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18. Heraklion - Rethymnon (travelling inland
) (see Mapof Crete, Heraklion - Map of Crete, Rethymnon)
Through the wild Mountains
If you like mountain dirtroads, Route 18.3 is the best way
to get from Iraklio (Heraklion) to Rethimno (Rethymnon). It
combines the best part of asphalt route 18.2 (Anogia - Arkadi
monastery) with impressive rides on dirtroads at the beginning
of the route (Kroussonas - Anogia) and at the end of it (Arkadi
monastery - Rethimno). Incidentally, these rides can make excellent
daytrips from Iraklio or Rethimno respectively.
Map of Crete, Through the wild mountains
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Start as in Route 18.2, but right after the New National Road
bridge turn left (south) following the Gr/E signs to Kroussonas.
Keep following those signs at all the intersections you’ll
encounter as you travel through the fields. When you get to
the village - or rather town(!) - of Kroussonas, pass through
it, heading for its east exit where the road forks. Here you’ll
see a Gr/E sign that says “Ideon Andron” and “Holy
Monastery of Aghia Irini” and sends you to the right.
Take the right road, then, and reset your counter.
Three kilometres past Kroussonas, after the indifferent monastery
of Aghia Irini, the asphalt road ends before the gate of some
institution for children. Here you’ll see a dirtroad (D3),
which goes left and climbs the mountain. One kilometre later
(and after you’ve passed two more crossroads as shown
in the Road Book), you’ll find an intersection where you
must make a choice. The road to the right climbs on the north
side of Mt. Gournos (1295 metres) and offers a great view of
the ravine below and the town of Iraklio in the north (at the
end of the horizon). The road to the left goes inside the ravine
and along the foot of Mt. Gournos (the south side of it), eventually
taking you to a second intersection 3 km later, where you’ll
see a nice stone fountain. Here you have again two options.
The road to the left offers a truly charming ride through the
natural passes of a rocky and wooded area. You will follow it
for about 3.5 km, pass a couple of sheepfolds, and stop in front
of a permanently locked fence gate, which marks the beginning
of some community pastureland. Of course, you can bypass it
from the right and keep going, but there is no reason to do
so because the road stops anyway about 700 metres later, right
in front of a shepherd’s hut.
The gorge to the north of the Pelopidas river, on the Arkadi - Rethymnon route
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On the other hand, the place where you run into the fence gate
is indeed beautiful. Right next to the street, you’ll
find a wonderful nook for camping, in fact one of the best in
Crete. In the heart of a quiet and secluded gully, with Mt.
Schinakas (1750m) towering above it and plenty of trees shading
it, is a nice area with a carpet of soft grass. The Forest Authorities
have landscaped this area, adding some low, tasteful stone walls
and a “barbecue corner.” Wood is plentiful all around,
water can be found at the fountain we mentioned earlier, and
milk and cheese can be provided by the local shepherds.
Your second option at the intersection with the fountain is
to go right. The road climbs the ravine that’s at the
foot of Mt. Gournos - at the southwest side of it, to be precise
- and eventually meets a second road that comes from the north
side of the mountain. The point where the two roads meet is
at a cultivated plateau where you’ll see two or three
farmhouses and a few chapels. Then the road (always D3) continues
in a westerly direction, passing through some mountain pasturelands
with an occasional mitàto (traditional shepherd hut made
of stone). It finally meets the Anogia - Nida road (an asphalt
road) at a point marked by a shepherd hut and a nice stone chapel
dedicated to Aghia Marina.
Here you have three options. No 1: You decide you have plenty
of time to spend in the area, so you turn left and go to the
impressive Nida plateau. You pitch camp, visit the Ideon Andron,
and, why not, attempt to climb to the top of Psiloritis, 2456
metres above sea level. You are an experienced off-road driver
with a light bike and an appetite for wild mountain rides, so
you turn right, only to kiss the asphalt good bye after 200
metres and take the dirtroad that you’ll see to your left.
(You’ve certainly had enough of the asphalt!)
The Kroussonas - Anogia route, taking you through the ravine
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The dirtroad will lead you to the beautiful forest of Lake
Roussa, and from there on you’ll try to find the road
that takes you just out of Zoniana. (No, you cannot see it in
the Road Book, because what good are the mountains without some
adventure?) No 3: It is getting dark and you are starving to
death, so you turn right and follow the asphalt road all the
way to Anogia, where you go straight to the tavern Aetos.
From Anogia to the Arkadi monastery, Routes 18.3 and 18.2 are
exactly the same, so follow the directions on pages 409-420.
At the Arkadi monastery you’ll see a road (A3) that goes
north, passes through Amnatos, and takes you to Rethimno. This
is the main artery connecting Rethimno with the Arkadi monastery,
and it is always full of buses and rented jeeps. You, however,
do not like... consorting with buses, so you’ll smartly
avoid this road and turn left on the nice dirtroad (D3) that
goes south (left) of the monastery. This scarcely used dirtroad,
which at some point turns into a narrow asphalt strip, crosses
a scarcely visited but very beautiful area covered with shrubs,
and takes you to a couple of scarcely known but very picturesque
villages, Kavoussi and Charkia.
About 50 metres before the south entrance of Charkia, turn
left on the dirtroad (D3) that goes up the mountain. After 1000
metres you’ll see an intersection where you turn right.
(The left road stops in the middle of the fields). The road
follows the south side of Mt. Gargani (650 metres) and offers
a spectacular view of the fertile Pelopidas valley. About 2800
metres later, you’ll see a second intersection. The left
road goes down the mountain  and
over the river and meets the main artery connecting Rethimno
and Amari (A3). The right one heads north and offers a very
nice view of the valley from an approximate height of 500 metres.
After 5 km or so it turns into a narrow, cement-paved road that
goes downhill. This takes you to Platanias, which is practically
the east suburb of Rethimno.
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Ancient
Eleftherna
Like an excellent sculptor, working patiently over a period
of several millenniums, Nature has carved two deep ditches
on the left and right side of a large rock of limestone.
Her work was done with the use of two streams and the
outcome was indeed spectacular
Highlighted between the two ditches, the rock projects
against the sky like a huge Stone Boat. Its shape is oblong
(with a length of 800 metres and a width of 200) and it
has two pointed edges that are only 4 metres wide. No
doubt, it must have seemed like a boat to the Dorian settlers
who arrived here in their own ships some day in the early
10th century BC. These people left their boats at the
north shore of Crete and walked through the valley until
they came to this hill. Their decision to build a town
here proved very wise, since the Stone Boat gave them
a safe voyage through the centuries. At least it was safe
until the 8th century AD, when the boat was sunk by the
most blood-thirsty pirates ever to show their face in
the Mediterranean, the Saracens.
The first people to inhabit the area, however, were not
the Dorians. Much earlier than the Dorian settlement,
in the Early Minoan period, it was inhabited by some people
who built their huts here (but left nothing behind except
for a few vase fragments). When the Dorians came along
they built their own town, which they named Eleftherna.
The name seems to reflect their great love for Freedom
(Eleftherìa), which they tried to safeguard with
a strong wall made with large blocks of stone cut for
this purpose. Thus they fortified their hill - which could
not easily be taken in the first place - and made it almost
immune to enemy attacks.
Crete, Ancient Eleftherna
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At the south endof the hill, the only access to the fortified
acropolis, they built a tall tower that has survived to
this day, though its original form was altered during the
Roman and Byzantine rule. The Dorians built their houses
on the west and east side of the hill and in the valley
with the two rivers that lies at its foot. At the time of
its glory (that is, throughout Antiquity), the town was
spread as far as the opposite hill, where the modern Eleftherna
is built.
Most visitors simply walk around the level top of the hill.
However, with the exception of the (admittedly) impressive
tower and the passageway that’s carved into the rock
and leads to the acropolis entrance, there are very few
things left to see here. To visit the most interesting ruins
of the ancient town, take the narrow path that starts behind
the chapel of Aghia Irini (at the west side of the acropolis),
and walk toward the valley. The first thing you’ll
see is a couple of large and very impressive cisterns, which
used to hold the water brought by a large aqueduct. Further
down and close to the river bed, underneath the highest
part of the acropolis, Professor Nikos Stamboulides discovered
an archaic cemetery. The evidence found here suggests that
the townsfolk burned their dead, together with their personal
items (jewellery, weapons etc) and the votive objects that
accompanied them to the tomb. On certain special occasions,
the burial ritual may have included human sacrifices, as
suggested by a knife with a thirty-centimetre-long blade
that was found in an unusual position, next to the neck
of a dead person. After the archaic cemetery the footpath
continues northward. About 500 metres later you’ll
see a big stone bridge with a triangular arch, which dates
from the hellenistic period and reminds of similar Mycenaean
structures.
These scattered - but significant - ruins of the ancient
town are the most certain signs that, underneath the vineyards
and olive groves of the fertile valley around the Stone
Boat, there are many treasures to be found. Somewhere around
here lie the foundations of the house of the famous Diogenes
the Physicist, the ancient scientist whose views on Nature
and cosmogony were so ahead of his time that they caused
him to be exiled from his hometown. Somewhere around here
lie the ruins of the ancient Agora, where the famous sculptor
Timochares had his workshop. And it was in this same Agora
that a nice yang man named Ametor recited his love poems
and played his guitar. Only twenty centmetres of soil cover
the twenty centuries of glory of one of the most important
Dorian towns in Crete... |
The
Arkadi Monastery
As you continue west of Ancient Eleftherna, you pass the
ugly modern village and then turn left at the intersection
with the signs directing you to the Arkadi
Monastery. This monastery is the most sacred symbol of the
Cretan fight for independence. On November 9, 1866, a Turkish
army force of 15,000 men, led by Suleiman Bey and having
30 cannons, besieged the monastery. Inside it were 350 armed
rebels along with their wives and kids, a rough total of
1000 people.
Crete, The Arkadi Monastery
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The battle that followed was entirely uneven and the rebels
were doomed from the start. Still, they put up a fierce
resistance against the Turks, who suffered heavy casualties.
When the cannons knocked down the gate and the Turks rushed
into the monastery, the rebels, along with their wives and
kids, shut themselves inside the powder magazine. Hundreds
of Turks gathered outside, never expecting what would happen
next. When the courtyard was filled with Turks, one of the
rebels set the powder barrels on fire, and the building
went up in flames, sending some 1500 Turks to the Muslim
paradise. Many of the street names you’ll see in the
Cretan towns and villages, especially on the main roads,
belong to the protagonists of that tragic event. Among them
were Hatzimichalis Giannaris, Gabriel the Abbot (Ighoùmenos
Ghavriìl), Giamboudakis, Yannis Demakopoulos and
Giorgos Daskalakis.
After the liberation of the island, the monastery was rebuilt
according to its original design, so what you see today
must not differ much from the way it was then. In the small
museum of the monastery you can see some wonderful icons
and precious relics from the time of the holocaust. The
architecture of the place, which reminds one of a fortress,
the excellent maintenance of the buildings, and of course
the History behind these walls are the primary reasons why
the Arkadi monastery is at the top of all the travel offices’
list. This is also the only drawback in visiting it; no
matter what time you come, the monastery will be full of
visitors ... |
| Source
of the information on this page : “Unexplored
Crete”, Road Editions. For more
guidebooks and maps of Greece, click here.
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