Iraklion and Knossos IMilazzo, Sicily September 16, 2004 Hi Folks, We have crossed the Ionian Sea and up through the Strait of Messina and are here in Milazzo on the north coast of Sicily, ready to head over to the volcanic Lipari Islands tomorrow. Doug joined us in Heraklion, and was an asset in our five day passage from Crete to Italy. More about it in the appropriate log. All is well with us, and we are enjoying Italian food courtesy of Doug. All the best, Aubrey ***************************************************************************** Log #33g Iraklion and Knossos We only planned to spend a day or two in the lovely anchorage at Spinalonga, but were gale bound for two more days before the winds let up. Our second day Judy and I dinghied down to the isthmus at the end of the bay to snorkel the remains of the ancient docks submerged in that old port. However, the wind was still blowing strong down the bay, causing the water to cloud up, not conducive to a tranquil investigation of underwater remains, and so we just continued on over to the town of Elounda for lunch and E-mail, and to drop off some garbage we had been accumulating over the past couple of days. After lunch we found a good hardware/home renovation store that had most of what we were after, except for duct tape. We got new brackets for the bookshelf in the vee berth, which had collapsed in heavy weather en route to Crete, some clear plastic to cover my collapsible bike and to serve as a mast boot (ours had been leaking for at least three years), some strip insulation to make our foredeck hatch screen more insect proof, and some mosquito netting for a throw screen to cover our main hatchway. Happiness is a good hardware store or chandlery! The third day we tried to leave early at 0745, hoping to get clear before the wind came up. We put a single reef in before weighing anchor, leaving the bay in a light force 2 breeze. However outside it was still howling a force 6 to 7 from the west, and so we gave up and returned to our anchorage by 1015. We didn't need the aggravation and another day in that pleasant anchorage would not be too hard to take. With a slightly more favourable forecast we left even earlier next morning (0300), again single reefed to get as far as we could before the daily heavy winds set in. We motorsailed into a force 4 to 5 wind for half the time and straight into it for the last half of the 9 hour, 35 mile trip to Iraklion, where we had to tie up alongside the outer wall, as the inner basin with the marina was filled with local boats and "there was no room at the inn." Upon entering, we saw a Danish frigate tied up on the outer wall, and the Danish Royal Yacht alongside the harbour dock. The last time we saw this yacht was when we passed it in the Limfiord of Denmark four years ago. At that time I had saluted the yacht by lowering my ensign as it passed going the opposite direction. I checked their bridge to see if they would recognize my salute. Sure enough, they did, and I saw a seaman run from the forward bridge down and aft to dip its flag in response. However in his rush he lost the lower halyard, and the last I saw the yacht, it was sailing off with its national ensign flapping wildly in the breeze, unable to return the salute or be lowered, and held by only the upper grommet. I wondered if that guy is back onboard or still in Greenland counting caribou? The outer wall/breakwater was for large ships, with large bollards every 100 feet or so, and no other securing points. We had to make fast to one bollard 30 feet ahead and another 30 feet astern, with no midship lines to prevent surging back and forth. In addition, the wall and roadway were 4 feet above deck level making getting on and off a dangerous exercise. The far side of the roadway was the actual breakwater wall, about 25 feet above water level. Our mast was above this breakwater wall, and thus we were able to identify the wind speed outside the harbour. There were a couple of water taps on the dock which we used to fill our water tanks and get dockside showers with our garden hose. At the inner end of this outer wall is a large Venetian (Venetian control extended from the 11th to the 15th centuries) fort protecting the inner harbour, now the marina and fishing boat docks. This is a massive structure in good condition, dominating the seaward entrance to Heraklion, and the "anchor" for the still intact fortified walls with five major bastions surrounding the old centre of the city. While the rest of Crete came under Ottoman domination, it is not surprising that Heraklion (then known as Candia) held out against the Ottoman Empire for another 21 years, finally surrendering in 1669. The occupiers of Crete (after the Minoan Period 3000 to 1100 BC) are the traditional empires of the area: Greek (1100 to 67 BC), Roman (67 BC to 395 AD), Byzantine (395 to 1210 AD, including some Arab interference), Venetian (1210 to 1647 AD), and Ottoman (1647 to 1898 AD) periods, plus a brief British mandate before becoming part of Greece again in 1905 (Enosis), made official by the Treaty of Bucharest in 1913, but occupied by the Germans (a very strategic air base dominating the eastern Med) in WW II from 1941 to 1945. Don't we have a relatively simple history in North America, especially in Canada? There were two major reasons for us visiting Heraklion, the Minoan palace at Knossus, and the Archeological Museum. We caught a local bus out to Knossus (.70 Euro), another big tourist attraction, but well worth it. Actually we got combined tickets that included the palace and the museum, and I was able to get a senior's rate of 50% off as a British (EU) citizen. The palace was an impressive archeological site covering several acres, the ruins dating back to the Minoan era from about 1900 to 1400 BC. This Minoan era of Crete was contemporary with the height of the Egyptian Pharaohs and the pyramids. This was a very advanced civilization lasting over 1500 years (from the prepalatial period 2600 BC to the postpalatial period ending about 1100 BC) until a series of events such as earthquakes and fires, the volcanic eruptions on Santorini causing tidal waves and volcanic dust in the atmosphere, and barbarian invasions, ended and destroyed all traces of the Minoan culture except the classical legends about King Minos, the Labyrinth and the Minotaur. The Labyrinth refers to the 1500 rooms of this palace, and derives the term from the word "labrys" which meant double (headed) axe. This was a sacred religious symbol in the Minoan culture, and the palace was referred to as the "House of the Double Axes". There was controversy with the uncovering of the ruins beginning in 1900 by the British archeologist Sir Arthur Evans, as he spent 35 years and £250,000 of his own money developing the site. However, he did not just excavate it, but reconstructed parts of it as he thought they would have appeared 2500 years ago so that people could see what a Minoan Palace would actually look like. Thus there are rustic red columns supporting porticos containing colourful mosaics and frescoes to give the impression of how these areas would have looked. We spent several hours touring the site, including the throne room, the giant pithoi of the magazine storage areas, the Royal Road, and the Queen's Megaron (suite) with its blue circular borders, spiral motifs, and fascinating frescoes of colourful fish and blue dolphins. Many of the original mosaics, frescoes and other artifacts are housed in the Heraklion Archeological Museum, which we were to visit next day. The Heraklion Museum was great! The many treasures of Knossos and even earlier civilizations were well displayed. I always marvel at the artistic skills displayed by such ancient craftsmen. The materials were presented in a chronological sequence from the Neolithic (6000 to 2600 BC) and Minoan Prepalatial (2600 to 1900 BC) periods through to the Greek and Roman (600 BC to 450 AD) periods. The original frescoes from the Palace at Knossos such as The Blue Ladies, and the Bull Dance were on display. The Bull Dance displayed a very risky sport whereby the athlete faced a charging bull, and by grabbing its horns, vaulted (somersaulted) over its back. Many other treasures were well displayed and photography was permitted, allowing me to get several good digital pictures of the ancient artifacts. Another excellent museum in Heraklion was the Historical Museum of Crete housing artifacts from more recent Cretan history, from the Ottoman period to WW II. An extremely detailed display of Heraklion when it withstood the Ottoman siege and accounts of that period, as well as other cultural folklore displays of Cretan life and traditions, made for an interesting and informative experience. The museum also housed the reconstructed library of the author Nikos Kazantzakis (who wrote Zorba the Greek, The Last Temptation of Christ, and others), as well as a room displaying the only El Greco (born and educated in Crete) painting left in Crete. It had a better account of the Battle for Crete from WW II than the Battle of Crete Museum which we also visited. We were also able to get a laundry done and send some E-mail, as well as enjoying a couple of lovely restaurant meals, although Judy makes better mousaka than we had there. I filled our jerry cans with diesel, and we were ready to head off, except that our masthead wind indicator seemed to be stuck between 25 to 35 knots for several days, and waves were sending spray 40 feet into the air over the walls, coating the docks with water and sending a salt spray all over poor Veleda. We waited. Next log