We left Rethymnon to begin our travels from the Northern coast across the island of Crete to the Southern coast. Our first stop of the day was the Late Minoan III Cemetery of Armeni where we saw many chamber tombs. These tombs were built into the hillside with steps leading to the entrance of the tomb.
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| Tombs |
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| Interior of a Tomb |
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| Dromos |
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| Inside a Tomb |
After this, we took a shopping break in the small hillside town of Spili. This town was very picturesque and we also saw a natural water spring, from which many of us drank.
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| Natural Spring |
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| View while driving across Crete |
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| Mesara plateau with many greenhouses |
Once on the Southern end of the island, we stopped at two archaeological sites, the first being the Palace of Phaistos. Using our archeological knowledge thus far, we explored many things that were characteristic to Minoan civilizations including a central courtyard, pier and door partition, a lustral basin, and magazines for storage.
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| Central Courtyard |
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| Drainage System |
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| Lustral Basin |
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| Ancient quern |
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| Just a minor injury |
Our second site was Agios Triada. Here we learned about a megaron, a post- Minoan and mainland Mycenaean feature, which suggests the Mycenaean occupation of Crete in 1400 B.C.
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| View of site |
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| Agora |
We arrived in Matala in the early afternoon along the southern coast. After lunch, we spent the early evening tanning on the beach, swimming in the sea, and a few brave individuals attempted cliff diving!!!
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