April 26th: Happy in Heraklion!

Although the city is ALWAYS called “Iraklion” here!  Don’t you love it when a plan comes together and you get a day with few problems? 

We packed up our clean laundry, ate another fabulous breakfast, then bid a regretful farewell to Eleonas, where we have promised ourselves a week, at least, next time we come.  As we left the resort, we were a bit delayed by the usual morning traffic.

We drove to the airport, the limo driver met us as arranged, we checked into our hotel (hard beds, alas, after three days on foam mattresses such as we left behind in Turkey), and were on our way to the Archeological Museum just a little past noon.   

The museum was all the more amazing because we had seen many of the sites from which the artefacts originated.  Although the entire museum is under renovation – and has been for at least six years that I know of – the most important items are out on display.  It reminded us a bit of the plus side of visiting Europe in the off season, as we had to dodge chattering elementary school groups and several tour groups off cruise ships, and actually wait our turn to see things.  Having been accustomed to being alone in museums, I was a bit put out, but changed my mind when I actually saw the vases from Phaistos that we had admired shown in our site guide while at Phaistos itself. 

The life sized "Lily Prince" greeted us at the door.	This little drinking vessel shaped like "a woman with large buttocks" is 5,000 years old.
The "black and white" pottery found at Phaistos.	I would wear the Minoan jewelry.  It's beautiful at any time.  (I would prefer not to wear it as grave good, however.)
A model of a Minoan House, made thousands of years ago.  The verandah covering is modern.	A selection of vessels from Knossos and Phaistos, most over a foot tall.

The famous Minoan priestesses.

 

The famous Phaistos disk, one of the earliest examples of writing.	This beautiful Minoan sarcophagus was found at Agia Triada, the Minoan Villa we visited.

We were in there until almost two, so decided against a third trip to Knossos in favour of seeing some more of the city, and other museums nearby. It was a great call.  Gelato in hand, we strolled through the walled city, passing the fashionable upscale shops, and admiring the now familiar Lion Fountain and the Venetian Loggia, now the town hall.  After a 45 minute round trip – we read the map incorrectly -- we were back at the coffee shop where we had decided to see the Natural History Museum.

The Venetian harbour front	Although people complain when sites are not accessible to the public, graffiti is what happens to sites that are.
Interior of the Venetian loggia	Exterior, showing the remains of a fountain.

It was right up Ian’s alley, in spite of the six(!) busloads of students in grade 7 – 10 who ran up and down the galleries, acting very much like students all over the world in the giddy excitement of a field trip.  As they leaned over railings, blocked the stairs to tease pretty girls, and took pictures of each other while ignoring everything around them, I had to remind myself that they were not my responsibility. 

The museum presented dioramas of animals and plants from all over the Mediterranean area, and reminded me of the BC Provincial Museum, circa 1975.  We were able to identify many of the plants and animals we had seen, as well as gawk at other animals we had no idea even existed.  Ian was in raptures over the live specimens of snake, tortoise, and reptiles, and we both enjoyed the dinosaurs. We had come out without the day-pack and its supply of extra batteries, so we were a bit limited in the photo department.

These sea dinosaur bones were suspended beside the stairway.	From the pine forest diorama.
From the desert diorama.  Ian thinks that it was wrong to show him in such a compromising situation.	A live Spiny Agama, such as we have seen on ruins.

From high on the fourth floor, we watched the students go through a mock earthquake on a shake table made to look like a classroom.  My thrill of the day came when a seismologist was being given a private demonstration, and we were allowed to participate.  We saw the difference between a mild earthquake at ground level, and then on the third floor of a “school”.  We got to “experience” two recent earthquakes, one in Taiwan, and one similar in intensity, but half as long in duration, as the one in Japan last year.  It made me realize why my own school district is very strict about fastening bookshelves to walls and practicing earthquake drills.  In between each “shake”, information was given on earthquake safety, and although we could only understand the English subtitles, let me say that we sure paid attention.  I had already noticed that the teenaged boys who were leaning back in their chairs with their hands behind their heads in true adolescent displays of macho insouciance landed on their rumps, and noticed for myself that desks and tables really would bounce away, in even a moderate shake, leaving one unprotected. 

The shaking classroom.

 I got to choose the next activity, which was the Cretan History Museum.  Unfortunately, we had gotten the hour of closing wrong, so had only 45 minutes to see the entire thing.  As the batteries had well and truly died in both of our cameras, we were not held up by picture taking, but were rather sorry that we didn’t have as much time to read as we would have liked.  They generously offered to let us come back in the morning, but with a 9:45 ferry, I think I will have to be content with reading the information on their website.  We at least got to see everything, and I was particularly happy to see the fittings from Aghia Titos, that we saw at Gortys only yesterday.  The brass furnishings were from the 9^th century AD, and were apparently buried to protect them in an emergency.

A wooden model of Heraklion as it would have appeared in Venetian times.	Ian analyzing the pottery.  The Venetian pottery seemed really similar to the pottery we saw with Sharon and Don in a pottery museum in Sicily.
The bronze furnishings from the 9th Century	A well head
My favourite Icon	Examples of Cretan musical instruments.

Everyone seems to have had a crack at changing or defacing the art of the culture before.  Christians destroyed the faces and phalluses (phalli?) of pagan gods, Muslims removed the faces of Christian Saints, and everyone tore apart old buildings to build new lives.  Today we saw a huge pile of Muslim grave markers in a corner of the museum yard.  It’s amazing that so much actually does manage to get passed along.

Tomorrow, it’s off to Mykonos.  While I am a bit leery of our long voyage on the catamaran with no windows to peer out of, and so many islands to visit on the way, I am looking forward to seeing the beautiful town of Mykonos again, and then our trip to Delos the next day.