DK Travel : Crete

Although it could not be more Greek, Crete is really a country within a country, with its own history, folklore and traditions. It was the birthplace of Europe’s oldest civilization, the enigmatic Minoan culture which flourished over 4,000 years ago. Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Saracens, Venetians and Turks also left their mark. This rich human heritage is set against the backdrop of magnificent mountain scenery and beaches lapped by a deep blue sea.

Oblomov, Chania

Oblomov attracts a youthful, mixed crowd of locals and visitors, and is less frenzied than many of Chania’s harbourside café-bars.
Occupation and Liberation in World War II

German forces drive the Allies out of Crete in May 1941, but Cretan guerrillas continue to resist. Most German troops flee Greece in autumn 1944 as Allied troops land, but the garrison at Chania holds out until the end of the war in May 1945.
Octopus

Octopus (oktapodi) are caught by spear fishing, tenderized by pounding on a rock, then hung to dry in the sun before being grilled over charcoal or cooked in a casserole (stifado) with onions and cumin.
Octopus (Oktapodi)

A favourite accompaniment to a glass of ouzo, raki or retsina is a dish of octopus chunks, cooked in oil, herbs and vinegar, and served cold.
Odeion, Ierapetra

On a summer evening, the garden of this graceful Neo-Classical building is an especially pleasant place to quaff a drink and absorb the last of the day’s sun.
Odos 1866, Irakleio

Irakleio’s main market street and a great place to shop for Cretan herbs and tisanes. It also offers an insight into the Cretan diet – along with the olives, you will see buckets of live snails for sale.
Odos Daedalou, Irakleio

Named after the legendary inventor of the Labyrinth (see The Minotaur and the Labyrinth), this road is rather more upmarket than Odos 1866, and is lined with shops selling jewellery and linen and cotton clothes to summer visitors.
Odos Dimitrakaki, Rethymno

An open-air street market takes place every Thursday along Odos Dimitrakaki, beside Rethymno’s public gardens. It starts early in the morning and winds down by midday. It is a rather patchy affair, but can sometimes be fascinating.
Odos Ethnikis Andistasi, Rethymno

The most photogenic market in Crete spills out – as indeed it has for centuries – from openfronted shops and stalls along Odos Ethnikis Andistasi and around the Venetian Porta Guora. Go early in the morning, when it is in full cry and waiters bustle from stall to stall with coffee and raki.
Odos Skridlof, Chania

Running through the centre of the old quarter, this has been a street of saddlemakers and cobblers for centuries, perhaps even millennia. These days, satchels, sandals and handbags abound.