Crete is one of those places for which everybody has a name. The Ancient Greeks called it Krete or Crete; the Modern Greeks call it Kríti. The Romans called it Creta, the Turks called it Kirid, and the Venetians, in an attempt to be different from the rest of the gang (and to add to the confusion!) dubbed it Candia. Some- and that includes an increasingly large number of completely besotted tourists- call it The Island of Miracles.

As if that doesn’t sound attractive enough, Crete is a mythology buff’s dream come true: a regular hothouse when it comes to myths. Greek tradition has legends and myths galore connected to Crete, not least of them the contention that this island was the birthplace of the god Zeus. Zeus’ son, Minos, was in turn the subject of another legend centred on Crete: that of the Minotaur. Half-bull, half-man, the Minotaur was confined in the labyrinth below the palace of Knossos, until he was killed by the hero Theseus. And the architect of Knossos, Daedalus, was the famous gentleman who designed wings of feathers and wax to escape from Crete- only to have his son, the ill-fated Icarus, plummet into the sea after his wings melted.

Crete is the island where Nikos Kazantzakis wrote his masterpiece Zorba the Greek; Crete is the birthplace of El Greco. It’s an isle of deep caverns, azure seas, ruined old palaces. An isle of golden beaches, high mountains, vibrant cities and lively carnivals.

Crete: beautiful. Historical. Mythical. Visitable.