Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
used to be; a labyrinth of narrow streets and whitewashed walls, but even here
commercialism is making inroads.
The Palace of Malia
Tues-Sun 8.30am-3pm • €4 •
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Much less imposing than either Knossos or Phaestos, the
Palace of Malia
, 2km east of
Mália town, in some ways surpasses both. For a start, it's a great deal emptier and you
can wander among the remains in relative peace. While no reconstruction has been
attempted, the palace was never reoccupied after its second destruction in the fifteenth
century BC, so the ground plan is virtually intact.
From this site came the famous
gold pendant
of two bees and the beautiful
leopard-head axe
, both of which are displayed in Iráklion's archeological museum.
At the site, look out for the strange indented stone in the central court (which
probably held ritual offerings), for the remains of ceremonial stairways and for the
giant
pithoi
, which stand like sentinels around the palace. To the north and west of
the main site, archeological digs are still going on as the large town which
surrounded the palace comes slowly to light (part of this can be viewed via an
overhead walkway).
Any passing
bus
should stop at the site, or you could even rent a
bike
for a couple of
hours as it's a pleasant, flat ride from Mália town. Leaving the archeological zone and
turning immediately right, you can follow the road down to a lovely stretch of clean
and relatively peaceful
beach
.
7
West of Iráklion
Leaving Iráklion city to the west, the fast
E75 coastal highway
winds all the way to
Réthymnon, a spectacular drive, the road being hacked into the sides of mountains
which for the most part drop straight to the sea, though there are no more than a
handful of places where you might consider stopping: the coastal settlements of
Ayía
Pelayía
and the more attractive
Balí
, both sizeable resorts, and the smaller village of
Fódhele
, which claims to be the birthplace of
El Greco
. By contrast, the old roads
inland are agonizingly slow, but they do pass through a whole string of
attractive
villages
beneath the heights of the
Psilorítis
range.
Ayía Pelayía
Some 20km west along the highway from Iráklion lies the resort of
AYÍA PELAYÍA
. It
looks extremely attractive from above but, once there, and especially in July and
August, you're likely to find the narrow, taverna-lined beach packed to full capacity.
Despite the high-season crowds, the resort maintains a dignity long since lost in
Mália and Hersónissos, and even a certain exclusivity; one of Crete's most luxurious
hotel resorts nestles on the headlands just beyond the main town beach.
Fódhele
Beyond Ayía Pelayía, there's a turning inland to the village of
FÓDHELE
, allegedly El
Greco's birthplace. A plaque from the University of Valladolid (in Spain) acknowledges
the claim and, true or not, the community has built a small tourist industry on that
basis. There are a number of craft shops and some pleasant tavernas where you can sit
outside along the river. A peaceful 1km walk (or drive) takes you to the spuriously titled
El Greco's House
(aka Museum of El Greco; May-Oct Tues-Sun 9am-7pm; €2),
exhibiting a few poor reproductions of his works and not much more, while the
picturesque fourteenth-century Byzantine
church of the Panayía
is opposite (usually
locked). None of this amounts to very much, but it is a pleasant, relatively unspoilt
village if you simply want to sit in peace for a while.
