CRETE

For newcomers to Crete you will find that once you have been you will always find your way back to sample the friendliness and hospitality of the Cretan people. The scenery is very varied from mountains to plateaus with orange groves, olive groves and vine groves scattered all over the island.

Landscape

Crete’s landscape is varied, with four great mountain ranges. From west to east these are: Lefka Ori or the White Mountains in the far west, Psiloreitis or the Ida range south of Rethymno, the Dikti Mountains between Irakleio and Agios Nikolaos, and the Thryptis or Sitea range out to the east. These are Limestone Mountains, the end of a great chain that runs down from the Balkans.

The bare peaks, pale grey in summer or white with snow in winter, dominate the island. Below the peaks, the rocks are sun baked to brown, purple and orange. Remnants of once-extensive pine and Cypress forests clothe the upper ranges; below are skirts of prickly scrub, Scented flowering herbs, including Ebebnus cretica, clothe the mountainsides of much of the island and are particularly fine in the Cretan spring giving off an entrancing scent in the hot Cretan sunshine.

Climate

No matter what type of climate that you prefer, Crete can provide it. Because of the barrier created by the mountain ranges in the middle of the island, there may be sunshine on the south coast while rain is sweeping the north. From January to March there is snow in the mountains and usually wild weather. April and May are warm and fresh, with flowers everywhere. June, July and August are hot. From September to October the island slowly cools down and nice clear days bring a second flowering of the Cretan Flowers, before the gales and snow begin again in December.

Philoxenia

This is the Greek word for love of the stranger, in Crete Philoxenia is a social, almost a religious, obligation. The poorer the giver, the greater the pleasure in giving. There may be a return in the form of news, entertaining topics of conversation or a fresh ear to bend, but that is not the point. The impulse is a pure one

Cretan hospitality takes many forms; a shopkeeper failing to make a sale will still offer a cup of coffee. An old lady peeling apples on the doorstep will hand you one as you walk by. Perhaps the best expression of Cretan hospitality is the glass of cold spring water offered with a smile to the thirsty walker.