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Crete Periphery Περιφέρεια Κρήτης
Country:	Greece
Capital:	Heraklion
Prefectures:	Chania Heraklion Lasithi Rethymno
Population:	623,666 (2005)
Area:	8,336 km² (3,219 sq.mi.)
Density:	75 /km² (194 /sq.mi.)
Website:	www.crete-region.gr

Crete (Greek Κρήτη—classical transliteration Krētē, modern Greek transliteration Kríti; Classical Latin Crēta, Vulgar Latin Candia) is one of the thirteen peripheries of Greece. It is also the largest of the Greek islands at 8,336 km² (3,219 square miles) and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean.

Crete is a popular tourist destination; its attractions include the Minoan sites of Knossos and Phaistos, the classical site of Gortys, the Venetian castle at Rethymno, and the Samaria Gorge, as well as many other natural sites, monuments, and beaches.

Crete was the centre of the Minoan civilization (ca. 2600–1400 BC), the oldest form of Greek and hence European civilization.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Minoan Era 1.2 Roman Era 1.3 Byzantine, Venetian and Ottoman Era 1.4 Modern Greek State 2 Geography 2.1 Climate 3 Economy 3.1 Tourism 3.2 Plans for a container port 4 Famous Cretans 5 Cities 6 Political organization 7 Expatriate E.U. Communities 8 See also 9 References 10 External links

Main article: History of Crete

Crete was the centre of Europe's most ancient civilization ; the Minoan, often referred to as the 'cradle' of European civilization. Little is known about the rise of ancient Cretan society, as very limited written records remain, and many are written in the undeciphered script known as Linear A. This contrasts with the superb palaces, houses, roads, paintings and sculptures that do remain. Though early Cretan history is replete with legends such as those of King Minos; Theseus and the Minotaur; and Daedalus and Icarus passed on via Greek historians and poets such as Homer, it is known that the first human settlement in Crete, dating to the aceramic Neolithic, introduced cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, and dogs, as well as domesticated cereals and legumes.

Further information: Roman Greece

In Ancient Roman times, Crete was involved in the Mithridatic Wars, as Rome suspected inhabitants of backing Mithridates VI of Pontus. Marcus Antonius Creticus attacked Crete in 71 BC and was repelled ; Rome then sent Quintus Caecilius Metellus with three legions to the island. After a ferocious three-year campaign, Crete was conquered for Rome in 69 BC, earning for Metellus the agnomen "Creticus". As a result, Gortyn was made capital of the island, at times together with the province of Cyrenaica.

Further information: Byzantine Greece and Ottoman Greece

Crete continued to be part of the Eastern Roman or Byzantine empire, a quiet cultural backwater, until it fell into the hands of Arabs (see Al-Hakam I) in 824, who established an emirate on the island. In 960 Nicephorus Phocas reconquered Crete for the Byzantines, who held it until 1204, when it fell into the hands of the Venetians at the time of the Fourth Crusade. The Venetians retained the island until 1669, when the Ottoman Turks took possession.

In the partition of the Byzantine empire after the capture of Constantinople by the armies of the Fourth Crusade in 1204, Crete was eventually acquired by Venice, which held it for more than four centuries. During Venice's rule, the Greek population of Crete, most famously El Greco, were exposed to Renaissance culture. During the 17th century, Venice was pushed from Crete by the Ottoman Empire, with most of the island lost after the siege of Candia (1648–1669) ; this made up possibly the longest recorded siege in history.

The Greek War of Independence began in 1821 and Cretan participation was extensive ; an uprising by Christians met with a fierce response from the Ottoman authorities and the execution of several bishops, regarded as ringleaders. Between 1821 and 1828, the island was the scene of repeated hostilities.

Shortly after Crete had been left outside the modern Greek state by the London Protocol of 1830, it was yielded to Egypt by the Ottoman sultan. Egyptian rule lasted for ten years, until 1840, when it was returned to the Ottoman Empire on July 3, 1840 by the Treaty of London.

Several uprisings between 1833 and 1897 were unsuccessful, while in 1898 Crete became autonomous and remained so until 1913, when it joined Greece officially on December 1, 1913.

Contemporary estimates vary, but on the eve of the Greek War of Independence a minority not more than 40% of the population in the island may have been Muslim. Some amongst these were crypto-Christians who converted back to Christianity; many others fled Crete because of the unrest. By 1900, 11% of the population was Muslim -- in the island's historical context they came often to be known as Turks regardless of language, culture, and ancestry. Those remaining were forced to leave in 1924 in the Population exchange between Greece and Turkey. (See Cretan Muslims for fuller discussion and documentation.)

In World War II, the island of Crete provided the setting for the Battle of Crete (May 1941), wherein German invaders, especially paratroops, drove out a British Commonwealth force commanded by General Sir Bernard Freyberg.

Crete Κρήτη
Cretan ports of entry for yachts
Geography
Coordinates:	35° N 24° E
Total Isles:	25
Area:[4]	8,336 km² (3,219 sq.mi.)
Highest Mountain:	Mt. Psiloreitis (2,456 m (8,058 ft))
Government
Greece
Periphery:	Crete
Prefecture:	Chania Heraklion Lasithi Rethymno
Capital:	Heraklion
Statistics
Population:	623,666 (as of 2005)
Density:	75 /km² (194 /sq.mi.)
Postal Code:	72x xx, 70x xx, 71x xx, 73x xx, 740 55, 74x xx
Area Code:	284 x0, 2810, 289x0, 282x0, 28310, 283x0
License Code:	AN, HK, HP, XN, PE
Website
www.crete-region.gr

Crete is one of the 13 regions into which Greece is divided. It forms the largest island in Greece and the second largest (after Cyprus) in the East Mediterranean, with a population of 650,000 (2005). The island has an elongated shape : it spans 260 km from east to west and 60 km at its widest, although the island is narrower at certain points, such as in the region close to Ierapetra , where it reaches a width of only 12 km. Crete covers an area of 8,336 km², with a coastline of 1046 km ; to the north it broaches the Sea of Crete (Greek: Κρητικό Πέλαγος) ; to the south the Libyan Sea (Greek: Λιβυκό Πέλαγος) ; in the west the Myrtoan Sea, and toward the east the Karpathion Sea. It lies approximately 160 km south of the Greek mainland.

Crete is extremely mountainous, and its character is defined by a high mountain range crossing from West to East, formed by three different groups of mountains. These are:

• the White Mountains or Lefka Ori (2,452 m);
• the Idi range (Psiloritis (35.18° N 24.82° E) 2,456 m);
• the Dikti mountains (2,148 m);
• Kedros (1,777 m);
• Thripti (1,489 m)

These mountains gifted Crete with fertile plateaus, such as Lasithi, Omalos and Nidha ; caves, such as Diktaion and Idaion ; and gorges such as the famous Gorge of Samaria. The protected area of the Samaria Gorge is the home of kri-kri, while Cretan mountains and gorges are refuges for the endangered vulture Lammergeier (Gypaetus barbatus).

Crete straddles two climatic zones, the Mediterranean and the North African, mainly falling within the former ; as such, the climate in Crete is primarily temperate. The atmosphere can be quite humid, depending on the proximity to the sea, while winter is fairly mild. Snowfall is common on the mountains between November and May, but rare at the low lying areas - especially near the coast when it only stays on the ground for a few minutes/hours. However, a truly exceptional cold snap swept the island in February 2004, during which period the whole island was blanketed with snow. During the cretan summer, average temperatures reach the high 20s-low 30s (Celsius), with maxima touching the upper 30s to mid 40s.

The south coast, including the Messara plain and Asterousia mountains, falls in the North African climatic zone, and thus enjoys significantly more sunny days and high temperatures throughout the year. In southern Crete date palms bear fruit and swallows remain year-long, without migrating to Africa.

The economy of Crete, which was mainly based on farming, began to change visibly during the 1970s. While an emphasis remains on farming and stock breeding, due to the climate and terrain of the island, there has been a drop in manufacturing and an observable expansion in its service industries (mainly tourism-related). All three sectors of the Cretan economy (agriculture, processing-packaging, services), are directly connected and interdependent. The island has a per capita income close to 100% of the Greek average, while unemployment is at approximately 4%, half of that of the country overall. As in other regions of Greece, olive growing is also a significant industry ; a small amount of citrons are still cultivated on the island.

The island has three significant airports, Nikos Kazantzakis at Heraklion, the Daskalogiannis airport at Chania and a smaller in Sitia. The first two serve international routes, as the main gateways to the island for travellers.

Crete is one of the most popular holiday destinations in Greece ; fifteen percent of all arrivals in Greece come through the city of Heraklion (port and airport), while charter journeys to Iraklion last year made up 20% of all charter flights in Greece. Overall, more than two million tourists visited Crete last year, and this increase in tourism is reflected on the number of hotel beds, rising by 53% in the period between 1986 to 1991, when the rest of Greece saw increases of only 25%. Today , the island's tourism infrastructure caters to all tastes, including a very wide range of accommodation ; the island's facilities take in large luxury hotels with their complete facilities swimming pools, sports and recreation , smaller family-owned apartments, camping facilities and others. Visitors reach the island via two international airports in Heraklion and Hania, or by boat to the main ports of Heraklion, Hania, Rethimno, and Agios Nikolaos.

Newspapers have reported that the ministry of Mercantile Marine is ready to support the agreement between Greece, South Korea, Dubai Ports World and China for the construction of a large international container port and free trade zone in southern Crete near Tympaki ; the plan is to expropriate 850 ha of land. The port would handle 2 million containers per year , while as of 2007, there has been no official announcement of a project not universally welcomed due to its environmental, economic and cultural impact.^[1]

• Minos, an ancient, legendary King of Crete
• Idomeneus, an ancient, legendary King of Crete
• Epimenides 6th century BC seer, philosopher and poet
• Nearchus (4th century BC) officer in the army of Alexander the Great
• Aenesidemus 1st century BC philosopher
• Saint Eumenes 7th century bishop of Gortyna
• Pope Alexander V (1339-1410)
• Marcus Musurus (1470-1517) scholar and philosopher
• Francesco Barozzi (1537-1604) Italian mathematician and astronomer
• El Greco (1541-1614) Greek-Spanish painter
• Vitsentzos Kornaros (1553-1613) poet of the Greek Renaissance
• Daskalogiannis (?-1771) rebel against Ottoman rule
• Dimitri Kalergis (1803-1867) statesman
• Eleftherios Venizelos (1864-1936) politician, Prime Minister of Greece
• Evangelos Sarris (1881-1917) army officer
• Emmanouil Tsouderos (1882-1956) economist and politician
• Nikos Kazantzakis (1885-1957) poet and author
• Alexis Minotis (1898-1990) actor
• Sapfo Notara (1907-1985) actress
• Manos Katrakis (1909-1984) actor
• Odysseas Elitis (1911-1996) poet
• Stylianos Pattakos (1912) member of Greek military junta
• Konstantinos Mitsotakis (1918) politician, Prime Minister of Greece
• Rena Kyriakou (1918-1994) pianist
• George Psychoundakis (1920-2006) World War II resistance fighter, poet and translator
• Thanasis Skordalos (1920-1998) singer and musician
• Mikis Theodorakis (1926) composer
• Kostas Mountakis (1926) singer and musician
• Terpsichori Chryssoulaki-Vlachou (1926-1944) member of the Greek resistance
• Michalis Kounelis (1928-1999) musician
• John Aniston (1933) actor, father of actress Jennifer Aniston
• Rika Diallina (1934) actress
• Nana Mouskouri (1934) singer and politician
• Nikos Xilouris (1936-1980) composer and singer
• Konstantinos Volanakis (1937) painter
• Giannis Markopoulos 1939 composer
• Yoryis Yatromanolakis 1940 author
• Manolis Mavrommatis (1941) sports journalist and politician
• Psarantonis (1942) musician and singer
• Yannis Smaragdis (1946) film director
• Maro Douka (1947) author
• Giannis Dragasakis (1947) politician
• Nikolaos Sifounakis (1949) politician
• Mimis Androulakis (1951) author and politician
• Maria Damanaki (1952) politician
• Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki (1955) business woman
• Manolis Kefalogiannis (1959) politician
• Kostas Hatzidakis (1965) politician
• Nikos Machlas (1973) footballer
• Andreas Glyniadakis (1981) basketball player
• Eleni Daniilidou (1982) tennis player
• Maria Spiridaki (1984) fashion model and TV presenter
• Georgios Samaras (1985) footballer

Crete's principal cities are:

• Heraklion (Iraklion or Candia) (137,711 inhabitants)
• Chania (Haniá) (53,373 inhabitants)
• Rethymno (31,687 inhabitants)
• Ierapetra (23,707 inhabitants)
• Agios Nikolaos (19,462 inhabitants)
• Sitia (14,338 inhabitants)

The island of Crete is a periphery of Greece, consisting of four prefectures (Greek: νομοί):

• Chania
• Heraklion
• Lasithi
• Rethymno

For amateur radio purposes it is considered to be a separate "entity," ITU prefix SV9.

Crete's mild climate is attracting growing interest from Northern Europeans to have a holiday home or residence on the island. E.U. citizens have the right to freely buy property and reside with little formality.^[2] A growing number of real estate companies cater to mainly British expatriates, followed by German, Dutch, Scandinavian and other European nationalities wishing to own a home in Crete.

The British expatriates are concentrated in the western prefectures of Chania and Rethymno and to a lesser extent in Heraklion and Lassithi. Some 40% of Britons in late 2006 said they were planning to live outside the United Kingdom or retire abroad due to socio-economic changes in the country. One in ten Britons do so already.^[3]

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• Cretan Greek
• Cretan Turks
• Cretan wine
• Former countries in Europe after 1815
• History of Crete
• List of Greek islands
• Minoan civilization
• Music of Crete
• OFI Crete
• Technical University of Crete
• TEI of Crete
• University of Crete
• Ottoman Navy
• Novels Set In Crete

• Crete travel guide from Wikitravel
• Region of Crete

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