Crete (Heraklion)

Crete's largest city gives its name to this short visit, two days spent in and around Heraklion. It is a place where the sea is never far off.

Day 1, Wednesday 21 May

Heraklion

At the harbour's edge in Heraklion the pavement, the road and the quay sit almost on top of one another, with a silver taxi drawn up at the kerb and people passing on foot. Beyond them a ship lies out under a sky entirely free of cloud, bright enough to call for a straw hat and dark glasses.

Day 2, Tuesday 27 May

Heraklion

The approach to the fortress is by a wooden ramp with metal railings, rising to the arched timber gate in the stone wall. The marble lion cut into the wall above is the mark of Venice.

The inner yard is rough paving, bounded by a wall of large limestone blocks with low arched recesses at ground level. A rusted iron railing runs along one edge of it.

A timber deck and railing fill the gap between two stretches of fortress wall, giving out to open sea.

On the cobbled quay beneath the walls lies an old iron anchor, rusted through. Across the water are yachts and a ferry at their moorings.

The marina holds yachts and motorboats side by side in turquoise water.

Further out, an empty concrete quayside runs along the sea edged with low white barriers. Beyond it the coastline rises into hills.

Morosini Fountain

Hagios Titos church

A carved wooden iconostasis holds a gilded icon of a saint behind glass. Beside it, a gold-ground icon shows a bearded bishop with crosses in his hands.

Day 3, Thursday 29 May

The second and last day on Crete turned on a single place: the airport named for Nikos Kazantzakis.

Heraklion International Airport Nikos Kazantzakis

The low terminal of Heraklion Airport Nikos Kazantzakis faces an expanse of asphalt kept clear for the buses and coaches that serve it. A hire-car shuttle in Hertz yellow stood among them, the first point of contact for a good many arrivals on Crete.

Heraklion International Airport

The runway and its taxiway markings run out towards low hills. Distant buildings sit at the edge of the airfield under an unbroken blue sky.