The fortress dominates Rethymno,, built at the end of the C16th by the Venetians to provide defence against Turkish pirates.
While it provided an adequate garrison for troops, it was not strong enough to withstand an attack so was easily conquered by the Turks in 23 days in 1646. Few buildings remain inside the walls …
… but there is a small mosque …
… Ekaterini church …
… and some good views from the walls.
Back in the centre of the old town, The Archeology Museum is housed in the church of St Francis which was part of a Venetian monastery until the Ottomans incorporated it into the mosque, but there is still an arch supported by Venetian lions outside …
.. and an impressive doorway.
Quite small, the collection contains a huge range of items found in the local area …
… but the most striking were the especially well preserved clay larnakes, chest shaped coffins, found at the Minoan Cemetery at Armeni.
I loved the striking designs of squid and plants that decorated them …
… as well as this Minoan goddess.
During our visit, the guide mentioned the site where these tombs had been excavated was only 15 minutes drive out of town, so we decided to take a cab and have a look.
We enjoyed exploring the little visited site …
… wandering between the scrub oaks …
… and being able to descend into several of the tombs.
A deep sided passage or dromos led from the steps to the entrance, which would have been sealed by a large stone.
Inside, most were just a small semi circular space where the remains had been found laid on the ground, but a couple of the larger tombs were rectangular …
… with a low bench along the walls and even had a pillar.
We were so pleased we made the effort to visit – it was very atmospheric actually standing in the tombs which were so old (1300BC) and carved out by hand using bronze tools. As an extra bonus, we stopped at a viewpoint on the way back and got a birds eye view of Rethymno.
One way to get a look at the countryside without hiring a car is on the Rethymno City Tour, aka the Hop On – Hop Off bus.
It begins by driving round the outside of the old town while telling its history, then heads off into the hills. We got off at each of the stops beginning with the Panagia Chalevi Monastery, now just a church dedicated to the Holy Virgin surrounded by a garden and the ruins of monastic buildings.
Next up was Myli Gorge and on another occasion we would have been up for hiking the 3 mile length, but this time we just walked a short way.
Some 30 mills worked the waters of the Mili Gorge from the C17th, supplying flour to the whole area but today the buildings are all in ruins, overtaken by the abundant greenery, and very photographic!
There are several churches along the route and the first of these, Agios Antonios, is built into the rock face.
In the hamlet of Pano Mili, a small enterprising café has a terrace offering a view back across the gorge …
… but it doesn’t take long to see why the gorge wasn’t up to the rigours of modern industry when we saw the cafe supplies delivered in a crate by zip wire across the valley!
We walked on to a viewpoint beside another church …
… then retraced our steps and had a coffee before getting back on the bus.
The last two stops were the Military Museum, housed in an old Venetian summer villa …
… and the C14th Monastery of Aghia Irini which had become dilapidated but was restored in 1990 as a nunnery. The foundations may be old, but everything else is new, including the icons and murals in the church which had been painted by the nuns, but which we couldn’t photograph!
Back to Rethymno, tomorrow is a day for celebration …
Off Travelling Together 