Tuesday, May 23
We’ve seen Greek ruins, but now we’re on Crete, the southernmost point of Europe and site of an even earlier civilization, the Minoans. We took a taxi to Knossos Palace, palace of King Minos (they were all named that). We saw the throne room with the original throne, the oldest in Europe. There was a large basin in front of it at which visitors cleansed themselves out of respect. There were beautiful frescoes (the originals are protected in the museum that we were to see later). It’s a big complex, possibly the labyrinth of the Minotaur, if you are to believe the legends.
Our taxi driver waited for us and took us to the Archeological Museum in town. Minoan sculpture and pottery look very modern, including abstract human figures 4000 years old. We admired a sculpture of a bull jumper that showed a lot of movement and expression. An ancient, decorated tea pot wouldn’t have looked out of place in a shop in South Coast Plaza.