Phaistos

Phaistos was the second largest ancient city of the Minoan culture that was developed on Crete. The beginning of the creation goes back to the Late Neolithic era starting about 3000 BC. The first palace was raised in 1850 BC, so exactly during the Minoan emperorship.  The King of Phaistos was Rodamanthos, brother of Minoa King of Knossos. The palace continued to be used even after its destruction in 1400 BC.

Phaistos lost its power through the years until the emerging center of nearby Gortyn finally destroyed it in 200 BC. Phaistos is built on a majestic location, on the top of a hill overlooking the whole bay of Messara. The most amazing finding was the Disk of Phaistos. The script on both of its surfaces resembles hieroglyphs and has not been deciphered yet. Phaistos is right after the traditional village of  Vorri, about 15 minutes by car from Irini Mare Hotel.

Patsos/Agios Antonios Gorge

The beautiful gorge of Agios Antonios or Patsos , as the locals refer to it, is located on the northwest part of the province Amari, in the heart of the municipality of Rethymno. It is crossed by a small river which is full of water during autumn and winter time. Agios Antonios gorge is 2km long and it takes approximately 2 hours to cross it. Beautiful nature and special flora create a beautiful scenery along the gorge. Take a small break to enjoy some unique bird watching and don’t forget to visit the small monastery of Agios Antonios inside the cave.

Gortys

Gortys is an ancient city which ages back to 7000 BC, in the Neolithic era. It locates nearby the village of Agioi Deka, approximately 30 minutes by car from Irini Mare Hotel. According to Homer it was one of the most developed cities during the Minoan time. Right after the destruction of Phaistos , Gortys became extremely powerful and it expanded until Matala.

Gortys kept excellent relations with the Roman emperor and that is why, during the Roman emperorship on Mediterranean, it became the capital of Crete. Gortys was destroyed by the Arabs in 828 AD. Among various great findings in the area of Gortys, such as the the temple of Apollo and the Roman Theater, the greatest of all is the Law Code of Gortys, which is the oldest example of a code of the ancient Greek Law.

According to the myth, Zeus had an affair with princess Europe, who he kidnapped, while disguised as bull. Zeus brought Europe under a plane tree in Gortys and had three children with her, Minos, Rhadamanthys and Sarpedon, who became the kings of the three Minoan Palaces in Crete. A colossal statue of Europa sitting on the back of a bull was discovered at the Amphitheatre in Gortys in the nineteenth century and is now in the collections of the British Museum.

Moni Arkadiu/ Arkadi Monastry

Moni Arkadiu is one of the most, if not the most historical monasteries on Crete. It is about 40 km from Agia Galini, but it is definitely worth the time. The monastery was built in the 5 century AF, and it was built in the honor of Saint Constantine. It became the symbol of the Cretan Resistance against the Ottoman Empire.

In 1866 Arkadi Monastry was surrounded by Ottoman soldiers who asked from the women, children and Cretan fighters inside the monastery to surrender.  In the powder room, where the majority of the women and children hid, Konstantinos Giaboudakis gathered the people hiding in the neighboring rooms together. When the Turks arrived at the door of the powder room, Giaboudakis set the barrels of powder on fire and the resulting explosion resulted in numerous deaths from both sides.