"I once thought this must be an annex to... " a Heraklion Travel Page by etfromnc

Although the "I used to live here" button is checked, I actually lived in a very small town about 10 miles east of Heraklion. It is named Kokkini Hani, which means Red Hut, and I spent two of the most fabulous years of my life there. When I lived there, the international airport which is currently in use for many international flights per day was being completed and the rampant commercialization which seems to be destroying so many of the truly beautiful places of our world was just beginning to rear its head. I lived in a two bedroom waterfront home with all utilities included (including a telephone where I had to turn a crank to reach the operator and make a call) for less than $100 per month. My "estate," my "villa," my "palazzo" had over 100 varieties of shrubs, vines, and fruit trees in the very spacious yard and during the warmer months, I even had a gardener at no extra charge. When I returned in 2004, after the Olympics, there was a very elegant resort where my home had formerly stood. I could not even gain admittance to walk through nor buy a meal at this resort since I did not have a reservation.

The capital and largest city of Crete is Heraklion. It is also the fifth largest city in all of Greece and the primary transportation hub for all of your adventures in Crete.
Heraklion, was home to the Minoans, Europe's earliest civilization. For this reason, Crete is sometimes referred to as, "The Cradle of Europe." The Palace at Knossos, just south of Heraklion, is the most obvious evidence of their time here. It has been partially rebuilt and I spent many delightful days exploring its labyrinthine maze of hallways and rooms. An extra benefit of actually living there was that my secretary was a licensed guide who worked for the national tourist authority, so I had a very handy (and inexpensive) source of information and ideas.

I dearly admire Samantha (Sam) Brown of the Travel Channel satellite TV network but she lost many points in my book when she said that there was very little attractive to her about Heraklion. Perhaps because I lived there, or even perhaps because the Travel Channel had an ulterior motive to encourage tourists to see more of Crete than just Heraklion, but whatever the reason, I think that she slighted Heraklion very badly. For souvenir hunting, warm people, and just about anything else other than God's wonderful gifts of creation, anything that can be found elsewhere on the island can be found in or very near Heraklion.