In March and April of 2005 I spent a few weeks of my sabbatical time with my family exploring the Greek island of Crete. Crete has a very ancient and legendary history, dating back over 4000 years to the "pre-historic" Minoan culture. As well it bears the traces of Mycenean and Dorian colonization and the more recent stamp of domination under the thumb of the Roman and Venetian empires. The history of Crete is deeply intertwined with Turkish history and culture, having spent 300 years under Ottoman rule. In World War Two Crete was invaded and occupied by the German armed forces and the Cretan people suffered many bloody reprisals during their tenacious resistance. Many thousand of Germans, Allied forces, and Cretans died in that remarkably heroic struggle. Today it is commonplace to have German tourists, English and Australian tourists and Cretan locals intermingling without any hint of past hostilities. Crete is situated in a lovely and astonishingly varied landscape, ranging from sandy beaches to lush plateaus to cave-riddled mountains. Crete is populated by charming and vigorous people, and is brimming with subject matter for the artist. Here are some images from that land.
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Scenes of Crete
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Cretan
Landscapes |
Doorways & Streets
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Plaindromes of Crete
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