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October12,2007"reflection on Crete...finally"
I know it has taken me a long time to share my experiences on Crete, but it's finally here! Although Crete certainly deserves multiple entries, I'm going to have to condense it to one because I'm off to the Argolid this weekend with CYA to see Mycenae, Epidaurus, and Tiryns.
on the last week of September, CYA took all 120+ of us to Crete. we left on an overnight ferry on Monday night, Sept. 24th. surprisingly, i didn't get motion sickness and aside from the 5:30AM wake-up call, i slept fairly well in our four-bed cabin. we docked in Heraklion early Tuesday morning, and immediately went to Knossos in our separate classes/groups. we were hoping to beat the tourist rush by getting there right when it opened at 8am, and honestly, if we came only an hour later, the crowds would have been hectic to fight through. literally thousands of tourists flood through Knossos per day, and i can't imagine what it must be like to come during high season. Knossos wasn't as great as i thought it would be. from this picture, you can see how the reconstruction by Sir Arthur Evans really looks...gaudy. i can't explain it, but Knossos was sort of anti-climatic because while the complex is fascinating, the knowledge that Evans moved things around and reconstructed the palace with a very biased British view makes the palace seem less real. in one sense, it was nice to see how the palace might have looked like, but knowing that a lot of the reconstruction that we see today is ambiguous kind of diminished the experience for me.
overall, it was good to finally see Knossos, despite the fact that i didn't see the throne room because our professor did a poor job of time management when we got there and the line was too long for my friend and i to wait through. but at least i finally understood what they meant by how big the pithoi were because as you can see from this picture, some pithoi were much larger than the average human being. it amazes me how they made such magnificent pottery, especially because even today it would be hard to create pithoi.
i also finally understood why the raised paths found running through the theatral area and courtyard would be thought of as processional walkways. looking at most pictures, it's hard to perceive how the raised pathways look. they are raised very visibly, about a foot in width and a good 4-6 inches raised above the paved ground. the theatral area also sounds misleading because in my opinion, they must have been stairs, not theatral seats. this is because while we were sitting down on the steps, it was a bit uncomfortable, unless i stretched out my legs down a couple more steps. the steps reminded me of many modern outdoor grand staircases, where the steps are raised only by an inch or so rather than the standard 6-8 inches(?).
after our short visit to Knossos, we went back to Heraklion to check into our hotel, Hotel Olympic, which was conveniently located near a small string of cafes/bars. the port of Heraklion itself wasn't very interesting, but the Heraklion Archaeological Museum was a treat. unfortunately, when we went there, the museum was still under renovation, but the basement floor was open to the public with a display of its most prominent pieces. among those pieces were a few frescoes reconstructed from Knossos, the famous bee pendant, lots of kamares ware, the aghia triadas sarcophagus, and the Phaistos disk. personally, the most exciting part for me was seeing the bull-leaping fresco reconstructed from Knossos. it was wonderful to observe the piece up close, and understand what a magnificent reconstruction it was. there were a lot fewer genuine fresco remnants than i originally imagined, and the reconstruction from those few pieces is incredible. i also enjoyed seeing many of the famous Kamares Ware, like the octopus stirrup jar. admittedly, i do have a fascination with pottery art, simply because it amazes me that artisans had the patience to meticulously paint over the clay.
the next day, Wednesday, we went to Phaistos to see the Minoan palace complex. i enjoyed Phaistos much more, not only because of the fewer crowds, but also the fact that most of Phaistos has been left untainted, unlike Knossos. there has been a lot less reconstruction at Phaistos, so much of what is there is in its original dilapidated form. it was refreshing to see the palace without the re-painted frescoes and rebuilt painted columns. the central court was very interesting, because of the randomly placed/found rocks in the middle of the courtyard. supposedly the rocks are evidence of possible bull-leaping activities in the central court, but i suspect that the Minoans were experimenting with a rock garden of their own. well, that's not actually what i think, but i doubt they would have bull-leaping activities on the courtyard and not have broken pavement all over the place. it's very possible they did manage bull-leaping in the central court since it would have been a good place for a show, but who knows what really happened.
while many of the lower levels at Knossos were closed off from public viewing, Phaistos allowed visitors to walk down and around the lower levels to see what the rooms were like. pictured here is the so-called lustral basin. this is a great example of how archaeologists are not only constantly in dispute about their discoveries, but also how they tend not to rename things despite strong evidence against the original name. a little Minoan archaeology for those of you who don't know anything about the Minoans: the Minoans were highly advanced, which is evident from their amazing architecture (as you can see from the great complexes of Knossos and Phaistos). one of the most impressive technological features of their building complexes is the advanced plumbing system. the "lustral basin" found in each palace complex has no evidence of a drainage system. it makes no sense that the Minoans would have created a bathroom without some way for the water to drain out! personally, i think this special room was probably ritualistic. it didn't seem like there would have been a lot of light in the room either, so bathing would not have been pleasant.
one very good example of the incredible Minoan architectural technology is this well-preserved wall right beside the staircase of the theatral area. the ashlar masonry evident from this wall is beautiful, and really exemplifies the craftsmanship that the Minoans must have had. of course, behind the ashlar blocks, the interior walls are much less pretty and refined. but this specific wall really impressed me in its precisely cut blocks and very refined edges.after Phaistos, we made a quick stop at Kommos, the (possibly) port town affiliated with Phaistos. there wasn't much to identify and see since the site is under excavation and not fully published like the other major sites, but it was a special treat to see the site since it is still closed off to visitors, and CYA probably had to pull some strings for us.
at the end of our little site visits, we went to Matala for an afternoon on the beach. i didn't go swimming in the Mediterranean because of my great fear of sea creatures and seaweed between my toes, but the pristine water was beautiful to look at. my friend and i sat in a taverna overlooking the beach and water, sipping our huge beers and munching on Cretan appetizers. at the end of the afternoon, we drove up into the mountains to a village called Zaros, where we took over Hotel Idi, located at the base of the mountains, but high up above the village. it was a nice change of scenery, and though it was only a brief evening, it was nice to have taken a stroll through the village and have a glimpse of typical Cretan daily life.
the next day, Thursday, we went off to see Vathypetro, a Minoan villa which had a lot of production in wine and olives. the only really important thing i remembered about the site was the fact that it had the foundations of a tripartite shrine, and the best evidence of such a shrine in Minoan religion. there was also a reconstructed room which had well-preserved evidence of wine and olive oil production. the wine press and some pithoi were found in perfect condition where they stand today, so it was nice to see how these production tools were actually placed in ancient times. we then drove to Archanes and walked up the hill, Phourni, to see Mycenaean shaft graves. these graves not only indicated that the Mycenaeans did in fact take over Crete after the Minoan civilization collapsed, but also gave a lot of clues about group burials and Mycenaean architecture. while the walls were not built with neatly cut blocks, the actual complex was very interesting, particularly because it seemed that the graves multiplied from inside out. it seemed like the graves were gradually added to each other over time, creating a massive complex that cannot be navigated easily.
at the end of the day, we finally made it to the beautiful town of Chania. once again, our hotel was located in an excellent area, close to the water. nearby, a string of tavernas along the waterfront faced the Venetian walls and lighthouse. the scene was so beautiful, but walking past the tavernas was a challenge, because the hosts were extremely aggressive about their advertising. a couple of them almost tried to block our paths to persuade us to go eat at his taverna, and another one offered us free drinks for the night. after battling our way through those tavernas, we ended up enjoying a little walk along the water towards the sunset, which was the most refreshing thing i could have experienced after a long day. Chania is an extremely beautiful town, and i really wish we could've stayed there longer to enjoy the scenery and have a taste of its nightlife. it was a very tourist-y town, but nevertheless, the natural beauty was unbeatable and worthwhile.
on our final day, Friday, the vast majority of us decided to hike down the Samaria Gorge. the gorge is supposedly Europe's largest gorge, and a very famous place for a hike. in fact, so many people hike
through the gorge that the first 2km descent down a rocky, crudely paved path was extremely different for me because of the worn out, smooth rocks that threatened my left ankle with a sprain. so many hikers walk through that there are trail markers for every kilometer and eight resting stops with fresh springs for water refilling. it took me well over four hours to hike down and through the entire gorge, but it was an amazing experience. it was wonderful to be able to stop and admire the grandeur of the cliffs, and it was refreshing to breathe there. at the major resting stop/tiny village, we encountered several kri-kri, a goat species that only dwells on Crete. the kri-kri we encountered were clearly used to tourists feeding them trail mix and other edibles. this one from the picture above wouldn't leave me alone for a while and attempted to snatch my bag of almonds away. i wonder how these kri-kri would live on their own without us tourists stopping by every hour of the day to feed them.and so, at the end of our hike, we walked an additional 2km to the beach to a nearby village, and took mid-afternoon boat to Sfakia to catch our busses, and made our way back to Chania where our overnight ferry waited for us at the docks. i had an unforgettable experience on Crete, and wished we could've stayed there longer to absorb some local culture and see more sites.....and that's the end of my story. lightning has been flashing in the light-polluted sky for the past hour, so i think i should crawl into bed now. i hope Athens will receive some real downpours, because the light pitter-patter of the sprinkling rain on our awning was not very convincing.
