You may already know this, but Crete is a really big island. So big that during a stay here you pretty much need to rent a car if you want to see even a fraction of it. We decided to rent a car during the last three days of our visit here, so for today and tomorrow, we are either at our hotel or relying on taxis, our feet and the bus. Our hotel is situated on the beach about 5 km from Chania (pronounced with an H not "tch" as Seth was told (admonished) while Jamie laughed at him). Today we plan to explore the oldest part of Chania, otherwise known as Old Town Chania. Armed with directions and two bus tickets we stumble our way onto the bus and find ourselves dropped off in the center of the city. Its busy and confusing but luckily our map has street names this time. We find our way and head off to our first destination, the Food Market, an indoor market which houses more cheesemakers, fishmongers, butchers and olive oil purveyors than we thought possible in one small space.
We walked in to the market with the goal of buying olive oil to bring back. Jamie was quite calm and fairly intrigued by the number of vendors and wept a little at the sheer amount of cheese in one place (like seeing a White Snake reunion concert in Lyndhurst). Seth, on the other hand, had a religious experience upon entering the market. At first he laughed uncontrollably, fell to his knees and spoke in tongues (Swaggart like) then finally stood and declared he was never leaving. After brief but intense negotiations, we headed off to find the woman who sold the olive oil we wished to buy. We had read of an olive oil made at a monastery in Crete and only one woman sold it. We struck out at first but finally found her - this quest was reminiscent of Seinfeld's journey to purchase a marble rye at Schnitzer's. The woman selling the olive oil was so convincing that we also left with honey and other brands of olive oil as well. We spent another hour walking into each stall and inspecting the butchers (who did not shy away from displaying heads, organs and full animals, including rabbits with their fuzzy feet still intact), fishmongers (selling eels, live (yes live) crustaceans and other crazy fish we had never seen) and cheese makers (I can not do justice to the unbelievable smells coming from their stalls).
After we left the market we headed into the oldest section of the city (making a pit stop for sunscreen). We walked along the river and into a famous mosque that was hosting an art exhibition of all things. Except for the age of the building (dating back to the early 1600s), the mosque was not as impressive as most of the old city. The mosque, however, did put us near our lunch location, Karnadio, which was located right off the touristy strip that lay against the water. We indulged in a long lunch there, including teramusalata, a Greek version of a cobb salad called Minata Salad (this was much tastier and healthier), and stuffed peppers and tomatoes. The food was delicious, and topped with complimentary dessert (a polenta like cake) and raki (two shots for Seth, zero for Jamie, pattern clearly emerging).
After our long lunch, we made our way through the back streets of charming Old Chania center (think Venice) toward a very old synagogue called Etz Hayiim. Neither of us were in the praying mood per se, but this synagogue was surreal, tucked away amongst the plethora of shops in the old city's back alleys. The synagogue was vandalized and left in shambles by the Nazis in 1944 and stayed that way until a restoration effort in 1993 helped revitalize the synagogue. There were several artifacts amongst the sanctuary, and behind the sanctuary lay graves of 19th century rabbis and a mikva room. It was clear that this place was left for stray animals to roam for 50 plus years, but encouraging that the synagogue continued to be restored and preserved through the efforts of many (including several NY Jews of course). The synagogue has been placed on the top 100 most endangered monuments lists so hopefully it will continue to be preserved.
After leaving the synagogue, we walked to the archaeological museum (Chania center is really small and walkable). There, Seth toured around the premises, examining ancient Minoan artifacts and daydreaming that he was Dr. Jones. All the while, Jamie passed the time in the museum by using the restroom and resting in the corner of the museum while ancient Greek knowledge soaked in her brain like osmosis (welcome to our worlds).
We left the museum and found our way back to the bus while Jamie (im)patiently waited until the driver would open the doors and allow passengers to enter. We got back to the hotel (after a brief detour down the wrong street) just in time to watch the sunset from our balcony. After resting, it was once again time to eat. Our hotel recommended a place in Old Town called Tamam, which had a Turkish and Persian influences. We ate outside (after a quick stop so Jamie could purchase some jewelry - gasp, shocking). The streets are so narrow that only tables for two could fit and it felt like we were eating in a very quaint alley. We ate tomato croquettes (like fried bruschetta - not Jamie's fave), a lamb dish with pureed aubergine (eggplant) so tender it just fell apart and Persian risotto with dates, quince, and other fruits seasoned with saffron. The meal, including the service was excellent and was a nice change from our traditional Greek meals. Naturally, we were given Raki and a small cake for dessert. Once again, Jamie escaped the Raki while Seth pretended like he didn't enjoy it (his Raki issues will be further explored in next season's Celebrity Rehab on VH1). We walked around a bit after the meal and took a taxi (finally!) back to our hotel. Chania is quite charming and we hope to visit again before we leave, especially for the Raki.
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