Crete, doors and windows

Doors and windows are a popular collecting theme as far as postcards are concerned, and here we have a little of both.

Someone in Germany went on holiday to Greece and visited Crete, the largest of the Greek islands. She brought the card home and sent it to me just last week: a pleasant reminder of summer holidays and warm weather.

Koules, a Venetian fortress in Crete

A Venetian fortress guards the entrance to the harbour of Heraklion, on the Greek island of Crete.  It was known as Rocca al Mare by the Venetians but after the Venetians came the Ottamans who renamed it Koules.  It was built during the 13th century on a rocky foundation formed by filling old ships with stones from a nearby island, and sinking them in position.

This card was sent to my father in 1983, buy a merchant seaman.  He reported that they were loading grapes in Crete, then bound for Rotterdam and Hamburg.

A week of maps: 4 Thasos

Thasos is the most northerly of the Greek islands.  Once it was known for marble and gold mines but now it is pretty much a holiday destination.  There are some ancient sights worth seeing there but I'm not convinced relying on the card for information is the best thing.  It's hard to work out which place is associated with each drawing.  All the same, there is an amphitheatre at the town of Thasos, there are marble mines near Aliki.  I'm sure there is much more.

Shipwreck Bay

This is where I would rather be just now, in the glorious sunshine, looking down on the most beautiful crystal blue water on the island of Zakynthos, the third largest of the Ionian islands of Greece.  The particular spot shown on the card, Navagio (shipwreck), can be reached only by boat.  It is the site of a wreck, alleged to be that of a smuggler's ship.  As a result, it's often known as Smuggler's Cove.

Holy Monastery Gonia, Crete

Postmarked Xania, dated 1 July 1982.
Holy Monastery Gonia, Kolymbari, Crete.

The message reads:

This monastery was built between 1618 and 1634 by the monk Blaise from Cyprus.  It played a leading part in the revolutions against the Turks and was a centre of the national resistance during the German occupation.  There are only 8 monks here today.

That was over 25 years ago.  I wonder if there are any monks left now.

Corfu

Postmarked Karussades, dated 16 September 1997.
Corfu is the second largest of the Greek islands, separated from Albania by only 3 km (2 miles) and up to 23 km (15 miles). The principal town is also called Corfu.  The island is steeped in history and features in Greek mythology.

This was sent to my parents from their only grand-daughter, to assure them that she had remembered her sun tan lotion! 

Lefkada

Postmarked Lefkada, dated 21 June 2007

Lefkada - Egremni beach

Lefkada is one of the Greek Islands. Acording to the message on the card the beaches really are like that, and empty too. For June 2007 it seems remarkable but apparently this particular beach is reached by 347 steep steps which could go some way to explain it.

Andros Batsi

Postmarked Gavrio and dated 9 July 1998.

Andros is an island in the Cylades group of the Greek archipelago. The largest towns are Ándros, Gávrio, Bátsi, and Órmos Korthíou, with a total population for the whole island of about 18,000.

Acropolis

Athens: General view of Acropolis.
Dated 1979. Postmarked Athens.

A UNESCO world Heritage Site.  The Acropolis is a flat topped rock with a number of important monuments, the best known of which is the Parthenon.