Crete
- For other uses, see Crete (disambiguation).
Crete, sometimes spelled Krete (Greek Κρήτη / Kriti) is the largest of the Greek islands and the fifth largest in the Mediterranean Sea. It is the Greek island closest to North Africa.
Tourist attractions in Crete include archeological sites at Knossos, Phaistos, Gortys and many other places, the Venetian castle in Rethimno, the Samaria Gorge and many other minor gorges (Agia Irini, Aradena, etc).
Crete was the location of Minoan civilization (ca. 3000–1400 BC) one of the first civilizations in Europe.
Geography
Crete_Nasa.jpg
Crete has an area of 8,300 square kilometres and a population of over 500,000. It consists of four prefectures: Chania, Rethimno, Heraklion and Lasithi. It has three significant airports, Nikos Kazantzakis at Heraklion, military airport Daskalogiannis at Chania and the new Public Airport (will open not before mid 2005) in Sitia. Among its principal cities are Heraklion (Iraklion), Chania, Rethimno, Ierapetra, Agios Nikolaos, Sitia.
Crete stretches some 245 km from east to west, but only a maximum of 56 km north to south. Settlements are mainly along the coast, and the inner parts of the island are dominated by mountainous terrain, divided into three massifs, the White Mountains in the western part, Mount Ida in the center of the island, and Mount Dikte in the eastern part.
See also
- Geography of Crete
- History of Crete
- Philodorian
External links
- Mountaineering and Trekking in Crete (http://www.climbincrete.com/index.php)
- East Crete (http://www.eastcrete.com/index_e.html)
- West Cret (http://www.west-crete.com/)
- Guide to Crete for Visitors (http://www.cretetravel.com/)
- Traditional inns and houses in Crete (http://www.cretehotelrooms.com/)
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