Crete, sometimes spelled Krete is the largest of the Greek islands and the fifth largest in the Mediterranean Sea.

Tourist attractions in Crete include archeological sites at Knossos, Phaistos, Gortys and many other places, the Venetian castle in Rethymno, the Samaria Gorge and many other minor gorges (Agia Irini, Aradena, etc).

Crete was the location of the Minoan civilization (ca. 3000–1400 BCE), one of the first civilizations in Europe.

Geography

Crete is one of the 13 regions of Greece. It is the biggest island in Greece and the second biggest (after Cyprus) of the East Mediterranean. Crete lies at the southern end of the Aegean Sea and covers an area of 8,336 km². Its population is 650,000 people (as of 2005). The island is 260 km long and varies in width from 60 km (measured from the Dion cape to the Lithinon cape), to only 12 km at the Isthmus of Ierapetra in eastern Crete. The coast is deeply indented, giving Crete over 1,000 km of shoreline. Crete lies approximately 160 km south of the Greek mainland.

The island is extremely mountainous and is defined by a high mountain range crossing it from West to East, formed by three different groups of mountains. These are:

- the White Mountains or Lefka Ori (up to 2,452 m high);
- the Idi range (Psiloritis (35.18° N 24.82° E) 2,456 m);
- the Dikti mountains (up to 2,148 m high)

These mountains gifted Crete with fertile plateaus like Lasithi, Omalos and Nidha, caves like Diktaion and Idaion cave, and gorges like the famous Gorge of Samaria.

Climate
Crete straddles two climatic zones, the Mediterranean and the North African, mainly falling within the former. As such, the climate in Crete is primarily temperate. The atmosphere can be quite humid, depending on the proximity to the sea. The winter is fairly mild. Snow fall is practically unknown to the plains, but quite frequent in the mountains. During summer, average temperatures are in the high 20’s-low 30’s (Celsius). The exception can be the south coast, including the Messara plain and Asterousia mountains, which fall in the North African climatic zone and thus enjoys significantly more sunny days and high temperatures during the summer. Probably the best time to visit Crete is spring and autumn.

Economy

The economy of Crete, which was mainly based on farming, started changing visibly during the 1970s. While there is still an emphasis on farming and stock breeding, due to the climate and the terrain of the island, there is a drop in manufacturing and a big increase on the services industry (mainly tourism related). All three sectors of the Cretan economy (agriculture, processing-packaging, services), are directly connected and interdepended. Crete has an average per capita income which is close to 100% of the Greek average. Unemployment is at approximately 4%, half of that of Greece.

The island has three significant airports, Nikos Kazantzakis at Heraklion, the military airport Daskalogiannis at Chania and a new public airport in Sitia.

Tourism

Crete is one of the most popular holiday destinations in Greece. Fifteen percent of all arrivals in Greece come through the city of Iraklion (port and airport), while charter flights to Iraklion were last year 20% of the total of charter flights in Greece. In sum more than two million tourists visited Crete last year. This increase in tourism is reflected on the number of hotel beds, which increased in Crete by 53% from 1986 to 1991 while in the rest of Greece the increase was 25%.

Today the tourism infrastructure in Crete caters to all tastes. There is accommodation of every possible category, from large luxury hotels with all the facilities (swimming pools, sports and recreation facilities etc.), to smaller family owned apartments, to camping facilities. Visitors can arrive at the island through two international airports in Iraklion and Hania, or by boat to the ports of Iraklion, Hania, Rethimno and Agios Nikolaos.