Crete Island What to Expect

The monastery of Arkadiou is situated in this vicinity. By the mid-1800s, the Turks had occupied Crete for more than two centuries, despite frequent bloody uprisings by Cretan rebels. The monastery of Arkadi became the rebels' headquarters, owing to its central position on the island and it's strategic location. There were 259 rebels in the monastery and 12 out of the 16 revolutionary committee's members. In addition to the rebels and revolutionary leaders, there were 700 unarmed women and children from nearby villages who were seeking refuge from the Turks. On November 8 , 1866 , the Monastery was surrounded by 15,000 Turkish soldiers armed with 30 cannons. The Turkish commander gave Abbot Gabriel Marinakis an ultimatum, which was to either surrender or the Monastery would be destroyed. The ultimatum was answered by gunfire from the rebels. After several days of fighting the Turks, by sheer weight of numbers penetrated the Monastery's walls. As they poured into the inner courtyard, where they fought a hand to hand fight with the rebels. The women and children sought refuge in a gunpowder room where they decided it would be better to commit suicide than surrender to the Turks. Konstantinos Giamboudakis set the gunpowder off and caused the explosion which killed the 700 women and children and several hundred Turkish soldiers. The Greeks killed over 3,000 Turks and Egyptians in the battle.

Hot, hot, hot. Great for a girlie holiday!! Stay away from the lookie lookies!!

Anything I say about Chania is not enough. The city is the most beautiful in Crete. You have to visit. During summer is crouded but it is the best time of the year to visit. Do not forget to go to Venizelos' graves and admire the view of the city.

My favourite place on earth - the fartherest point in Europe. Make this a definite stop off (Brad Pitt mentions it in 'Legends of the Fall').

While staying in Chania, defenately visit also Chora Sfakion in the south coast of Crete. Small, little, friendly city surrounred by mountains.

Don't stay here longer then a couple of days because it gets boring

Hot, hot, hot. Great for a girlie holiday!! Stay away from the lookie lookies!!

Anything I say about Chania is not enough. The city is the most beautiful in Crete. You have to visit. During summer is crouded but it is the best time of the year to visit. Do not forget to go to Venizelos' graves and admire the view of the city.

My favourite place on earth - the fartherest point in Europe. Make this a definite stop off (Brad Pitt mentions it in 'Legends of the Fall').

While staying in Chania, defenately visit also Chora Sfakion in the south coast of Crete. Small, little, friendly city surrounred by mountains.

Don't stay here longer then a couple of days because it gets boring

A marvel of living,joying what hospitality means.

Hello, Crete is one of the most amazing sites in Greece. It's full of life, history, amazing beaches and wonderful welcoming people. It is quite a big island, so it offers many kinds of attractions for different types of travellers. On the northern coast reside the bigger towns, Chania and Heraclion, each having an international airport, and Rethymnon ang Aghios Nicolaos, smaller but very nice. Chania and Rethymnon have a venetian influence in their buildings, since they have been under the Venetian Republic occupation for several year, whilst Heraklion hosts one of the most beautiful ancient archaeological sites. Still, the best part of Crete is the southern coast. Wild on the western side, with sharp cliffs running to the sea, and canyons in the inner area. This is also the most traditional part of Crete. The eastern coast hosts beautiful luxurious resorts, fine sand beaches and gold shallow sea. More suitable for families or people that like relaxing on the beach!