Chania Town

Wow - Chania is pronounced Haw-nee-ya or.maybe hawnya - not Ch.
Fabulous not quite as hot today 29 C.
We thought we would walk to the beach but never made it
Really summertime weather here not quite so busy in the morning.
Since our room opens to a nice leafy patio we started our day there. We are lazy.

Headed towards the beach.
A fellow outside a cafe on the waterfront - an employee - spoke to Jeff. 'Hey man," Jeff says, "Where are you from?". Vancouver, but he's been hanging out and working here for a few years.
So typically Canadian, we went under the awning and ordered very expensive drinks, but enjoyed the ambience, and had a nice relaxing sit down with a big glass of Orange juice. In the meantime Jeff had coffee which is served with steamed milk, so a nice touch, plus there were ashtrays on the table so he was in his element, smoking and drinking coffee on the shore of the Mediterranean.
Our fellow Canadian over Jeff's right shoulder, his job appears to be enticing customers to stop so hey it worked with us!

Does it get any better than this?

Now we strolled the promenade, how beautiful. These flowering hibiscus trees line the streets.

The Byzantine Wall surrounds the hill of Kasteli, was built in the 12th century and its outline shows where the early inhabitants first lived.
It was built on top of ruins of an older fortification from the Hellenistic period.

It's pretty warm but there is a little breeze once in awhile. We went to Stenos where we really were yesterday also, got a table outside and shared the tomato,avocado, black olive and cheese rusks. I had the Amstel beer - half a litre, I like it.

We chatted with a couple from Australia and eventually came back to our comfy air conditioned room. Our walking tour starts at five. We arranged to stay here at Earini Rooms for 14 and 15 Oct. So that is settled. Love being in the old town!
The girl at reception is very nice and recommends a few villages where we might want to stay on 12 and 13 Oct.
However her English is sketchy and our Greek non existent so the town's she suggested are a bit too close to Chania (Hawnya).
Around 430 we set out to find the free walking tour. Moving from our air conditioned room outdoors was a shock, it was so warm! We headed out of the old town and walked about ten blocks and after some confusion stumbled on the meeting spot. There were about fifteen of us and Luca our guide showed up about 505. A nice young man, history major from Palermo - he's been here about two months. I understand why people come here and don't leave. There is something soft, warm, welcoming in the air. I did not have Crete on my bucket list but it should have been. A magical place with an ancient history.
Zeus was born on Crete. It doesn't get much better than that!
So Luca went into the history - the Minoans from 3000 BC to about 1100 BC, then the ancient Greeks, then the Romans, the Byzantines, the Venetians, then the Ottomans and then the Nazis occupied Crete during the second world war, like it's the 'Biggest Hit List' of occupied territories. Even pirates from the Barbary Coast - big slave traders - found safe haven here.
This church started out as a Christian church, was turned into a mosque by the Ottomans, and although it's back to being a Christian Church the minaret survived. Curious. East of Splatzia Square in the old city of Chania is the church of Agios Nikolaos, which was built before 1320, during the Venetian Period as a monastery of the Dominican Order and was the most important church of the city.

The Minoans have a two thousand year history in Crete. (3000 BC to 1100 BC). Kydonia also known as Cydonia was an ancient city located at the site of present-day Chania. The city is known from archaeological remains dating back to the Minoan era as well as literary and historical sources.

The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age culture centered on the island of Crete. Known for its monumental architecture, art, Linear a writing (has yet to be deciphered), very possibly matriarchal, it is considered the first civilization in Europe. Fascinating!
We tramped on the ancient walls and got in our 10,000 steps, lucky it is getting later and cooler. I did 100 stairs today. If they don't have a hand rail I have to hang onto Jeff, it's a balance thing. We ended the tour on the waterfront as the sun was setting on the Mediterranean.

The Venetian Harbor is the city’s main sea promenade. The lighthouse is the most photographed site in Chania and is one of the oldest in the world
We walked home along the waterfront and the cafe culture was in full swing at 730. It will get busier but we are happy to pick up halvah and tonic water and relax in our cozy room.