The stunning Greek island of Crete

Crete is the largest of the Greek islands and it is one that thousands of tourists visit every year. Not only can you find beautiful beaches that stretch for over 160 miles and clear blue waters, but you can also see some wonderful ancient wonders. These include four palaces that were thought to be the centres of politics, administration, trade and religion. In each of these palaces, a hive of activity would be keeping the island trading with others, keeping the people connected to their Gods and Goddesses and ensuring some kind of order within the population.

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Create was home to a civilisation known as the Minoans. They were responsible for building the beautiful Palace of Knossos, complete with running water and drains that companies like those who offer CCTV Drainage Surveys today would love to have explored. Had CCTV drainage surveys by Wilkinson Environmental been available back then you can be sure they would have been amongst the first to help with the ancient drainage systems. The Minoan civilisation existed during the Bronze Age and they were a people who were very much interested in trade opportunities and the worship and celebration of Gods and Goddesses through festivals and gatherings in their names.

As well as being the largest of the Greek islands, Crete is also the most populated with over 600,000 people living there. During tourist season hundreds and thousands of people will visit the beautiful island to get away from their daily route and to relax in the beautiful surroundings and enjoy the delightful weather. Two of the popular beaches are Balos and Elafonissi. These are pink sand beaches. Across the world, there is only a small selection of these kinds of beaches and incredibly two of them are found on Crete.

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If you enjoy nature then Crete also offers the largest Palm Tree forest in the whole of Europe and it can be found next to the beautiful water on Vai Beach. You are also bound to come across some of the many goats that roam across the islands. These can often be found enjoying the mountain passes.

Crete is also home to over 14 different varieties of olive trees. Olives and live oil are a big deal in Crete and the average person consumes 30 litres a year! The olive farms have become a big part of the landscape and of the heritage of the area. The oil is used in cooking, for sauces and dressings and even in skincare which is one of the many reasons that Mediterranean diets are thought to be amongst the healthiest in the world.