Chania

We’re in Crete!  We have brought the boys with us to Chania for the day and I have, as usual, a full itinerary to get through.  It’s perhaps a little ambitious but, with a promise of ice cream a the end, let’s see how we go.

There is a bus transfer waiting for us that takes us from Souda Port on a 20 minute drive into Chania.  The main thing in the city is the Venetian Harbor.  We could have elected to spend the day at the beach but that is not what I’m here for – I can do beaches in Dubai or Australia any time.

We begin at the Covered Markets.  It’s a bit early and the vendors are just opening up for the day.  Several stray cats wait impatiently around each door and I wonder if something is going on.  Then a roller door opens and the vendor puts food down for them almost simultaneously.  There’s what’s going on, this is clearly a daily happening.  They boys want to pat them but we’re warned they’re not too friendly so we just watch as they have their breakfast.  Jason and I are hoping for a coffee from the markets but it doesn’t look likely at this early hour so we continue on, stumbling across an excellent looking little cafe just out the back of the markets.

I wait with the boys while Jason goes in to procure our morning cup.  It takes a while, seems they had to heat the machine up and I wonder at the late start for a coffee shop, it’s nearly 9am.  You wouldn’t get away with that in Brisbane, Sydney or Melbourne.

Now that we’re caffeinated, next stop is the Dominican Temple of St Nikolas set in 1821 Square.  This temple of the monks of the Dominican order was built in 1320 by the fraternity of Candia.  The architecture is said to reflect the central temple of St Peter’s Basilica in Rome.  During the Turkish occupation (mid 17th Century) the church was converted to a mosque, the Hioungar Camici (the Sovereign’s Mosque) and became the central mosque of the city.  During the 18th Century, an underground fountain was built in the middle of the square and was used for ritual washing.

In 1918 the mosque was converted again, this time into an orthodox church.  I take the boys into the temple one by one to have a look from the back pew as mass is in full swing.  The square the it sits in is picturesque and if we hadn’t just had coffee this would be the perfect place to sit outside in the shade and sip your morning brew.

The Venetian Harbor is my real destination and we continue our walk through the beautiful and still quiet streets.

We come across the back of the Venetian era (1204 – 1669) Neoria (dockyards or arsenal) where ships could be repaired during the winter.  Later, during the Turkish occupation they were used for military storage, hence the reference to arsenal.  As we step out into the harbor area we’re dazzled by the boats, sponge vendors and restaurants just setting up for the day.  It’s warm and the sky is clear blue and it does have a real feel of Italy about it but the city has a somewhat stormy past.

Chania was originally a Minoan settlement.  During the Classical Greek period Chania was an important independent city-state which was constantly at war with the other Cretan city-states.  It was under Byzantine rule from 395AD until sometime in the 820’s when it fell to the Arabs.  Several failed campaigns transpired until it came under Byzantine rule again in 961AD.  The Venetians conquered it in 1204.  The harbor was built during the Venetian occupation with construction occurring between 1320 and 1356 and it served as an important centre for the Venetian military ships to defend against pirates and was also an important trading hub of the Mediterranean with its strategic location linking the eastern and western Mediterranean ports.

We take a walk along the breakwater and then back again checking out the crumbling remains of the Venetian Harbor Guardhouse.  I would dearly love to check out the Maritime Museum housed in the Neorio Moro, one of the shipyard buildings constructed in the 16th Century on the eastern end of the harbor.  I’m not going to get to the Maritime Museum today but we do stop to look at the boats, buildings, horse drawn carriages, sponges, flowers and all manner of other things that captures the boys’ attention as we make our way west.

We come to the western end with the Nautical Museum, the Byzantine Collection and the Firka Fortress, all of which I will only get to see from the outside.  We are lacking in time and the walk and excitement of the morning has tired the boys out.  Jasper is coping on the promise of ice cream but Harley is beginning to fade and the distant promise is no longer enough to motivate him – he needs a shoulder ride.  They have both done pretty well and we still have a little time on the walk back through the old town to pause in the pretty streets to look at some souvenirs and count the doors with lions on them.

Good To Know

Public buses run from Souda Port to Chania (old town), drop off is just in front of the Covered Markets.  The old town area is easily walk-able and some of the streets are pedestrian only.   Both boys’ efforts were rewarded with ice cream once we were back on the ship!  

Would I Return

Yes.  There are museums to explore, more to see and shop in the old town and I hear the beaches are indeed worth a visit – and that’s just in Chania.  Crete has much more to offer – Heraklion (city), Knossos (archaeological site), Rethymno (another Venetian harbor) and Agios Nikolaos (another town) being just some of them.  Not to mention the beaches.  Far from being ticked off the list, this is somewhere that I could happily spend a week (or more!) exploring.