City Style and Living - Summer 2008 - (Page 52) Agios Nikolaos, Greece Crete seems like a tiny island. We do not cater for the undulating landscape where mountains bar the way to towns, where monasteries perch precariously atop slivers of rock and where earthquakes are so common the locals seem not at all bothered by ever present slight tremors. All the anticipated stops now need to be altered, we cannot see Samara gorge or Sitia. Our seatmate on the local bus, Lefteris, whose Nordic features hearken to the days when Venice ruled Crete, suggests we stop in Agios Nikolaos. He tells us that his father is a priest, and away at school in Heraklion and feeling lonely, Lefteris is taking the bus back home. “There is a lake in town where the goddess Athena bathed,” says Lefteris. His words are a clue about the essence of Crete. For, despite all of the influences that have marked the island in the years since the Minoan civilization, its myths are remembered most. The Minotaur had been caged in the centre of a labyrinth here. Daedalus had endeavoured to reach the sun and king Minos had ruled at Knossos, the Bronze age site outside of Heraklion that was garishly reconstructed by Sir Arthur Evans’ in the last century. Named for Saint Nikoloas, the patron Saint of sailors, the town is replete with boats. There are American spring break revelers and European tourists walking past the orthodox churches 52 | SUMMER 2008 | citystyleandliving.com — By Kailash Maharaj and Shivana Maharaj “Gazing off into the distance, across the water to Spinaloga, the Venetian fortress ” mEmoraBlE momENt COURTESY GREEK NATONAL TOURISM ORGANIZATION that remind us of owls their windows eyes, their red tile roofs feathers. We stroll the streets of Agios Nikoloas. In one shop window we see a beautiful necklace of gold with inlaid jewels. It is reminiscent of ancient Greek patterns. The friendly owner entreats us to enter his store. His features speak of the trace the Ottomans left upon the island. More recently, Crete was the battleground for Allied and Nazi forces during the Second World War. We take our lunch of gyros to Voulismeni, the lake where the goddess Athena reputedly took her baths. At the water’s edge are lamp posts and it feels like a grotto because it is fairly enclosed. Imagining the goddess emerging from the water, we look inquisitively from the shade of a giant Tamarisk tree plein with pale pink flora, to the edge of the water where boats, painted bright blue and red, are moored to the docks. Unlike Knossos that feels overwrought and imposing, where only one version of the site is permitted, here was a mythic site that depended upon our imagination for reconstruction. It did not need to be rebuilt exactly to its former proportions and colours. Agios Nikolaos is a place where the imagination can roam free. CSL HOTElS ALANTHA APArTMENTS Fully equipped apartments from 117 € based on double occupancy Erithrou stavrou 23 www.alantha.com MINoS BEACH ArT HoTEL suites from 104€ to 2,130€. e hotel has three restaurants, swimming pools and waterfront bungalows. agios Nikolaos, Crete 72100 telephone: +30 2 841 022345 www.slh.com RESTAURANT la strada mixing italian and greek, this “italian greek restaurant” is both affordable and authentic. 28 octovirou MUSEUM arChaEologiCal musEum a fascinating collection of greek artifacts. open: tuesday – sunday frpm 8:00am – 7:30pm. Closed monday. odos paleologou 74 http://www.alantha.com http://www.slh.com http://citystyleandliving.com
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