Crete

Eternal Crete

by Vassily Kritis September 2013

Copyright 2013 - Vassily Kritis All Rights Reserved.

No unauthorised reproductions are permitted without the prior consent of the author.

prologue

I was told by my father long ago, too long to even remember, that our family surname was the result of a decision by a schoolmaster who, at the absence of a descent answer by my great-great-grandfather to the question ‘what is your name?’, he registered him as ‘Kritis’, as the kid ‘told’ the teacher that his family originated from Crete. So, one branch of the family must have had it’s roots in the ancient kingdom of Minos. On my mom’s side, her paternal name was Hatziantonakis, and originated from Cretan immigrants who moved to Reisdere a few centuries ago. Reisdere is located near Ismir in modern day Turkey. Based on this partly verified data, I tend to believe that my DNA stems from the greatest Greek island, but I must shamefully admit that it took me 60 years for the decision to come here and visit, at least once in my life, before I pass. It happened this summer in August, while visiting business associates and old friends in Athens, with some of whom I travelled to the island for a few days. During that trip I also visited Ierapetra, and the Church of Eleoussa, where as per the legend, its own miraculous icon of Our Virgin the Eleoussa was rescued from the same Reisdere of my grandparents during the second Exodus in 1922, and was brought to Ierapetra by a chased refugee enduring his own odyssey on the way. My family (on my mother’s side) eventually settled in Lemnos (a North Aegean Sea island) after the exodus, in the ‘capital’ Myrina and its port as my grandfather was a fisherman and needed to live near the sea. The rest of the Reisdere refugees were sent to settle in another Lemnos village (Lera) abandoned by the Turks, who became refugees as well and were sent back to their own homeland Turkey during that same exchange of populations. In a certain way, this album eventually became a testimony of my pilgrimage to find an Orthodox icon that members of my family long gone have worshipped daily more than a hundred years ago.

In addition to Ierapetra, I also visited the four larger cities at the North of the island, Heraklion, Chania, Rethymnon

and Aghios Nikolaos. In Heraklion I visited the Archaelogical museum and the Knossos site itself, it goes without saying. I also visited a few villages in the mountains, like Anogia, the 2500 inhabitants large home village of famous Cretan troubadour Nikos Xilouris, who passed so early in his life, thirty years ago. I saw his house in the middle of the village with banners all over. I had lunch at a local restaurant, where I shot one of my best portraits ever, of a Cretan resting upon his cane. I also visited a naïf ‘museum’ of someone called Skoulas, in his late seventies, who played the lyre, and kept a collection of artist works made by his father.

Skoulas learned to play the lyre when he turned 60, whereas his father learned to ‘paint’ past his 70ies! Geriatric talents! Needless to say, Skoulas’s father passed at 94, whereas Skoulas himself intends to turn hundred, I reckon. Except a damaged left eye that he covered with a pair of Raybans, he seemed quite alright, despite his age. I also visited a cave, one of 6000 on the island, where the ancients used to worship their Gods. The one I visited was arranged for tourists with funny color lights projected upon its stalactites and stalagmites. I saw a few water drops preparing to fall depositing calcium to form a stalactite at the speed of a few cm per century. Nature has got all the time!

Crete is an experience. It’s a wonderful place, rich in history of more than 3 thousand years, but unfortunately tourists and Greeks, especially the latter, made almost a mess of it.

Traffic rules reminiscent of the far East, bad quality motorways, environmental pollution caused by the miles upon miles of free hanging electricity and telephone cables, and litter all over. And cars. Many, far too many cars wherever you go, parked like nothing you saw before. Mediterranean in all its glory. Pity...

Vassily Kritis, August 2013

contents knossos architectural sea + mountains people musea + monuments folklore religious ports + harbors shops + restaurants flora

knossos

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architectural

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sea + mountains

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people

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musea + monuments

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folklore

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religious

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ports + harbors

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shops + restaurants

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flora

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