Across North Crete

We start our tour driving along the north coastal road, passing the resort city of Georgioupolis, popular for its fine beaches, to the city of Souda, port of Chania, to visit the principal Allied War Cemetery designed by architect Louis de Soissons and next, to visit the Venizelos Graves at the historical location of Profitis Ilias in Akrotiri where the tomb of Eleftherios Venizelos lays, one of the long-standing prime Ministers Greece. We continue to the city of Chania for a short visit before we return to Rethimno to visit its Fortezza. The Fortezza is the citadel of the city of Rethimno. It was built by the Venetians in the 16th century (1573) to protect the city and was captured by the Ottomans in 1646. By the early 20th century many houses were built within the citadel. After visiting the Fortezza we will have lunch in Rethimno and continue towards the Monastery of Arkadi, which constitutes a landmark of architecture and civilization considering the magnificent facade of the church, the highly developed spiritual tradition as well as the flourishing development of fine arts. However, the holocaust, which took place in 1866, gave the monastery an eminent place in history, elevating it to an eternal symbol of freedom and heroism, which is acknowledged the world over. We continue our the city of Heraklio, where we visit the archaeological site of Knossos and its palace sited 5kms southeast of the city of Heraklio. On the ruins of the Neolithic settlement was built the first Minoan palace (1900 B.C.) where the dynasty of Minos ruled. The site was discovered in 1878 by Minos Kalokairinos. The excavations in Knossos began in 1900 A.D. by the English archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans and his team and they continued for 35 years. After the visit of the site we return to Hotel.