Crete Island - a timeless unit

It is no coincidence that summer is endless on the largest Greek island - Crete, where the active tourist season begins in April and ends in late October. In fact, Crete itself is the epitome of summer - warm, salty, woven end to end by lace waves. Its shores are azure, its core is fig-like, and its philosophy is Zorbas.

It's not in a hurry here, the motto is leisure, which my restless soul resisted, until the atmosphere of Crete spilled over into me like some magical elixir that banishes all nervousness and opens the senses to the pleasure of doing nothing. Or rather for haste.

Crete, however, is capricious and in return requires you to give him plenty of time, but without rushing. Enjoying every step in the soft sand, every random shade, like an oasis under the hot sun, every involuntary kiss of an olive branch on your shoulder.

This ancient land of salvation in the midst of the sea is home to emerald beaches, sand dunes, rocky peaks, steep slopes, even alpine zones, green mountains, deep gorges, dry land, bubbling rivers, picturesque lakes, Mediterranean mountains, moors, Mediterranean mountains , olive and palm forests. The great geographical "contradictions" and the specific meteorological conditions create the unique and diverse natural features of the island. This diversity favors the development of different ecosystems, significantly increasing the island's biodiversity. And best of all, the people of Crete are adept at protecting their natural resources - 1 / 3 from Crete is protected by entire 53 areas, with restricted and / or regulated access.

The core of Cretan cuisine it consists mainly of natural foods, while food of animal origin is more peripheral. Seasonal products, with minimal or no processing - fresh and dried fruits, legumes, aromatic wild herbs and cereals, whose cultivation is favored by the regional climate, are typical of the island.

From a historical point of view, Crete has undergone considerable external "intervention". After the Fourth Crusade (1204) and the fall of Byzantium, Crete was sold to the Venetians for 100 silver stamps. The connection with Venice inevitably leads to the intertwining of the Cretan and Venetian cultures, but the Cretans do not lose their Greek Orthodox nature. Later, the island came under Ottoman rule. Interestingly, 1878 was the year in which the Cretan Uprising occurred as an attempt to achieve independence from the Ottoman Empire.

Cultural anthropology, natural resources, and the history of the island distinguish it as a phenomenon - part of Greece, but with its cultural dimensions, with a specific atmosphere and its own unit of time - timelessness.