EASTERN CRETE

C H A P T E R 2
The austerity of stone and
the splendours of Malia
On Crete there are apparently-forgotten
lands, ignored by the normal tourist guides,
but which nevertheless possess a particular
beauty, "quieter" and hard to define. One of
these is the silent and almost uninhabited
hinterland above Ayios Nikolaos, Neapoli
and Malia, in complete contrast with the
overcrowded beaches that stretch out in
front of Spinalonga. Following this itinerary,
it is a good idea to travel without a precise
destination, losing oneself in the hilly
landscape, among small, partly-abandoned
villages, mills and tumble-down houses,
monasteries and white churches. The very
stones of this place recall dramatic and
painful stories, stories of sieges and of
conquests, of the battle against hunger and
illnesses of a population in continual revolt
against foreign invaders - Dorians, Romans,
Saracens, Venetians and Turks.
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