Crete is the biggest Greek Island and has the fifth place among the island of Mediterranean sea; its population is of 623666 people. The island has an area of 8336 square km, an elongated shape, a mountainous relief, consisting of three different chains of mountains: the White Mountains (Lefka Ori), the mountain of Ida and the mountain of Dickty.

The mountains gave to Crete a fertile plateau, the Dicteon and Ideon caves (where according to the legend Zeus, the father of gods, spent his childhood) and gorges, among witch The Samaria Gorge is the most famous one (it is also the longest gorge in Europe). The seaside of the island is deeply cut up, the shore line, where the golden sandy beaches stretched, is more than 1000 km in length.

The sunny Crete with its greenish-blue sea, golden sandy beaches and tropical palms is one of the most popular places of resting in the whole Greece. Tourists arrive to the Island by the means of two international airports – in Heraklion (the capital of the island) and in Hanna, or by the means of a ship – in the Heraklion, Hanna, Rethymno and Aghios Nicoloas ports.

The big modern city of Heraklion is not just a fairy tale idyll of the island; it is also a living commercial centre, and also the start point for tourists that wish to get acquainted with the island. This noisy city is built on a rather abrupt hill. A Venetian fortress raise over the port, but the archaeological museum, where there is one of the vastest collections of the Minoan civilization exhibits, is the reason on city’s pride and happiness.

By the way one of the reasons why thousands of tourists direct themselves daily towards Crete is hidden not only in the traditional studying of the island, but also in the exploration of the tracks of previous civilization, that one by one went through flourishing and falling here. Not far away from Heraklion lays one of the biggest archaeological sights, that is related to Minoan epoch, the Castle of Knossos. The original model of the Castle had a lot of steps, it was built from cut stone, and its walls were decorated with beautiful frescos. Arthur Evans, the one that discovered the Castle, reconstructed it partially for the tourists to have an idea of how the Castle looked like. Somewhere about 60km away from Heraklion lays the second important archaeological area – the Festos palace complex, that is considered to be a more graceful model of the Minoan architecture than Knossos, if according to the opinion of the majority.

There is everything one needs on Crete, from magnificent resorts with luxurious hotels till the hotel rooms in villages, that had not change a lot during the last centuries. You can spent a wonderful day in a faraway mountainous region, where you’ll be treated to some goat cheese and olives, and afterwards during an hour you’ll turn back to your hotel, lay on the beach and drink a glass of refreshing beverage. Fortunately, the east and the west part oh the island preserved a big part of the traditions and of the natural beauty of the island that is why one can explore here the endless beaches, the numerous villages, the faraway mountain and the natural wonders, such as caves and gorges.