Issue link: http://viewer.e-digitaleditions.com/i/471535
48 Crete & Rhodes "Mild" is often used to describe the climate of the southernmost Greek islands between Africa, Europe, and Asia Minor, but "bold" is the right word for the natural beauty of Crete, the largest island in Greece, and sun-soaked, sea-faring Rhodes. Long beaches spread across the feet of rugged mountains, hidden coves, and astonishing gorges, to open up to an iridescent Aegean Sea, while olive groves and vineyards sprawl into the horizon—an island so lovely that the Titan goddess Rhea chose Crete as the sanctuary for her infant Zeus. The soul of the land is an old one, dating back to 6000 BCE as the former center of the Minoan civilization, regarded as the oldest recorded in Europe. Poetry and music flow as freely here as the juices from the citrons that dot its hills. Marks of Byzantine and Ottoman craftsmen, Arabia, Venice, and Rome can still be seen across Crete's four prefectures, from luxurious Rethymno to touristic Heraklion, the Gulf of Mirabello's Lasithi, and Venetian Chania. Although Rhodes lives up handsomely to its patron god, Helios, this island in the most sun-drenched sector of Greece also cherishes its deep-seated roots. Here is where the Sound and Light Festival is held, a celebration of the medieval history of the "Island of Knights." In the Old City, walls out of the Middle Ages loom tall, as seven gates stand proudly around this UNESCO World Heritage Site, its cobblestoned Street of the Knights one of the best preserved in Europe. Just beyond, the "New City" features Venetian, neoclassical, and modern architecture, as well as Rodíni Park, rumored to have been the location of the School of Rhetoric, where Julius Caesar, Cassius, Pompey and Marc Anthony all studied. At the northern end of the island, the Ancient Acropolis of Rhodes slowly ages above breathtaking views. Even more famous than these historic sites are the beaches—curving bays, soft sands, and azure water as far as the eye can see. CRETE & RHODES