tablets representing the most primitive known forms of the Greek language.
In any event, I'm a bit of an Ancient Greece nerd, so Crete is a place I would dearly like to visit one day.
Oh wow, what a write up! I wish you were my tour guide out there when I was checking out all the historical places of interest!
I had little to no knowledge previously of how much culture and history there actually was in Crete until my visit there. It's astounding for a small Island to have that much going on from before.
Thank you so much for that brief but highly educational history lesson. Much appreciated. :)
Hi Rea, just finished reading all your posts about Greece. I've been in Crete two years ago with friends, a very low budget trip, but the memories I have from that place are priceless. I often hear people saying Brazilians are very warm and welcoming people, but we are nothing compared to the Greeks, they are beyond nice. Also I love how there's always a treat in the end of meals, a drink, cake, fruits. The ruins are as stunning as the nature too, I've never been in such incredible place, now everytime I go to a new beach it's a bit frustrating, after Greece my standards are high lol
Just love your post, it was like going back in time, thank you! Hope going with @exyle there one day, I'm sure he'd love there too.
:-)
Hey there Bianca!
So lovely to speak (well, type) to you, lol! Yes, loved it out here. I too was amazed at how friendly and hospitable everyone was. And as you say, the complimentary final desserts. They don't even expect a tip at the end (Although I always gave them something. It's the least I could do for such great service).
It's definitely a hard act to follow once you've visited Crete but one day I'm sure you'll return. And hey, maybe we could all go together! That would be awesome! Thank you for dropping by and all the best with starting out on Steemit. :)
nice photography upvoted you <3
Thank you. :)
Beautiful pictures, thanks for your sharing! Followed :)
Thank you for dropping by. :)
Nice post, Crete really does look like a beautiful island. A place I need to go in the future. Hopefully by next year!
Yes. This time of the year is just about right. Not so hot that it gets uncomfortable. The humidity is perfect. Enjoy! :)
Thanks!
Good post, and I enjoyed the pictures. I occasionally post a few myself, feel free to check my blogs whenever you find time.
Hey there @firepower. Hope you are keeping well! Thanks for checking out my post, it turned out to be such a memorable trip. I will most definitely check out your blog too. Thank you once more and look forward to seeing you at the Steemfest again this year. :)
nice post
Very cool post @rea! I note the need for more documentation- I wonder if you can find more online. That is often my favorite part of any trip- the research afterwards to answer all those questions; for me at least much of the wonder of archaeology is learning from the silence.
The clay pots (Amphorae?) always fill me with this eerie fascination with their perfect symmetry yet with the sense of the potters hand still remaining after all those thousands of years...
Congratulations @rea
You took 54 place in my Top 100 of posts