© Stelios Jackson 2001-2003

Current climatic conditions in Souda bay, 50 KMs West of Rethymnon

RETHYMNON

Essential Links These are my "essential" links to the nomos of Rethymnon

THE NOMOS: Rethymnon is my favourite of the four district capitals, It covers an area of 1.496 km2, of which 507 are cultivated, 936 are pasture, 36 are covered by settlements and only 17 km2 are covered by Mediterranean oak, pine and maple-tree forest. Rethymnon has a population of 81,157. Like Chania and Herakleion, it has a Venetian quarter with narrow winding streets which take quite a time to orient yourself among. It has the cleanest beach of any city beach I've ever been to, lined with restaurants and bars and a huge Venetian fort near the centre. Rethymnon is only an hour's drive from either Herakleion or Chania. There are trips to Spilli in the mountains, to or from the pretty tourist town of Georgioupolis further west and there is fantastic swimming to be had at Preveli beach on the south coast. You can even take a trip from here to the birthplace of the King of the Greek Gods up on Mount Timios Stavros. There, near(ish) the village of Anoyia (Anoghia) is the Ida cave where, legend has it, Zeus was born.

This page shall be completed by the end of July 2003

Aghia Galini A seaside village that has grown into a rather thriving town over the last 30 years or so. I rather like the place, though there is no shortage of snobbery about its "hippy" links.  Talking of links there is a rather good one to be found here and Interkriti has a link to Camping Aghia Galini

Amari Strictly speaking "Amari" is a province, but the village itself is well worth a visit as is the valley which takes it name. Follow Peter Thomson's, ( Walking And Cycling Crete ) walk from  Amari to Petrohori

Is, or shall be, part of my walk, currently being serialised for "Interkriti"

There is an excellent website to this area, though it is all in Greek:

Anogheia Almost certainly the setting for Michael Hertzfeld's superb "Poetics of Manhood" Anogheia (Anoyia etc) is in the province of Mylopotamos. Close to the nomos of Herakleion it is a village around 750 metres above sea level and is known for its weaving. In the second world war, Anogheia was subject to severe repercussions by the Nazis, due to its part in the resistance and had to be rebuilt, though this doesn't take away from a fabulous village which is a great place to practice your Cretan dances during the tourist season. Most common place now to start the ascent of Psiloritis (Mt Ida), though Fourfouras is an alternative.

Apodolou   See Interkriti's page on Apodolou

Apostoloi

Armenoi    A Minoan cemetery can be found here

Asomatos

Axos Above the village of Axos is the ancient town of the same name. There is an 8th century church here called Aghia Irine.

Bali   See Interkriti's page on Bali

Eleftherna    A Dorian site (7th 8th C BC) can be found here.

Fourfouras     An excellent starting point to climb to the top of Mount Ida. Accommodaion is available at the badly named "Windy Place", which is a bit doer, but run by a fabulous family, who also run a taverna of the same name on the road out to Amari.

Is, or shall be, part of my walk, currently being serialised for "Interkriti"

Garazo A fabulous village close to Mouranza

Gerakaki

Hamaveli   click the link for a villa, available for rent in small village of Hamalevri, near Stavromenos, in the Arkadi district, 11 Kilometres East of Rethymnon.

Idean Cave     Another likely (liklier in fact...or fiction) suspect of the birthplace of Zeus, see also Dikti

Kalogerou

Kouroutes

Lampi A municipality which includes the villages of Spili, Agia Galini, Akoumia, Ardaktos, Drimiskos, Karines, Kentrohori, Kerames, Kissos, Krya Vrissi, Lampini, Melampes, Mournes, Mixorouma, Orne, Saktouria and the beaches of Agios Pavlos, Triopetra, Drimiskiano Ammoudi. See Interkriti's page on Lampi

Margarites A village with a vase making heritage, south of the capital of Mylopatamos, Perama

Melidoni Just North East of the village of Perama is the cave of Melidoni

Meronas     The 14th Century church of the Panaghia (Mother Mary) can be found here

Myrthios

Panormos    A very nice coastal village East of Rethymnon. See Interkriti's page on Panormos

Perama Strangely enough with the village of Anogheia, Perama is the capital of the province of Mylopatamos. Worth visiting is the Melidoni cave.

Plakias    A coastal town on the between Frankocastello and Aghia Galini. A good link can be found here

Thanks to Eddie for this website which is for the Youth Hostel in Plakias

There is a diving instruction centre here too. See links at the bottom of this page.

Peter Thomson, in his site Walking And Cycling Crete, has described a number of walks around the area of Plakias, here are some of them:

Plakias to Selia

Plakias to Mirthios via the old mill

Plakias to Kakomouri

Plakias to the quiet beaches

Plakias to Preveli Monastery

Is, or shall be, part of my walk, currently being serialised for "Interkriti"

Prases   

Rethymnon   (Pop.23,126)    Shh, don't tell anybody, but this is my favourite city in Crete. There is something very real and functional about the place and whilst not as immediately pretty as Chania, I feel that this city would continue functioning without tourism; there's just an air of independence about the place. Beautiful Venetian architecture abounds and the maze of streets, whilst not being as grand as Chania and Herakleion are still very beautiful. Take a (virtual) guided tour around Rethymnon, with Peter Thomson's ( Walking And Cycling Crete ) Rethymnon page The Carnival at Rethymnon is supposedly well worth visiting, though to check when Orthodox Easter is, as it rarely coincides with its other Christian counterparts - See Rethymnon Carnival  As always, Interkriti's pages are well worth looking at: Interkriti Rethymnon

Is, or shall be, part of my walk, currently being serialised for "Interkriti"

Selia    A mountain village North West of Plakias. Follow Peter Thomson's, ( Walking And Cycling Crete ) walk from Selia to Plakias

Sivritos  See Interkriti's page on Sivritos

Spilli    One of my favourite spots to while away a day or so. The Venetian fountain is splendid with water spouting forth from the heads of 16 lions. Rather touristy, but that can be an advantage especially if this is a stop-over on the long E4 route through the mountains of Crete. Follow Peter Thomson's, ( Walking And Cycling Crete ) walk from Spili to Mourne and Spili to Gerakaki

Is, or shall be, part of my walk, currently being serialised for "Interkriti"

Thronos    Worth visiting for the Church of the Panaghia

Visari

Zoniana    |Worth visiting for the Zendoni cave.

Essential Links

                 All other Cretan links can be found here  

OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES

Climbing, mountaineering and walking Climbin'Crete and The Greek Mountaineering Club of Chania

An excellent site, mostly on the Rethymnon nomos, for walking and cycling is Peter Thomson's "Walking and Cycling in Crete"

Diving in Crete

Based in Plakias, on the South coast, this looks to be a wonderful opportunity to learn how to dive, or improve your diving skills in a faboulous area of Crete. Dives from Kalypso and Skinaria bays, where one will need an "open water diver" or higher qualification, this company also offers introductory courses, proficiency and certified course, such as "PADI". An excellent opportunity.

               Explore Crete Explore Crete An excellent, generic Cretan Site.

                                Interkriti    Interkriti   My favourite site to Crete

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