Crete: The Land of Summer!!

''There some kind of flame in Crete, let us call it soul, something that is stronger than life and death. There is pride, persistence, courage and with them something other, of no words and unpredictable, which makes you happy and afraid to be human at the same time''. These is Kazantzakis' words coming to mind as we walk around Plakias.....

One of the most famous Carnival in Greece, Rethymno Crete!!!

One hundred years have passed since the first Rethymno Carnival in Crete, Greece!! The Carnival will once again open the tourist season on the Greek island, which means one more reason for the municipality of Rethymno to celebrate....

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celebrate.#sthash.hAq6ige2.dpuf

One hundred years have passed since the first Rethymno Carnival in Crete, Greece. The Carnival will once again open the tourist season on the Greek island, which means one more reason for the municipality of Rethymno to celebrate. - See more at: http://greece.greekreporter.com/2014/02/05/crete-rethymno-carnival-brings-thousands-of-tourists/#sthash.KE8RVpLe.dpuf

One hundred years have passed since the first Rethymno Carnival in Crete, Greece. The Carnival will once again open the tourist season on the Greek island, which means one more reason for the municipality of Rethymno to celebrate. - See more at: http://greece.greekreporter.com/2014/02/05/crete-rethymno-carnival-brings-thousands-of-tourists/#sthash.cdKbC4Ai.dpuf

  Since 1914 beautiful Renaissance Rethymnon has been celebrating the carnival with its many humoristic events. A carnival of another era leaving behind its nostalgic aroma of romantic balls and the Rethymnians through laughter and their comical antics paying their tribute to "His Excellence, The King of the Carnival."

The Treasure Hunt, an old custom dating back to when the Carnival of Rethymno began about a century ago, was the reason for the creation of 'teams' in 1990, which would give birth once again to this age-old tradition.

 In 1993, the Municipality of Rethymnon decided to help fund this popular event and requested the teams to take on the challenging task of creating and organising the Carnival of Rethymnon, which has become the most popular and famous Carnival of Crete!!!!

 (The city is collaborating with several travel agencies of the municipality in order to offer good, cheap travel packages throughout the tourist season of the Carnival)

  source: (Plakias Suites CreteRethymno carnival)

Crete, an Independent State?

The Irish airline, Ryanair, with its new commercial spot, is reviving theories on the independence of Crete.
How so? Ryanair, on a video showing the changes prepared by the airline for 2014, presents various destinations such as Nice, Lisbon, Berlin etc. One of these destinations is the Greek island, Crete, depicted with the flag of the period of the Cretan State (1896-1913).
Unlike the other cities with famous touristic monuments such as the Brandenburg gate of Berlin, the flag of the Cretan State with the “Sultan’s star” was chosen for Crete. This flag was a combination of Greece’s flag of 1822 with the Turkish one.
It is worth mentioning that the Cretan State was the official name under which Crete was recognized as a self-governed state, after the Cretan Revolution in 1896 and the island’s secession from the Ottoman Empire. It was then that Crete was under the protection of the Great Powers – Great Britain, France, Italy and Russia. This was a transitional stage before the union of Crete with Greece in 1913.
(source: Greekreporter, by Iro-Anna Mamakouka)

Weekend on Crete, Psiloritis: The mountain of Gods and Humans...

Anogia: The Idaean Cave.

The discovery of a clay plaque with an incised dedication to Zeus inside the cave, during the first antiquarian investigations in the 19th cent., contributed to its identification as the Idaean Cave.

The cave is associated with the story of the birth of Zeus and his bringing up in it, where his mother Rea had hid him in order to rescue him from his father Kronos. A goat by the name Amaltheia fed the baby with her milk, whereas the young Kouretes served as his guardians by drumming their shields, so as to conceal the baby's cries....

After hiking, you can relax.... with traditional food!!

You must visit: Nikos Xilouris House!!

Don't forget!! to taste sheep's milk products....

from the old woman...

''Skandali''

or to drink raki with the wonderful owners from ''Melissa''

Also, there are a lot of tavernas!!
Two of them are ''Skalomata'' & ''Mougeris''

Something... different: Visit the Glass Workshop and discover the magic of blown glass!!

Near the village Zoniana:

Wax Figures of Cretan History!!

The Sfentoni Cave: one of the most important caves in Greece!!

So....

Source: Plakiassuites

''Traditional Cretan Home''

The women who live in the lovely village of Mirthios having real pride in their heritage, with love and care have meticulously reconstructed and beautifully presented to us a ''traditional Cretan home''. In this fast - faced world which we are driven to keep up with, a visit in the past, especially when it is a past that was beautiful and creative, holds special importance both for the old and young, for the old to remember and for the young to learn. And so these village women opened the treasure chests of their hearts, they have brought out their dowries, they have ornamented this small but charming house, which is to be found in the village of Mirthios Rethymno, Crete-Greece!!!

In this space, the focus is and was in the olden days the ''parasia'' or hearth with its mantelpiece on which were ranged all the cooking utensils, beside the fireplace there stood a traditional ''couch'' decorated with woven covers and cushions and of course a table with its specially embroidered tablecloth. This area united all the family throughout the day....

The old dresser, again decorated with crocheted lace or embroidered cloths displayed the plates....

The old iron bedstead is the jewel in the crown of this home, set as it is with hand embroidered covers ''patanies'' sheets and pillows, one has to wonder at the time and effort that went into creating such beautiful things.

Wherever your eye rests, from the door to the window, the walls, the furniture, you will be impressed from the variety of colors and designs that fill the space, bringing us back to a time when values were really!!

 http:What to see in Plakias...