Oh Margaritas . . .

Skywatch Friday
Margaritas, a small village in Crete south of Rethimno and Iraklio with blue skies and a gentle breeze.
This was a few days ago but now, the first week in August, we have clouds, white puffy cumulus and some darker cirrus. I have never seen such clouds here in August. But back to Margaritas . [...]

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Crete’s extraordinary synagogue

By Antony Lerman
Chania, Crete. The holidaymakers look thinner on the ground this year and the freshly fried calamari are no longer so cheap. But the draw of this old Venetian port city, with its long and visible history which somehow absorbs and Cretanises the kitsch shops and harbourside trinket sellers, remains strong. If you’re interested [...]

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Wild and Secret Crete

Skywatch
The tourists are beginning to come now, though not as many as before. Sure there will be more problems as we have already had with the olive harvest. It was a bad year. Excellent Cretan extra virgin olive oil was priced here at Euros 1.70 per kilo, more than a litre.
But the beaches are superb [...]

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The Carnival in Crete – Rethymnon

Today is Monday, Clean Monday (Kathara Defteri in Greek), two days before Ash Wednesday when Lent begins. Today, sitting in a beach cafe in warm gentle weather, watching the Greek tradition of flying kites, and there are many, we think of the day before, Sunday the first of March and the Carnival.
And what a carnival [...]

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The Cretan Poppies

ABC Wednesday
One of the finest flowers seen in Crete is the wild Cretan poppy. So many people see so many flowers that the poppy is often ignored in favour of the wonderful orchids and the myriads of stunning flowers that are seen here. But I love the poppy. It is straight, wild and serene. It [...]

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M is for Milking Sheep

ABC Wednesday
On Saint George’s day in the village of Asigonia in Crete, the shepherds bring all of the herds down from the mountains to have them milked.
From the other side, it looks just like this:
Then, of course, the milk has to be pasteurised:
Then the milk is given freely to anyone who wants some. The village [...]

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Kazantzakis – The Grave

Skywatch Friday
Nicos Kazantzakis was probably the greatest author to be born on the island of Crete. His books included Zorba the Greek to Freedom or Death. His book, The Last Temptation, was banned by the Pope and his writings in general led to him being excommunicated by the Greek Orthodox Church.  He thus was not [...]

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K is for Kaiki

ABC Wednesday
K is a wonderful letter for anyone who lives in Crete. In Greek the word for Crete is Kphth (pronounced Kriti). There are so many places that begin with the Greek letter Kappa or K that it is unbelievable. But for me one of the most memorable things about Crete, and of course the [...]

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An apology for the Greek News being down. Now it is fixed.

You may have noticed that our Greek News feed was down for a couple of days. There seems to be a problem with the ERT newsfeed, not here but with ERT itself. Anyway, I apologise to those of you who come here to see what is happening in Greece. But worry not, it is now [...]

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Welcome to Holy Week and Pasxa, the Greek Easter.

This week, the week before the Easter celebrations is known in Greece as Megali Evdomada, Holy Week or Great Week. Today is Megali Pempti, Holy Thursday, the day that traditionally the people of Greece hard boil and die their eggs the colour of the blood of Christ – red.
Tomorrow is Good Friday, a day of [...]

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