the magic of chania - Insider Publications

THE MAGIC OF CHANIA
A jazz concert under the stars. A Venetian lighthouse piercing the azure sky. Raki on the harbour
and Cretan delicacies in obscure alleyways. Layers of history revealing Chania’s rich past. Sherri
Moshman Paganos draws out the magic of Chania
End of summer, back to our routines, and the memories of the sea, ferries and late nights under the
stars start retreating. Greece has so many beautiful islands and beaches that one lifetime hardly
suffices to see them all. But one place that keeps drawing you back with its charm and beauty is
Chania, the loveliest town on Crete.
Wheeling your luggage down Chalidon Street, the main street that leads down to the the Old Town,
you are dazzled by the view of the Venetian harbor, day or night, but the early morning stillness is
best to hear the water lapping against the rocks. On summer nights the area turns into an endless
promenade of feet doing their evening volta in the magical lighting of the Venetian port. Eating with
a view of the harbour might be what you came on vacation for, but the best places are those tucked
away in the alleyways of the Old Town.
EAT: Old favorites are what we keep returning to, like Calderimi on Theotokopoulou Street, where
Giorgos creates works of art of Cretan cuisine in his kitchen, like sfakiani pita with mizithra and
honey, always adding and experimenting (I recently had a mouth-watering grilled octopus with fava
and capers), and to Semiramis on Skoufon with its lovely garden and Greek music. And then there is
the discovery of new places, like Colombo with its fusion cuisine, which Miltos opened last
December on Isodion Street, one of the narrow alleys everywhere in the Old Town with boutiques
and bars. Colombo has become so popular with locals and tourists alike, that it is often forced to
turn people away in the evenings, as it has room for only five or six tables outside.
DRINK: For a raki in the late afternoon as the sun turns a little more gentle, Al Canea near the
Naval Museum can’t be beat, as it’s on a slight uphill and the view of the harbour sloping down is
just magic. Tourists are always led here to see the Venetian architecture, such as the 16th century
building where the historic jazz bar Fagotto is found. Here, you might hear some great classic jazz,
perhaps live if you go after midnight. Forget about sleep; you don’t want to leave the soft and
mellow night air.
SWIM: From this westernmost part of town, also including the Naval Museum and the Firka
Fortress, it is about a 10 minute walk west to the Nea Chora beach. If you walk down to the
furthermost part of this huge sandy beach, you’ll see that it’s blessed with a huge almeriki or
tamarisk tree offering shade. Nea Chora, like all the beaches along the north coast such as Aghia
Marina and Platanias is very affected by the meltemi, the north wind. On days like this, a wonderful
idea is to go to one of the beaches along the south coast. Loutro is a favourite with its crystalline
water and its white and blue architecture, resembling a small Cycladic village, but, it can get really
crowded though in the summer months. Another nearby beach to Chania is Stavros on Akrotiri,
where much of Zorba the Greek was filmed.
SEE: If you’re tired of swimming and sitting in cafes, you can take a walk to the dimotiki agora,
which was completed in 1913, the year that Crete was united with Greece. The Archaeological
Museum, the municipal art gallery, the gallery inside the 17th century Kioutsouk Hasan Mosque on
the harbour and the public gardens are some other sights. A wonderful walk is along the ramparts,
starting from the neoria, the Venetian shipbuilding houses, at the eastern end, to the faros, the
Venetian lighthouse. Built in 1570 but completed three centuries later, the faros is Chania’s
landmark of beauty, which is captured on everyone’s cameras more than any other sight, especially
at sunset, with its vivid play of colors.
A BIT OF HISTORY: The Venetian influence of course is everywhere. This era began in 1204, at the
end of the Fourth Crusade when the Venetians gained the city, and put all their energy into
fortifications around the Old Town. Walls and moats enclose both east and west sides; the eastern
moat is used for a theatre in the summer, where you can watch plays or listen to music under the
stars and clear dry sky. The Venetians however, were not the only ones to fortify the city. Before
them, the Byzantines had also done the same, but concentrated on the hilly Kasteli area, behind the
harbour. Taking a walk along Kanavaro Street, the main thoroughfare of Kasteli, you see Byzantine
wall ruins as well as even remains of Minoan houses from as far back as the 15th century B.C., back
when Chania was known as Kydonia, after Kydon, grandson of mythical King Minos of Crete.
Besides fortifying the city, the Venetians, as we know, were active seafarers and shipbuilders. They
built twenty two arsenals or neoria as they’re called, along the eastern section of the harbour.
Today, seven neoria survive that you can see from your walk along the ramparts. One has even been
restored as a cafe. The grand Arsenal on the harbour, which houses the Centre of Mediterranean
Studies, is used for temporary exhibits on photography and painting. (This summer as part of the
celebration of the 90th birthday of composer Mikis Theodorakis, an exhibit opened of posters in
many languages for Zorba the Greek, the immortal music for the film of course composed by
Theodorakis. Later that evening the film itself was screened in the area behind the mosque).
MOSAIC OF CULTURES: Not only walls, but also fountains, arched doorways, stone steps on the
outside of houses, all show Venetian influence. Many of these buildings have been lovingly restored,
such as the Casa Delfino hotel, a palazzo from the 17th century. And finally, not to forget Venetian-
era churches, such as San Salvatore on Theotocopoulou, and San Rocco and Agios Nikolaos in the
Splantzia area of town, the Muslim neighborhood. Agios Nikolaos indeed shows the blending of
cultures, on one side with a church bell tower and on the other a minaret. As in many places,
churches were converted to mosques in the Ottoman era, or put to other uses, such as the
Archaeological Museum, originally the Monastery of St. Francis. In the Ovraiki area of the Old Town,
two synagogues at one time served the local Jewish population and one of them had originally been a
14th century church. In 1999, this synagogue, the «Tree of Life,» off Kondylakis Street, was
restored and serves today as a religious and cultural centre that is well worth a visit.
RELIVE THE MAGIC: Any stroll along the harbour can yield unexpected treasures and events. One
evening, we found chairs had been set up behind the mosque for the audience to watch and listen to
the accompanying lauto and lyra as various groups danced, including five- year-olds in beautiful
traditional costume, girls twirling demurely, apron and kerchief, and boys in their vrakes and boots,
learning to do the kicks in the syrtos and pentozalis. Dinner just had to wait. If you visit, go with the
intention of losing yourself in the magic, beauty and special rhythms of the Old Town of Chania.