The Rise and Fall of the Minoans: Crete

Day 1: Arrival at Chania
Transfer from the airport to our hotel. Later the same evening, you will get a chance to meet our lecturer for the tour, Professor David W. Rupp, in a welcoming dinner at a restaurant in the old town of Chania.
Overnight: Chania (Dinner)

Day 2: Chania-Aptera-Armeni-Rethymno
Our second day in Crete begins with a visit to the Archaeological Museum at Chania and an exploration of the old part of the city. The old city has preserved to a great extent the distinctive atmosphere and charm of the Venetian and Ottoman periods. Entire Venetian, Turkish and Jewish quarters are saved, with well preserved buildings in the narrow picturesque streets. We will visit the Grand Arsenal, the Egyptian Lighthouse, the Venetian dockyard, walk down the streets and discover the numerous churches and excellent neoclassic buildings. Heading east, we visit the archaeological site at Aptera, near Souda. From Minoan times all the way to the Hellenistic and Roman periods, Aptera was one of the most important city states in Western Crete. Archaeological finds indicate that Aptera at its peak must have at times exceeded a population of 20,000, even though much of the city was destroyed in an earthquake in the 7th century BC. It is not on the main tourist route and so can be investigated in relative peace. Next we visit the Minoan cemetery at Armeni. Over 200 chamber tombs and one tholos tomb have so far been discovered. The chamber tombs are cut into what is quite a hard rock, which explains why they are so well preserved. Among the finds in the tombs were pottery, bronze vessels, tools,  jewellery, stone vases, clay larnakes (coffins) decorated with double axes, sacred horns of consecration and scenes of ritual hunting. We stop at the old town of Rethymno, to have lunch at Veneto restaurant, housed in a 14th-century Venetian manor house.
Overnight: Heraklion (Breakfast-Lunch-Dinner)

Day 3: Heraklion
In the morning, we take time to explore the city of Heraklion and especially the still visible remnants of the Venetian period (including the beautiful Venetian harbor). We will visit the old town, named Candia by the Venetians, marked out by the impressive walls that still surround it and that withstood the Ottoman siege in the mid-17th century. We will explore the old town centre that began to take shape under Arab and Byzantine rule, but assumed its present layout during the Venetian period. We will end up at the Chandax square, where the original Ducal Palace was built, along with the official Catholic church dedicated to St. Mark, the Loggia Venetian club, the Palazzo del Capitano Generale (residence of the General) and the Governatore (Governor’s mansion). After lunch, we visit the archaeological museum, which contains the most important finds from excavations at Minoan sites all over Crete. The highlights include the Phaestos disk (image on the left), the Snake Goddess, and the Arkalochori Axe.
Overnight: Heraklion (Breakfast-Dinner)

Day 4: Knossos-Vathypetro-Archanes
In the morning, we make our way to the Minoan palace complex at Knossos. The excellently preserved and restored palaces give us great insight into the way of life of Minoan royalty and of Minoan society in general. According to legend, Knossos is the site of the Labyrinth, the mythical structure designed by Daedalus for King Minos and inhabited by the fierce Minotaur. The site was continuously inhabited from the Neolithic period (7000-3000 BC) until Roman times. Intensive habitation occured mostly in the Minoan period, when the so-called first (19th-17th centuries BC) and second palaces (16th-14th centuries BC) were built along with luxurious houses, a hospice and various other structures. After its partial destruction in 1450 BC, Knossos was settled by Mycenaeans from the Greek mainland. We drive south to the Minoan settlements of Vathypetro and Archanes. Vathypetro is a Minoan country house, built during the Neopalatial period (1600-1450 BC), destroyed by fire sometime in the Late Minoan 1B period, and then rebuilt during the late Minoan period (ca 1435-1370 BC). Afterwards we drive to the nearby village of Archanes. Even though it has also been continuously inhabited since Neolithic times, the village reached its peak during the Minoan period, especially 2500-1400 BC when the grand palace was built and rebuilt several times in Archanes following successive destructions. After visiting the lovely museum in the village, we head to the Boutari estate, one of the best wineries in Greece. There we will be able to enjoy a tour by local expert and complete our exploration for the day with a wine tasting session.
Overnight: Heraklion (Breakfast-Dinner)

Day 5: Gortyn-Agia Triada-Phaestos
Our day begins with a visit to the ancient city of Gortyn that rose to prominence in Roman times. It served as the
capital of the Province of Crete and Cyrene after the Roman conquest of the region in 67 BC. We then drive to the
nearby site of Agia Triada, where we will examine the ‘Little Palace’ and several early Minoan tholos tombs. The existence of a smaller palace or villa has led some to argue that this might have served as a ‘summer palace’ for the ‘King of Phaestos’. The numerous important finds at the site include Linear A tablets and clay sealings, indicative of a local bureaucracy, as well as wall paintings and stone-carved vases. The tour continues to the nearby famous Minoan palace at Phaestos. The Palace of Phaestos with its superb architectural composition and its almost perfect construction, is considered to be the finest and most typical of all Minoan palaces. The ruins of the old and new palace are preserved today, the former having been protected under a shed. After our tour of the sites of Southern Crete, we enjoy lunch at a lovely seaside taverna at Kalamaki beach, which offers excellent seafood.
Overnight: Heraklion (Breakfast-Lunch-Dinner)

Day 6: Amnisos-Nirou Khani-Malia
This morning we begin our tour of eastern Crete. First, we visit the Minoan site at Amnisos, mentioned as a-mi-mi-so in the Linera B tablets. The main monument in the site is the ‘Villa of the Lilies’, which used to be two storeys high, with the structure of a typical Minoan villa. Further down the road to Agios Nikolaos, we stop at the Minoan villa at Nirou Khani. It is a luxurious villa, two storeys high, built of large ashlar blocks. The villa was probably built in the 16th century BC and it has been interpreted as a High Priest’s house, due to the numerous ceremonial vessels it contained. We then drive to the coastal town of Malia to visit the nearby Minoan palace. The palace found at Malia is the third largest palace of Minoan Crete after Knossos and Phaestos. Houses of a Prepalatial settlement (2500-2000 BC) have been found under the palace, while graves of the same period are located near the sea. The first palace was built in around 2000-1900 BC and the pre-existing settlement were converted into a palatial center-city. Later in the day we arrive at the Minos Palace resort near Agios Nikolaos where we have free time to enjoy a relaxing afternoon at the beach.
Overnight: Agios Nikolaos (Breakfast-Dinner)

Day 7: Spinalonga-Lato-Gournia
The day includes visits to the sites at Spinalonga, Lato, Gournia. First, we drive to Elounda bay and travel by boat to the small island of Spinalonga, site of an impregnable Venetian fortress and, later, a leper colony (popularized by Victoria Hislop’s best seller). In the 1970s Spinalonga was declared a protected archaeological area. Excavations began, the buildings of the Leper hospital were pulled down and the walls of the fortress were restored. Lato was one of the most important Doric city-states in Crete, although it must have existed before the ‘Coming of the Dorians’. It is built on a saddle between two hills, at a site protected by possible attacks but also with a splendid view over a large area of the Mirambello Bay. It is possibly mentioned in the Linear B tablets as ra-to. Gournia, the ancient name of which is not known, is the most characteristic of the excavated medium-size settlements. Dated to the period of the peak of the Minoan culture (late Minoan I period: 1550-1450 BC), it is called ‘Pompeii of Minoan Crete’ because of the good state of preservation. It occupies a low hill, close to the sea, at the Isthmus of Hierapetra.
Overnight: Agios Nikolaos (Breakfast-Dinner)

Day 8: Kato Zakros-Siteia-Vai
We begin the day by driving toward the eastern coast of Crete and the ancient site of Zakros. The palace at Kato Zakros is the fourth in terms of size, among the Minoan palaces. It was located at an advantageous strategic position, at a protected bay, and was the centre of commercial exchange with the countries of the East.The palace at Zakros has two main building phases: the old palace was built around 1900 BC, and the new one around 1600 BC but was destroyed c. 1450 BC along with the other centers of Minoan Crete. Then we head towards the coastal town of Siteia where we will visit the local museum. The Siteia Archaeological Museum is one of the best museums in Crete, with finds from the wider area of Lassithi and Sitia Province, including the finds from the palace at Kato Zakros. Our final stop will be the palm forest of Vai, one of the most popular sites in the whole of Crete. It now covers an area of approximately 250,000 square metres, making it the largest palm forest in Europe. The beach and palm forest of Vai is also fascinating for its biodiversity, as many migrating birds stop here on their voyage to and from Africa. You will have the chance to take a swim or just relax by the beach or the local restaurant before heading back to our resort at Agios Nikolaos.
Overnight: Agios Nikolaos (Breakfast-Dinner)

Day 9: Heraklion- End of Tour
After breakfast we drive to the airport at Heraklion where we board our flight to Athens to connect with our flights home.
(Breakfast)