Trips

Thurs., 5/10/18 - Chania to Heraklion

After breakfast we boarded our minibus with our luggage and headed to the capital and largest Cretan city, Heraklion. We passed near where El Greco was born. His Greek name, Doménikos Theotokópoulos, was very hard for the Spanish to pronounce so after he moved to Spain he was known as “The Greek” - El Greco in Spanish.

On the way we stopped at Rethymno and picked up a local guide, Ritsa. We walked through the old town to look at the fortress and city wall and lighthouse. The Venetians fortified Chania, Rethymno, and Heraklion against pirates. In 1923 when all Greek Christians in Turkey were sent to Greece and all Moslems of Islamic faith in Greece were sent to Turkey (part of the Lausanne Convention) all mosques here began to be used as churches again or music schools or galleries. There are no mosques in Crete now.

Rethymno Lighthouse	Fortezza of Rethymno
Fishing nets	Octopus
Interesting lamp post sculpture	Street scene
Creative electrical work	Street scene
Local store	Street scene
The “sewer” plates in the old town are interesting. The two dolphins (the city’s logo) surround a toilet tank (sewer) or a water tap (water) or a street lamp (electricity) or telecommunications.
	Bougainvillea
Local market	We entered one bookshop where the owner opened a wall for expansion and discovered three fountains that were originally used for Islamic ablutions before entering the mosque. One wall of the mosque forms a side of his courtyard.
Ancient column being restored	Ancient column being restored
Guora Gate - an old city gate	The old balconies of the floor above the shops are wooden as in Venetian times. This is ruined by all of the graffiti which seems to be acceptable to the Cretans living on the island.
Minaret and Nerantze Mosque	Minaret of the Nerantze Mosque
Mikrasiaton Square Monument The Square's name comes from the settlement of the inhabitants of Minor Asia who arrived to Rethymno after the population exchange set by the Lausanne Convention and were accommodated in that square.	Street scene
Street scene	Street scene
We entered a shop where an 80 year old man still makes “phyllo dough” the old way. We watched him spread the dough of flour, water, and salt and stretch it across the table without it breaking. He covers it with a burlap-type cloth and stretches another one on top. His son also makes these. These are then cut into strips, rolled up, and sold to bakers who create the many Greek sweets Alexandra has been buying for us to sample.
	Street scene
We entered the small Folk Art Museum. People have donated family heirlooms of woven tapestries, furniture, muskets, work tools, baskets, pottery, coins, and other things.	Courtyard at the Folk Art Museum
Hanging at the Folk Art Museum	Another view of the Minaret of the Nerantze Mosque
Rimondi Fountain	Saint Nicholas Eastern Orthodox Church
We went to Ritsa’s house where her husband had cooked us another 12 or 15 dish meal. It was 3 PM so we didn’t need anything but gelato for dinner again.
Lunch	Ritsa's kitchen
After “lunch” we stopped at the shop of a very interesting and talented potter. He demonstrated making a unique salt shaker, that I was tempted to buy. He also makes a wine mug that, if it is filled more than half-full, the extra pours out of the bottom, and a watering pot that you fill by submerging it in water and then you place your thumb over a hole in the handle until you get to the garden. By removing your thumb the water flows out in a shower from the bottom of the pot. He makes honey pots with a gutter around the bowl near the top. Water in the gutter keeps ants from crawling into the honey.	Pottery shop
Pottery shop	Potter at work
Potter at work	We finally arrived in Heraklion and to our hotel, Capsis Astoria. We walked the streets as a group and ate Divinci ice cream for dinner.
Heraklion harbor	Heraklion harbor

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