I spent yesterday, the first full day of this holiday, just walking around Heraklion. Apart from the two flying visits mentioned in yesterday’s post it was my first encounter with this city. I’d heard many things about it, both good and not-so-good. I had a good-enough map with a couple of suggested walks marked on it, so I decided to follow the map – with the occasional detour to follow my nose – and see what I would see.
At the end of the first hour or so I was pretty enthusiastic about the city. I was surprised at how much of the old town appeared to be intact – I had read that it was badly damaged during the battle of Crete in 1941. However, many of the buildings appeared to be old – Venetian era – and there are a number of specific structures from that time. For example, there’s the Venetian Loggia; the church of St Titus; and a number of fountains, including the Morosini fountain in the middle of the old town. It also helps that many of the streets are pedestrian-only; and of course there are restaurants and bars by the hundred. (As regards the old buildings, I also gather that some of the better ones – the Loggia, for example – have been reconstructed, several times.)
A few hours later I wasn’t so sure. I’d followed the walk to its end at the Archeoligical Museum and had then continued, aiming to get to the port; this appeared to be not far beyond the museum, albeit down a hill. However I was surprised at how difficult it was to make my way that last distance, and how little there was around the port area once I’d got there. The old town, which is up on the hill, is surrounded by wide roads (dual carriageways in UK-speak), and these roads run between the old town and the port. There is therefore a definite discontinuity between the old town and the port. And as I said, once you get there there aren’t many attractions. There’s the old Venetian fortress that I visited last year, and you can walk along the quay side for some distance, but that’s it – very little in the way of bars and restaurants.
I don’t want to be too down on Heraklion – it’s an attractive, busy and vibrant place, but some decisions years ago have restricted their options somewhat. One advantage, however – the KTEL bus station is on these main roads so the buses aren’t trying to get around the wider city too much.
After leaving the port I eventually worked my way back to the Archeological Museum, arriving there at about 3 o’clock. When I’d walked past it a few hours earlier it was an ocean of peace and calm, but this time the covered courtyard outside was packed with people. Looking closer it was obvious that they were a party from a cruise ship. Indeed, they were several parties; I saw at least three differently-numbered badges. I eventually got to speak to one of the guides, intending to ask how long their visit would last. it took a minute or two to make myself understood but the guide got the point. “One hour”, she said, “you come back in one hour and we will be gone!”. Then she leaned forward and said quietly to me “is a good idea, I think….”. Having been on cruise excursions many times, it was interesting to see it from another perspective. In the event I didn’t return – I found a glass of wine in a bar and decided that it would mark the end of my explorations for the day.
Leave a Reply