SEEKING FOR
From the 5th century AD to the 15th century. From Minoan Crete to Venetian rule. A journey through time and the cultures that penetrated both the city of Heraklion and the whole island. Meet the amazing Minoan Civilization that prevailed prehistoric in the Mediterranean and discover King Minos. Visit the archeological museum in Heraklion and get a taste of the Venetian buildings in the port of the city. Finally, tour the place where Dominikos Theotokopoulos grew up, known as El Greco, admire his fine works and the traditional village of Fodele.
117 Kilometers
3 Destinations
10 Hours Duration
1
According to tradition, the painter Domenikos Theotokopoulos, the great El Greco, was born in Fodele in 1541. A picturesque village of the Municipality of Malevizi with a lot of tourist traffic, folk art shops and cafes – restaurants, Fodele is hidden in a green valley with orange and lemon trees, imposing plane trees, reeds and running water, west of the town of Heraklion near the borders with the Regional Unit of Rethymno. Near the church of Panagia operates the Museum of Domenikos Theotokopoulos, which is considered to be the house of the famous painter.
2
Modern Heraklion keeps the tradition of one of the most attractive cities in the Mediterranean! Covers and satisfies all the tastes and requirements of the visitor and its permanent resident. In the center of the city are many monuments of the medieval times of Crete, which show its great prosperity in those years. Going up from the port you meet the first great monument, the Loggia that today houses the Municipal Council and part of the Services of the Municipality of Heraklion. Its galleries date from the 14th century and theyr final form from the beginning of the 17th.
3
The Minoan palace is the main visitable area of Knossos, an important city in antiquity, with continuous life from the Neolithic years to the 5th century A.D. Fascinating myths, of the Labyrinth with the Minotaur and of Daedalus with Icarus, are associated with the palace of Knossos. The first excavations were made in 1878 by Minos Kalokairinos from Heraklion. This was followed by the excavations carried out by the Englishman Sir Arthur Evans (1900-1913 and 1922-1930) and which revealed the entire palace.
