Day 15 – Crete

Today we docked at Souda on the island of Crete.

Paul visited this island en route to Rome as a prisoner. They landed at a place called Fair Havens, near a city called Laseo. Paul suggested to the Commander, Julius, that it was not a good idea to go further due to the contrary winds. But he was overruled by the captain of the ship who made the decision to continue on to Phoenix, with plans to spend the winter there. (Acts 27:7-17) As a result of that decision, the ship encountered a perfect storm that sent them off course and caused them to be lost at sea for 14 days. Eventually the ship was destroyed and all on board had to swim to shore onto the island of Malta.  (Acts 27)

Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek isles and has been inhabited for 9000 years. It was home to the ancient Minoan civilization that dated back to 5000 BC. The Minoans were Europe’s most advanced civilization, reaching its peak years before the rise of Greek civilization. No one knows their origin and their language has never been deciphered. They were very prosperous and highly sophisticated religiously, socially, economically, and artistically. But they never invested in any type of fortification to defend their towns and disappeared around 1450 BC. No one is certain, but it is believed that a volcanic eruption (that created the island of Santorini) caused a tsunami, which traveled to Crete and wiped out the Minoans.

Knossos palace, inhabited by mythical King Minos, as well as ancient ruins are located in Iraklion, but we did not have time to visit due to our short stay.

So we decided to take a bus into the city of Chania. We traveled 20 minutes by bus through the modern part of the city and were able to see a good view of city life in Chania. There were car dealers, grocery stores (the first one on the trip), a small mall, shops, restaurants, and apartments, and people doing typical life. In the distance we saw beautiful high mountains.

When we arrived, we were at the Municipal Market of Chania and visited a busy Greek market. There were many interesting sights and smells – fresh fish and meat that looked very unfamiliar to us.  There were large carcasses hanging at the meat stand that Jeff thought liked like cat, but we discovered were very large rabbits. Rabbit is a very popular menu item, as are sardines. There was plenty of fresh fish, large octopus, squid, eels, snails, and Mediterranean lobster at the fish stands – and a host of cats that wander in from the street looking for a handout.

A common midday snack is fried, salted sardines or snails with ouzo (a strong anise flavored liquor).  We did not have that, but we did find more of our favorite Greek pretzels – this time twisted!

Municipal Market - The vendors were all inside this building.

My Greek soft pretzels

Salted sardines

Notice the eel on the left. The octopus were huge!

We then ventured down to the Venetian harbor through the narrow streets past the many shops. There is a very interesting shop called the Fish Spa where, for 10 euros, you can stick you feet into large tank of water and have many fish nibble the dead skin off your feet.  We are not making this up!  Too bad we did not have enough time to experience it.

When we got to the harbor, we saw that the plaza fronting the water was filled with restaurants and sidewalk cafes, so we stopped and had delicious fresh calamari and took advantage of the free Wi-Fi. 

At the harbor was the Kioutsouk Hassan Mosque, named for the city’s first Ottoman commander and built in the late 1600’s.

We then got back on the city bus and headed to the ship since we were departing early, at 2:45 today.

Today was our last day in Greece, our last day of adventure on the Greek Isles. Each island has been uniquely different and beautiful - the sights, the sounds, and even the smells will be fondly remembered.  We have loved it all and thank God for giving us this opportunity to see and experience His wonderful creation. We have enjoyed learning the history and cultures of the various places, and have especially enjoyed meeting and interacting with the people, most of who were very warm, friendly, and welcoming – although often slightly amused at our attempts to communicate.  This truly has been the experience of a lifetime.

This also this ends our journey to the places where the apostle Paul has been. We have visited 7 places that he had walked and taught – Rome, Malta, Athens, Corinth, Ephesus, Rhodes, and Crete. This has been surreal in many ways. I had difficulty taking in the sights, sounds, culture, people, and comprehending the fact that I was actually standing where Paul had been so long ago, places where he walked and spread the Good News for the first time. It is also sobering to realize that all of these places to which Paul initially brought the message of the Gospel are still filled with people who need to hear the message of the risen Savior.

What a message of hope! What a privilege to see and experience the places where the great apostle Paul has been. May our passion be as his – to live and breathe Jesus Christ.

Kali Nichta