{"id":4451,"date":"2018-10-23T20:25:05","date_gmt":"2018-10-23T20:25:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.svenlucaworld.com\/?p=4451"},"modified":"2020-06-20T17:03:12","modified_gmt":"2020-06-20T17:03:12","slug":"reisebericht-kreta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.svenlucaworld.com\/en\/travel-report-crete\/","title":{"rendered":"Travel report CRETE - Greece's largest island with impressive landscape and countless olive trees"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Crete is the largest of all Greek islands and the fifth largest island in the entire Mediterranean, with around 660,000 inhabitants.<\/p>\n

The island is located approximately 90 kilometers south of the Greek mainland and is dominated by a mountainous landscape. The highest peak in Crete is Psiloritis in the Ida Mountains at 2,456 meters.<\/p>\n

The largest cities in Crete include Heraklion, Rethymno, Sitia, Chania, Hersonissos, Malia, Kissamos, Agios Nikolaos and Lerapetra.<\/p>\n

Crete has a diverse flora with enormous deposits of herbs and spices, such as thyme, sage, dost, oregano and mountain mint. In the animal world there are increasing numbers of lizards, snakes and turtles, as well as various eagles, buzzards, falcons and vultures in the bird world.<\/p>\n

Crete's main economic sectors are agriculture and tourism. In agriculture, olives, wine and various types of fruit are mainly grown. Crete is one of the largest exporters of olive oil in all of Europe, with almost 20 million olive trees on the island's surface.<\/p>\n

Tourism plays an even greater importance for the economy of Crete. Every year around five million tourists, mostly foreign, visit the Greek Mediterranean island. Crete has a unique landscape and countless historical sites, making it very popular with holidaymakers.<\/p>\n

The main attractions of Crete include the Palace of Knossos, Elafonissi Beach, Botanical Park and Gardens of Crete, Old Venetian Port of Chania, Erimoupolis Beach, Samaria Gorge National Park, Seitan Limania Beach, Kotsifou Canyon, the monastery of Arkadi, the Kera Kardiotissa monastery, the church of Panagia, the ancient Roman city of Eleutherna, the summer palace of Phaistos, the Roman city of Gortyn, the palace of Kato Zakros, the ancient city-state of Lappa, the palace of Malla, the port city of Phoinix, the Frangokastello, the Arkadi Monastery, the caves in Matala, the church of Penagia Kera as well as numerous other impressive palaces, monasteries, gorges, waterfalls, beaches and bays.<\/p>\n

The capital of Crete is Heraklion, sometimes called Heraklion or Heraklion, in the central north with a population of about 210,000. Heraklion is the economic and cultural capital of the island. The main attractions of Heraklion include the Historical Museum of Crete, the Cretaquarium, the Martinengo Bastion, the Market Street, the Archaeological Museum, the Agios Titos Church, the Morosini Fountain, the Venetian Loggia, the Koules Harbor Fortress as well as the 6 kilometers long Venetian fortress walls.<\/p>\n

In August 2013 I went to the island of Crete with a friend for a long weekend. We stayed for three nights in a beach hotel in Hersonissos, one of Crete's party towns. The city's nightlife was really excellent, so unfortunately there was little time for any excursions or sightseeing.<\/p>\n

It was definitely a great weekend, maybe I'll come back to the island again one day.<\/p>\n\n