Andante Travels

Introduction

The excavations at Knossos in the early 20th century first brought this remarkable civilisation into focus, and it was named by the excavator Sir Arthur Evans after the legend of King Minos. Ancestors of the Myceneans and then the Classical Greeks, the Minoans may be seen as the key to understanding western culture.

An intriguing introduction to Minoan archaeology in expert company, combining the best elements of a real holiday: a town hotel close to the harbour in Heraklion and a coastal hotel with private beach, good food and a taste of the idyll of the countryside. The sites here close at 3, so the tour is also reasonably gentle, starting early to avoid the heat and with plenty of free time in the afternoon.

The memory of the Minoans lived on in Greek myth and legend in the stories of Theseus and the Minotaur and the labyrinth of King Minos. There is a particular charm and elegance to their civilisation, demonstrated in the physical remains - a lively and free artistic expression, and an obvious delight in realistic decoration with sea creatures, leaping dolphins, beautiful young people, flowers and the bright colours of the Mediterranean world.

Itinerary

Day One
Arrive in Heraklion and drive to hotel.

Day Two
Bronze Age Knossos, pre-eminent amongst the Minoan ‘palaces’, which continued in use after others had been destroyed in earthquakes at the beginning of the Late Bronze Age. Substantially reconstructed following Sir Arthur Evans’ excavations in the early 20th century, it conveys an impression of the colour and grandeur of the original structures. We have permission to visit the grounds of the Villa Ariadne. This was the house designed by Evans for himself and his colleagues to live in during the excavation. Today it is a working laboratory for the British School at Athens.

Visit to the Minoan house at Vathypetro, which had an elaborate tripartite shrine of a type often depicted in Minoan art, and a well-preserved Minoan wine press.

Depending on whether the main galleries have reopened by the time of our visit, we will view these or just the “highlights” of the Heraklion Museum, including displays of the brightly-coloured wall-paintings from the social centres of the Minoans, so-called ‘palaces’.

Day Three
The elegant Minoan ‘palace’ at Phaistos, which dominates the fertile plain of the Mesara. The remains of the old palace, built around a central court, are particularly well-preserved, and finds from this period include a vast quantity of Kamares-style pottery.
Most famous are the terracotta ‘Phaistos Disc’, stamped with a series of pictographic symbols, and thousands of documents inscribed with the earliest known occurrence of the Linear A script. The new palace was built over the earlier remains and re-used the central court although the main entrance was moved from the south to the west. This is disappointing in terms of finds, and inhabitants may have moved all portable items before its destruction and abandonment.

Ayia Triadha, near Phaistos, is a grand but ruinous Bronze Age villa. The lavish finds include a cache of copper ingots, bronze figurines and three elaborately-carved stone vessels. Also found within the complex were 700 seals and tablets written in the linear A script. To the north of the villa complex lie the remains of the Minoan town.

Important Graeco-Roman site of Gortyn. Stone blocks of the 5th century BC, found reused in the Roman odeum were inscribed with the law codes of the Classical Greek period, and provide fascinating insights into property division, adoption procedures, slavery and adultery.

Day Four
Early morning catamaran to the volcanic island of Santorini; visit the archaeological museum and the prehistoric museum in Fira, which houses the wall-paintings from the Minoan mansion at Akrotiri. Time to stroll along the esplanade along the edge of the caldera.

Day Five
We have chosen a hotel close to the ancient Akrotiri, just in case it is open again in time for our visit. Otherwise, we will explore ancient Thira, high on its windy hillside. Late afternoon catamaran return to Heraklion, then drive east to our hotel near Aghios Nikolaos.

The well-preserved Minoan town of Gournia lies on the northern coast and is close to a natural harbour. This settlement is one of the two best-preserved Minoan towns from Late Minoan I. The remains are clustered around the sides of a hill which is crowned by a ‘palace’. The majority of the houses are on the east slope, built up against each other along paved and stepped streets. The cemetery of the town is located 200m to the north and has produced 150 pithos burials.

Early Bronze Age settlement of Vasiliki, on top of a hill on the Ierapetra isthmus, strategically placed to control trade and communication between central, eastern and southern Crete. Some free time this afternoon.

Day Seven
Walk up to the ruins at Chamaizi, most famous for a Middle Minoan IA building located on the summit of the hill. Its thick outer walls surround an open court at the centre. A possible shrine has been identified in one of the large northern rooms. The site is in beautiful countryside which should be covered by wild flowers in May.

By fishing boat to the tiny island of Mochlos, once a peninsula on which stood an important Minoan town. Fish lunch in a seaside taverna in their delightful harbour.

Day Eight
Return flight from Heraklion.

Included

WHAT’S INCLUDED

• Flights Scheduled flights with Easyjet from London to Heraklion - the only direct scheduled flights available and in our experience a reliable option
• Transfers private coach provided to coincide with group flights
• Local Travel Private a/c coach.
• Meals All meals included (dinners with wine & water) except lunch on Day 5.
• Guide Lecturer Not to be confused with "guest lecturers"! The guide lecturer will be with you from breakfast to supper, and probably even a drink in the bar afterwards. There is the occasional site where they may not be allowed to guide because of local regulations (we normally manage to circumnavigate these) but otherwise the guides are just that. They will have been chosen because of specialist knowledge and their ability to communicate and interest you. After 22 years of making tours worldwide, we are highly appreciative of the attributes of a good guide, and intensely critical of people who do not possess them. If you would like to know more about Dr Georgina Muskett, please click her name.
• Tour Manager We never know how best to call the very special people whom we choose to accompany you on your tour. They are usually employed in this capacity only by us, and have been trained to do things in the Andante way - unobtrusive, friendly and quietly efficient.
• Local Guide
• Fieldnotes written for the tour.
• Entry & tips Entry to all sites in programme; tips included.

Flights & Visa

Flights with Easyjet from London to Heraklion, details to be confirmed

Visa and Passport Requirements (for British passport holders only)*

Hotels

1 night in a hotel with a pool in the south of Santorini;

3 nights in an attractive 4* hotel near Ayios Nikolaos (see below), private beach, pool and sea-views from many rooms.

Map

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Comments

What Did You Enjoy Most About This Tour?

Delighted as we were to visit both Knossos and Phaistos in truth the most enjoyable parts were on visits to the lesser known sites - also the friendly local cafés and tavernas where we enjoyed our meals. We also loved our room and the view of the Blue Sea at Istron Bay. We also got on very well with our tour companions.

Very well balanced programme, not too crammed with sites or information. I felt that the Cretan opening hours operated in our favour, with the serious stuff in the morning, which could then be followed by a leisurely lunch and return to the hotel to snooze or write up our notes or take a walk or swim - ideal! This made it a holiday as well as a learning experience.

We were very impressed with our first trip with Andante to Pompeii & Herculaneum in 2006 and therefore had no concerns about booking the trip to Crete - and we were not disappointed. The trip was excellent, well led and well guided in every aspect. We shall certainly use Andante again. Your Tour Manager did her utmost to see that all went well and that our every query was dealt with immediately. Likewise your Guide Lecturer took us around the various sites with friendly infectious enthusiasm."

Reading List

This list is no more than a guide to some books that you may find useful to read in advance of the tour. Talks given on the tour will attempt to fill in the background to what we are seeing, so no prior knowledge or pre-tour cramming is expected or needed. In many cases, we expect that you will find some of these books even more interesting and useful to read once the tour is over.

Guide Lecturer's Choice: (if you only want to read one book)

Fitton, L (2002) Minoans (BM Press)

Brown A. (1989) Arthur Evans and the Palace of Minos. Oxford: Ashmolean Museum

Note: Hard to obtain

Cadogan, G. (1976, revised 1980) Palaces of Minoan Crete. (Barrie & Jenkins; Routledge)

Guide to all the major sites. Note: Hard to obtain

Davaras, C (1976) Guide to Cretan Antiquities. (Noyes Press, US; Eptalofolos, Athens). Written by distinguished archaeologist and former director of the Ayios Nikolaos museum; cross-referenced in dictionary form, with authoritative articles on major sites as well as the antiquities found. May be difficult to obtain but can be bought in Crete.

Hitchcock, L.A. and Preziosi D. (2000) Aegean Art and Architecture. Oxford University Press. It's accessible but quite scholarly, a reasonably up-to-date survey and it's directly relevant to the sites we'll be visiting

MacGillivray, J.A. (2000) Minotaur: Sir Arthur Evans and the Archaeology of the Minoan Myth. Pimlico. A controversial biography within the field, this work nevertheless provides a readable and fascinating account of Evans' work on the island, as well as suggesting reasons for the ways in which he envisaged Minoan society.

Psychoundakis G. (1998) The Cretan Runner. Penguin books

Powell D. (1985) The Villa Ariadne

Rackham O. & Moody J. (1997) The Making of the Cretan Landscape. Manchester University press

Warren, P (1989) The Aegean Civilisations (2^nd ed. Oxford, Phaidon).This might be difficult to obtain but should be available through a good library.

The Rough Guide to Crete (7^th edition 2007)

Blue Guide Crete (7^th edition 2003)

Cyclades

Barber R.L.N. 1987: The Cyclades in the Bronze Age

Broodbank, C. 2000: An island archaeology of the early Cyclades

Fitton, J.L. 1989: Cycladic Art

Freely, J. 2006: The Cyclades: discovering the Greek Islands of the Aegean (Guide Lecturer's choice for Santonini)

Santorini

The following are books on Akrotiri, ancient Thera, which is unlikely to be open, but may be of interest, and finds from the site are displayed in the museum in Fira.

Doumas, C. 1983. Thera: Pompeii of the ancient Aegean

An excellent general introduction to this fascinating site.

Doumas, C. 1992. Wall Paintings of Thera

Beautiful reproductions of the wall paintings, recommended for anyone with a special interest in Aegean art.

Palyvou, C. 2005. Akrotiri, Thera : an architecture of affluence 3,500 years old

A focus on the well-preserved architecture from the site.

Booking