Background: Greece achieved its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1829. During the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, it gradually added neighboring islands and territories, most with Greek-speaking populations. In World War II, Greece was first invaded by Italy (1940) and subsequently occupied by Germany (1941-44); fighting endured in a protracted civil war between royalist supporters of the king and communist rebels. Following the latter's defeat in 1949, Greece was able to join NATO in 1952. A military dictatorship, which in 1967 suspended many political liberties and forced the king to flee the country, lasted seven years. The 1974 democratic elections and a referendum created a parliamentary republic and abolished the monarchy. Greece joined the European Community or EC in 1981 (which became the EU in 1992); it became the 12th member of the euro zone in 2001.
June 15th 2008Europe » Greece » Crete » Chania Those of us that chose not to tackle the Samaria Gorge had a free day in Hania. We decided to start with the Agora which is a fabulous flea market type building full of little stalls selling everythi ... [full story]
May 23rd 2008Europe » Greece » Crete » Chania We have been busy the last few days. On Wednesday we went to the Palace of Knossos. This is an ancient minoan palace. It has been reconstructed in parts by Sir Arthur Evans, an archeologist. It wa ... 6 photos[full story]
May 21st 2008Europe » Greece » Crete » Chania We arrived at the town square to wait for our minibus for the tour at 9:30am, to be safe. When they finally showed up at 10:35, we'd been worried for a while. Along with us, the driver, and the guide, ... 11 photos[full story]
May 20th 2008Europe » Greece » Crete » Chania Being our 34th anniversary, we wanted things to go well. I'd kept Manoli from knowing about my special Taste of Crete cooking class until today, just telling her that we were going to be busy Tuesday. ... 8 photos[full story]
May 20th 2008Europe » Greece » Crete » Chania We woke up in plenty of time for the bus at 7:15am, but again, the bus was a no-show. We decided instead to rent a vespa scooter for the day and try to find the U.S. Navy base near Souda, with the hop ... 6 photos[full story]
May 18th 2008Europe » Greece » Crete » Chania After capuccinos (not very good, but we'll have our own coffee tomorrow), we got the lowdown from Philia Tountas and paid the bill, 130 Euros for 5 nights... what a bargain! We decided to take the bus ... 3 photos[full story]
May 6th 2008Europe » Greece » Crete » Chania Well yesterday was a huge long day. The alarm went off at five; I slept till half past, but Kathleena had to get ready and stuff. So we headed out around quarter two six, in order catch the six fiftee ... [full story]
May 4th 2008Europe » Greece » Crete » Chania So. I am in Chania, a smallish town on the north coast of Crete, the largest, southernmost Greek isle. The place was originally built by Venetian nobility, in an exodus where one sixth of Venice came ... [full story]
March 27th 2008Europe » Greece » Crete » Chania Well yesterday, Wednesday, was an awesome day! We had another free day, so of course we went hiking. Ingrid, Brock, and I went to the travel agency in town and asked for a good hike to do, so they gav ... [full story]
March 27th 2008Europe » Greece » Crete » Chania Since I last wrote, two weeks ago, I have had limited access to the internet. This update is long overdue.
To continue the journey, I went to Rethymno which is the third largest city on Crete. ... [full story]
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