Hiking adventures Alpine Interface

Crete - Coastal Walks

Recommended reading

The following books are some of many we would recommend for reading before coming to Crete. Some are what we would call 'background' reading, some are specific to the trip you will be doing, and all are excellent preparation and fun to read, counting the days before your holiday begins...

 

History of Crete

Oliver Rackham, Jennifer Moody:
The Making of the Cretan Landscape

Crete seems to be more of a continent than simply another island.   Within its territory, the landscape changes dramatically, with incredible contrasts in temperature and scenery.   Crete is 245km long and 50 km wide.  
With nearly 20 ranges, many of which approach 2000 meters, the mountains dominate the island, but also by the sea that encircles it.  
The making of the present Cretan landscape is a combination of both human and natural factures. In Rackham and Moody's excellent book, one may explore in greater detail the interaction of these two factors and how they affect Crete today.
 
Theocharis E., Detorakis: History of Crete
Theocharis Detorakis is Professor of Byzantine Philology at the University of Crete. His love for his home island led him early in his career to focus his academic work on its complex and eventful history. He is a well known authority on Crete and has published extensively on subjects ranging from the island's history to its language and folklore. In 1985 he was awarded the Nikos Kazantzakis prize for the quality and range of his scholarly work. In 1993 he was also awarded the title of Archon megas Protonotarios of the Hol and Great Church by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.

 

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History of Crete during World War II

Antony Beevor:
Crete - The Battle and Resistance
This book gives a fairly detailed analysis of possible THE pivotal battle in the war against the axis powers in Europe. The battle of Crete was the last time Hitler used his elite paratroopers in such a large scale, and many historians believe that Hitler was so bogged down in Crete, that he neglected other theatres of operation, which eventually led to his downfall.

 

George Psychoundakis, Xan Fielding: The Cretan Runner
The amazing story of an uneducated shepherd boy, who, despite the possibility of imprisonment, torture or death, assisted allied forces on the island of Crete in communications and sabotage.
His incredible endurance to outrun Nazi patrols across the jagged mountains of the Cretan landscape has made him one of the heros of World War II.

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highlights

  • • Active holidays combined with delicious food and Cretan hospitality
  • • Ancient Roman roads and olive orchards
  • • A refreshing dip into the Mediterranean Sea during lunch breaks or after a day of trekking

duration

11 days (7 days of walking)

trip difficulty

Moderate » details

price

US $1850
Single Supplement:
US $200
» details

2007 dates

May &mdash June, September &mdash October
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more info

 
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