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For other uses, see Crete (disambiguation).

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Crete (Greek Κρήτη—classical transliteration Krētē, modern Greek transliteration Kríti; Ottoman Turkish گريد (Girit); Classical Latin Crēta, Vulgar Latin Candia) is the largest of the Greek islands at 8,336 km² (3,219 square miles) and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean.

Crete is a popular tourist destination; its attractions include the Minoan sites of Knossos and Phaistos, the classical site of Gortys, the Venetian castle at Rethymno, and the Samaria Gorge, as well as many other natural sites, monuments, and beaches.

Crete was the centre of the Minoan civilization (ca. 2600–1400 BCE), the oldest civilization in Europe.

History

Main article: History of Crete
Typical summer landscape of Crete
Greece and Crete

Minoan Era

Crete was the centre of Europe's most ancient civilization, the Minoan, often referred to as the 'cradle' of European civilization. Little is known about the rise of ancient Cretan society, because very few written records remain, and many of them are written in the undeciphered script known as Linear A. This contrasts with the superb palaces, houses, roads, paintings and sculptures that do remain. Though early Cretan history is surrounded by legends (such as those of King Minos; Theseus and the Minotaur; and Daedalus and Icarus) that have been passed to us via Greek historians/poets (such as Homer), it is known that the first human settlement in Crete, dating to the aceramic Neolithic, introduced cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, and dogs, as well as domesticated cereals and legumes.

Roman Era

Further information: Roman Greece

In Ancient Roman times, Crete was involved in the Mithridatic Wars as Rome suspected them of backing Mithridates VI of Pontus. Marcus Antonius Creticus attacked Crete in 71 BCE and was repelled. Rome sent Quintus Caecilius Metellus with three legions to the island. After a ferocious three-year campaign Crete was conquered for Rome in 69 BCE, earning this Metellus the agnomen "Creticus". The result was Gortyn being made the capital of a province that at times joined Cyrenaica to Crete.

Byzantine and Ottoman Era

Further information: Byzantine Greece and Ottoman Greece

Crete continued to be part of the Eastern Roman or Byzantine empire, a quiet cultural backwater, until it fell into the hands of Arabs (see Al-Hakam I) in 824, who established an emirate on the island. In 960 Nicephorus Phocas reconquered Crete for the Byzantines, who held it until 1204, when it fell into the hands of the Venetians at the time of the Fourth Crusade. The Venetians retained the island until 1669, when the Ottoman Turks took possession of it.

In the partition of the Byzantine empire after the capture of Constantinople by the armies of the Fourth Crusade in 1204, Crete was eventually acquired by Venice, which held it for more than four centuries. During Venetian rule, the Greek population of Crete was exposed to Renaissance culture. During the 17th century, Venice was pushed out of Crete by the Ottoman Empire, with most of the island lost after the siege of Candia (1648–1669), possibly the longest siege in history.

Modern Greek State

The Greek War of Independence began in 1821 and Cretan participation was extensive. An uprising by Christians met with a fierce response from the Ottoman authorities and the execution of several bishops, regarded as ringleaders. Between 1821 and 1828, the island was the scene of repeated hostilities.

Shortly after Crete was left outside the modern Greek state by the London Protocol of 1830, it was yielded to Egypt by the Ottoman sultan. Egyptian rule lasted for ten years, until 1840, when it was returned to the Ottoman Empire on July 3, 1840 by the Treaty of London.

Several uprisings between 1833 and and 1897 were unsuccessful. In 1898 Crete became autonomous and remained so until 1913, when it joined Greece officially on December 1, 1913.

Contemporary estimates vary, but on the eve of the Greek War of Independence as much as 45% of the population of the island may have been Muslim. Some of them were crypto-Christians who converted back to Christianity; many others fled Crete because of the unrest. By 1900, only 11% of the population was Muslim -- they were usually called "Turks" regardless of language, culture, and ancestry. Those remaining were forced to leave in 1924 in the Population exchange between Greece and Turkey. (See Cretan Muslims and Cretan Turks for fuller discussion and documentation.)

In World War II, Crete provided the setting for the Battle of Crete (May 1941), wherein German invaders, especially paratroops, drove out a British Commonwealth force commanded by General Sir Bernard Freyberg.

Geography

Template:Infobox Greek Isles

Crete is one of the 13 regions into which Greece is divided. It is the largest island in Greece and the second largest (after Cyprus) in the East Mediterranean. Crete has an elongated shape - 260 km from east to west and 60 km at its widest, although the island is narrower at certain points, such as in the region close to Ierapetra where it has a width of only 12 km. It covers an area of 8,336 km² and has a coastline of 1046 km. To the north Crete borders with the Sea of Crete (Greek: Κρητικό Πέλαγος), to the south it is bordered by the Libyan Sea (Greek: Λιβυκό Πέλαγος), to the west the Myrtoon Sea, to the east the Karpathion Sea. Its population is 650,000 people (as of 2005). The island lies approximately 160 km south of the Greek mainland.

Crete is extremely mountainous and is defined by a high mountain range crossing it from West to East, formed by three different groups of mountains. These are:

  • the White Mountains or Lefka Ori (2,452 m);
  • the Idi range (Psiloritis (35°11′N 24°49′E / 35.18°N 24.82°E / 35.18; 24.82) 2,456 m);
  • the Dikti mountains (2,148 m);
  • Kedros (1,777 m);
  • Thripti (1,489 m)

These mountains gifted Crete with fertile plateaus like Lasithi, Omalos and Nidha, caves like Diktaion and Idaion cave, and gorges like the famous Gorge of Samaria. The protected area of the Samaria Gorge is the home of kri-kri. Cretan mountains and gorges are refuges of the endangered vulture Lammergeier (Gypaetus barbatus).

Climate

Crete straddles two climatic zones, the Mediterranean and the North African, mainly falling within the former. As such, the climate in Crete is primarily temperate. The atmosphere can be quite humid, depending on the proximity to the sea. The winter is fairly mild. Snowfall is common on the mountains between November and May, but rare at the low lying areas - especially near the coast when it only stays on the ground for a few minutes/hours. However, a truly exceptional cold snap happened in February 2004, during which the whole island was blanketed with snow. During summer, average temperatures are in the high 20s-low 30s (Celsius), with maxima in the upper 30s to mid 40s.

The south coast, including the Messara plain and Asterousia mountains, falls in the North African climatic zone and thus enjoys significantly more sunny days and high temperatures throughout the year; consequently in southern Crete date palms bear fruit and swallows stay year-long, instead of migrating to Africa.

Economy

The economy of Crete, which was mainly based on farming, started changing visibly during the 1970s. While an emphasis remains on farming and stock breeding, due to the climate and the terrain of the island, there has been a drop in manufacturing and an observable expansion in its service industries (mainly tourism-related). All three sectors of the Cretan economy (agriculture, processing-packaging, services), are directly connected and interdependent. The island has a per capita income close to 100% of the Greek average, while unemployment is at approximately 4%, half of that of the country overall. As in other regions of Greece, olive growing is also a significant industry. Also a small amount of citrons is still cultivated on the island.

The island has three significant airports, Nikos Kazantzakis at Heraklion, the Daskalogiannis airport at Chania and a smaller in Sitia. The first two serve international routes as the main gateways to the island for travellers.

Tourism

Spinalonga Island Leper Colony

Crete is one of the most popular holiday destinations in Greece. Fifteen percent of all arrivals in Greece come through the city of Heraklion (port and airport), while charter flights to Iraklion were last year 20% of the total of charter flights in Greece. In sum more than two million tourists visited Crete last year. This increase in tourism is reflected on the number of hotel beds, which increased in Crete by 53% from 1986 to 1991 while in the rest of Greece the increase was 25%. Today the tourism infrastructure in Crete caters to all tastes. There is accommodation of every possible category, from large luxury hotels with all the facilities (swimming pools, sports and recreation facilities etc.), to smaller family owned apartments, to camping facilities. Visitors can arrive at the island through two international airports in Heraklion and Hania, or by boat to the ports of Heraklion, Hania, Rethimno and Agios Nikolaos.

Plans for a container port

Topographic map of Crete

Newspapers have reported that the Ministry of Mercantile Marine is ready to support the agreement between Greece, South Korea, Dubai Ports World and China for the construction of a large international container port and free trade zone in southern Crete near Tympaki. The plan is to expropriate 850 ha of land. The port would handle 2 million containers per year. As of 2007, there has been no official announcement of a project that is not universally welcomed due to its environmental, economic and cultural impact.[1]

Famous Cretans

Satellite photo of Crete (NASA)
File:Candia map.jpg
Giorgio Sideri's map of Crete (1562).

Cities

Crete's principal cities are:

Political organization

The island of Crete is a periphery of Greece, consisting of four prefectures (Greek: νομοί):

For amateur radio purposes it is considered to be a separate "entity," ITU prefix SV9.

Expatriate E.U. Communities

Crete's mild climate is attracting growing interest from Northern Europeans to have a holiday home or residence on the island. E.U. citizens have the right to freely buy property and reside with little formality.[2] A growing number of real estate companies cater to mainly British expatriates, followed by German, Dutch, Scandinavian and other European nationalities wishing to own a home in the sun.

The British expatriates are concentrated in the western prefectures of Chania and Rethymno and to a lesser extent in Heraklion and Lassithi. Some 40% of Britons in late 2006 said they were planning to live outside the United Kingdom or retire abroad due to socio-economic changes in the country. One in ten Britons do so already.[3]

See also

References

  1. ^ "No Container Transshipment Hub in Timbaki", retrieved 25 May 2007.[1]
  2. ^ "On the Rights of Citizens of the Union..." EC Directive 2004/58 EC. eur-lex.europa.eu. 2004. Retrieved 2007-05-25.
  3. ^ Beattie, Jason (2006-12-11). "A Tenth of Britons Live Abroad". Evening Standard. www.thisismoney.co.uk. Retrieved 2007-05-25.

ru-sib:Крит

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