The wonderful thing about travelling around the island of Crete is that there is just so much to see and do. When it comes to the archaeological sites found on the island it is like walking through a time warp, you will find yourself back in the glorious ancient eras of times long past.
Many of the sites that are dotted in strategic places all over the island are as free to view and explore as the air you breathe.
People from all over the globe descend on the island to marvel at the archaeological digs that can be found here.
The ruins at Aptera are breathtaking. In ancient times it was one of the most important cities on Crete. It is thought to have been built by Glaukos and many digs have been carried out over time in an attempt at finding out more about this impressive and glorious part of Cretan history. Then there are the ruins at Falassarna where remains of Cyclopean walls, tombs, house foundations and sculptures carved out of the rocks can be seen, including a throne.
There are fortresses to be found and explored, their history to be absorbed and appreciated because it all forms part of understanding why Crete and its unique population is what it is today. Walking around the ancient ruins of Lissos, the religious centre in the south west of the island, cannot fail to leave you speechless. Lissos flourished during the Hellenistic and Roman eras and it is here that they built the Temple of Asklepios. Visitors can marvel at the remains of a Roman theatre and visit the chamber tombs which were cut out of the rock.
There are so many sites on the island of Crete and each one of them is worth visiting because they tell us so much about the ancient civilisations which inhabited such a beautiful island. These ancient people have left behind so many clues as to how they survived and we are all lucky enough to be able to investigate and discover just how they lived and died on Crete by walking through these ancient ruins. A great example of this is the ruins of Armeni, the Minoan cemetery which has tombs carved out of the rock.
It is by studying these marvellous sites that we begin to have an understanding of the ancient civilisations to whom we owe so much to today. Their expertise in the crafts they mastered and the wonderful legacy they have left us is something every visitor to Crete will enjoy and appreciate. Having visited any of these ancient ruins we come back to the world of today different people, maybe humbler, sometimes overawed but one thing is for sure – we all come away a little more knowledgeable.
