Love Letter from Crete # 8

Welcome to our latest edition of Love Letters From Crete

Inside you will find:

• Places to See - Elafonisi Beach
• Cretan Culture- The Art of Crete
• For Travellers - Beach Accommodation & Map
• Flights - Cheap Flights to Crete

Elafonisi Beach

The crystal clear waters of Elafonisi (also know as Elafonisos) drew me from one side of the globe to the other. Whilst working in my home office, I kept a picture of Elafonisi inlet on my computer screen. I would visualise myself there.

To me, it represented one of the most beautiful aspects of Crete.

Then, one fine day, I was there! Magic!

Elafonisi Beach and islet are at the far west coast of Crete. The clean, clear waters have beckoned travellers for centuries, but thankfully this area has a restricted development order in place.

This natural, near pristine beach, with its pure white sandbars and natural islet, remains virtually untouched.

In some light, the sand takes on a pink glow, said to be from corals. Elafonisi is protected by an EU environmental program.

I travelled west of Crete to the nomos prefecture of Chania, to a lovely town named Kastelli-Kissamos.

I took a day trip to Elafonisi. This means a beautiful breathtaking journey through the Gorge of Topolia and the mountain towns of Topolia, Koutsomatados, Myli, Elos, Kefali, and Vathi.

Over the mountain of Agios Dikaios, is an observation point for the endangered species Gypaetus barbatus, a vulture-like bird of prey. One of only two pairs of this rare bird lives here. These birds are endangered, and are protected under the Life program of the European Union. For more about the birds, see our nature pages.

There are villas, dolmatia, rooms and accommodation within a comfortable day’s drive of Elafonisi. There is a small cluster of pensions on a bluff overlooking the beach.

Elafonisi beach looks out over the Libyan sea; there are a number of beaches to explore, to lie on, to swim and to laze in comfortable chairs with umbrellas.

Make sure you walk along the sandbar to visit the islet and explore the many tracks, coves and solitary beaches. This area is important to bird watchers, as one of the last stops for birds migrating to Africa.

Two gorgeous little birds came to keep my company by the water side, they were Pied Oystercatchers.

Naturists do enjoy Elafonisi, and topless bathing is as common as on other Greek beaches.

Back on dry land, there is a small shop for food, beach supplies and gifts. The area is popular with day-trippers and most of the visitors leave at 4pm on the return bus.

I made Elafonisi my very first Cretan destination, to swim like a mermaid in its clear, clear waters was exactly the sense of freedom I was searching for. Elafonisi did not disappoint.

The Art of Crete

Art on the Greek Island of Crete

Crete Art – Minoan

The island of Crete was home to one of the oldest civilizations in Europe, the Minoans, who thrived on the island as early as 2000 BC. One of the most interesting aspects of this early community was their beautiful artwork.

The depictions of figures, plants and animals have communicated to us in our modern times through careful work of archaeology. Many of the wall art or frescoes can now be viewed in museums on the island, and at the Minoan sites such as Knossos.

Crete Art – Byzantine and Religious Art

Byzantine art emerges from the fourth century until the fall of Constantinople in 1493. Primarily religious in subject, artists at the Cretan School continued after the fall of Byzantium and this period is also referred to as Post Byzantine art.

Crete has some of the finest examples of Byzantine art in its churches all over the island, and in the following museums.

• Museum of Religious Art - Monis Odigitrias, Heraklion

• Centre for Byzantine Art - Ethnikis Antistaseos, Rethymnon

Crete Art – Renaissance Painting

One of the greats of the European renaissance – an artist known as El Greco – was born in Crete and studied art in the flourishing Venetian culture of the time, in the city of Heraklion. See our dedicated page about Domenikos Theokotopoulos – El Greco.

Crete Art – Modern Art

Modern art also flourishes on the island, from ceramics to glass and jewellery, painting and sculpture, every art form is created on the island, one only needs to attend the Renaissance Festival in Rethymnon each year to enjoy the many dramatic arts as well as creative arts.

Crete Art - Artists

Here are some of our favourite artists and expressions, existing in the diversity of genres that our time allows us to celebrate.

Mimetoliths by Algis Kemezys

The Director of this award winning short film, created on the island of Crete, wrote to us recently to tell us about his expression:

"This film travels to beautiful, mystical Crete, to closely look at Mimetoliths - rocks and stones that imitate living beings. It embraces the Muses that have languished petrified on the sacred landscape; the Phaistos Disk; intergalactic travel; Pythagoras' golden proportion of 1 to 1.618; missing Planets; the Labyrinth; the Minotaur.

The rocks and stones of certain sacred places are alive with stories to tell. I have believed this since childhood, when my mother would send me on stone-hunts, to keep me busy; and later when as an adult I travelled the world continuously on a spiritual quest, looking for my muse.

I found some of what I was looking for on Crete, the largest of the Greek islands, and travelled back there repeatedly for the last four years. I scoured the landscape for meaningful mimetoliths, because of the legends and mysteries of the island. I built stone monuments to reflect nature and to please the gods. I encountered others who felt the same passions as myself and interviewed them. I tried to penetrate the ancient secrets within the rocks as I filmed them and spoke to them and became one with them.

Then, under the hypnotic spell of all that I had seen and all that I had captured on tape, I imagined mythological truths emerging from these images. I edited the footage myself at home, in true indie fashion, hoping that the language of cinema would add its own impressions and dimensions, and let me share the stories with the audience. "

Glimpses of the film can be seen on the Mimetoliths trailer.

Tarrha Glass from Anogia

Marios Chalkiadakis and Natassa Papadogamvraki studied glass art in Scandinavia and England and worked with Orrefors before returning to Crete to open their own studio in Anogia, creating a range of intoxicatingly beautiful modern glass pieces.

Crete Art – Galleries
• Municipal Art Gallery on 25 Avgoustou St in Heraklion

• Center of Modern Art on 5 Chimaras St in Rethymnon

Beach Accommodation and Map

We have been carefully selecting beach guesthouses that reflect the true character of Kriti. Chosen because they are either right on the beach or walking distance from the beach and family run, our choices are now featured as our Beach Accommodation page … which has an interactive map to enable you to select your accommodation by location within Crete. From this page you can find exact details and make bookings for your next experience of Crete…

Cheap Flights to Crete

Finding A Cheap Flight To Crete - Compare Flights To Crete

Your flight to Crete may be the largest expense of your whole trip.

Because it is a big expense, you will want to save by finding the cheapest Crete flight possible.

There is no single best way to find cheap Crete flights. It all depends where you come from, and where in Greece you want to go. It depends on how flexible you are with your trip planning, how long you plan to stay in Greece, and what you plan to do when you are here.

We hope this section helps you to find the cheapest flights to Crete to suit your Greek travel plans.

Snapping up Cheap Flights To Crete

Flights To Chania, Crete - Flights To Heraklion, Crete

Most cheap return flights to Crete go to either Chania or Heraklion, so they are the cheapest flights to Crete.

The travel distances in Crete are small, and you won’t require internal flights. You may want to connect up to other Greek islands. For most people coming from afar it is actually the best option to book a return flight to and from Athens.

Don't just assume that a cheap flight to Chania or Heraklion is your best option. You may want to see other parts of Greece, so you can use Athens as a hub. So fly into Athens and take flights between the islands. From Crete you can fly to Santorini and Rhodes, for example.

Want to find some great value flights? Check out the best cheap flights search engine on the internet - Kayak.com

You can find cheap flights from 400+ sites with one click.

It searches over 400 travel websites for flights and consistently brings back the lowest prices.

Cheap Crete Flights – Seasons of the Year

To find a cheap flights to Crete you will need to start comparing fares early. Don't place your only hope for last minute flight deals to Crete.

July and August is the main tourist season in the whole of Greece, and is the time with the most flights, including charter and discounted flights. We recommending steering clear of this season and travelling in Crete in a shoulder season, that is; spring or autumn.

April to June is spring season and technically for flights it is a shoulder season, however it can start to get really busy in June, so book ahead.

September to November is autumn season and also shoulder season. Some good fares are available, although schedules are sparser.

December to March is winter season and flight schedules are much reduced. A lot of the direct flights from Europe to Chania and Heraklion do not operate, and the flight route you will need is via Athens.

Cheap Crete Flights – Airlines

Coming from Athens The two regular carriers from Athens to Crete are Olympic Airlines and Aegean Air. Opinions are divided about both these airlines. Greeks are no longer blindly nationalistic over Olympic airlines and will choose other airlines as required. Whether booking on line or via your travel agent, sometimes you need an emergency flight. Try to phone the airlines direct to see if any tickets are still available at the last minute.

Coming from Australia Olympic Airlines has not flown from Australia to Greece since 2002. All sorts of airlines and options are available to get to Crete from Australia. You can use any European city as a hub, and fly that national airline. KLM has some very good fares for 2009; this would mean a stopover in Amsterdam. KLM Dutch Airlines

We prefer to use Singapore as a stopping point on a continuous journey. Singapore Airlines flies direct from Singapore to Athens generally three times a week. This gets us to Athens in just under 24 hours flying time. Singapore Airlines.

Coming from North America Olympic Airlines fly from Toronto, Montreal and New York to Athens.

Air Canada pairs with Lufthansa to fly to Athens from Toronto via Montreal and a German city such as Munich or Frankfurt. One can also fly with Swiss Air from Toronto or Montreal to Zurich then on to Athens. Flights from Toronto and Montreal can connect up in New York with the Olympic Airlines service to Athens.

From New York Olympic Airlines has a direct flight to Athens which is just under 10 hours flying time. These are scheduled at least daily.

Coming from The British Iles Olympic Airlines flies into Athens from London and Manchester. Many of the discount European carriers now fly from various points in the British Iles direct to Chania and Heraklion, especially in summer.

Coming from Europe Olympic Airlines flies into Athens from Amsterdam, Belgrade, Berlin, Brussels, Bucharest, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Geneva, Larnaca, London, Lisbon, Madrid, Malta, Manchester, Milan, Munich, Paris, Prague, Rome, Sofia, Strassbourg, Stuttgart, Tirana, Torino and Vienna.

Use Kayak.com to compare prices for many airlines, and different routes easily, and compare cheap flights from 400+ sites with one click.

Cheap Crete Flights – How to Book

Better to book a cheap Crete flight online or use a travel agent?

If you are just hopping from home direct to Crete, it is a simple matter of timing and price and an online search with Kayak.com will give you the best option, and it is very easy to book online.

If you are building an itinerary from far away and including many Greek destinations in your holiday, your local Greek specialist is likely to offer the best service.

If you are looking for a travel agent in Crete, we recommend Vai Travel in Heraklion, at 10, Chandakos Street (just walk through the trees behind the Liondaria).

Galo Taxidi! Καλό ταξίδι