crete: southernmost island in europe, and closest point between greece and egypt, which only lies a lybian sea apart.
there is no island like crete elsewhere on the planet: rough but tender, welcoming but hard to access, with pleasing landscapes, ranging from lush green valleys and arid sunbaked coastlines to cold snowy mountains.
european culture was born here, so was the egyptian one, allegedly. culture is alive, so is the will to embrace everything new. crete has withstood wars and earthquakes, brought up fierce warriors and brave kings, and invented mysterious legends like the minotaurus and ariadne's thread. knossos, home to king minos and to one of the world's greatest high cultures, was destroyed some three thousand years ago, with the birth of the volcano that today is called santorin island, and at that time sent a tsunami of undescribed force all over the aegean sea.
today, life is less mysterious, save for church life, and people are down-to-earth and long-living. most of the population older than 100 lives on crete island, and claims its good health to excellent olive oil and healthy food, while midday siestas certainly play an important role as well. plants and herbs can be found that exist nowhere else on this planet, and in spring, when the island is suddenly all green and blossoming, scientists will come running from everywhere else in the hope to discover something new and exciting.