A Palm Forest, Winery and a Venetian Fortress

It’s a short walk this morning along the harbor front and up the steps of the old town to Sitia’s Venetian fortress. Kazarma fortress was built as an army barracks in the 13th century and over the years was damaged and re-built following earthquakes until it was taken over by the invading Turkish army in the mid-17th century and its fortifications strengthened. Much of it lies in ruins today, but it’s still a pretty cool castle to wander around, and you can see the remains of the old cook house and guardhouses. As with all of Crete’s castles, the coastal views are incredible.
Note the fortress is closed on Mondays.

Return to the car.

At first, it seemed strange to me to find monks making wine and raki, but, of course, the church has used alcohol for medicinal and religious purposes for centuries – so they should be experts!
The wine-making tradition was re-introduced to Toplou Monastery by the abbot in the 1990s, using the garden’s ancient vines. Today the monastery produces around 70,000 bottles of organic white, red, and rose wine annually (including a premium selection) as well as its own branded Tsikoudia. Wine tours and tastings are available daily, and you can try up to 6 different wines and 2 rakis, served with farm-grown olives and tomatoes, local cheese, and freshly baked rusks.
The tour must be booked in advance. Book online.

Palm Beach restaurant has a creative menu that celebrates fresh, local ingredients. It is owned and managed by Toplou Monastery and uses fruit and vegetables from its gardens, as well as the olive oil. If you fancy something light, you must try the Minoan salad with apaki and figs; it’s absolutely delicious. It’s not only the food that’s great though; for lunch with a view, this place is also hard to beat.
It’s the only restaurant on this gorgeous beach (apart from the snack bar next door, also owned by the monastery) so it’s worth booking a table in advance. Contact the restaurant on +302843061129.

Not only is Vai Beach extraordinarily beautiful, but it is also unique as it is fringed by an enormous palm forest, the largest in Europe. There is no consensus on how these ‘Phoenix Theophrasti’ came to be here. I’ve heard different stories ranging from them being planted by the Ottomans during the Medieval era, to Saracen pirates creating the forest to make a good hiding place, or Egyptian soldiers bringing the seeds with them during Roman times.
Whatever the story, this 23-hectare palm tree grove makes a lovely place for a stroll. Vai Beach can be uncomfortably busy in the height of summer, so I recommend that you walk towards the end of the bay (away from the restaurant and car park) where it is usually a lot quieter. Here you can swim in the shallow turquoise waters, followed by a shady walk through the forest. There are lots of different little paths that you can follow in the forest, but you can’t really get lost, as sooner or later, you’ll reach a road - so feel free to wander aimlessly.

Olive trees have made a big contribution to the landscape and the economy of Crete since the Bronze Age Minoan civilization. Large olive groves still cover a huge part of Eastern Crete, producing around 40,000 tons of olive oil annually.
Crete also has some of the oldest living olive trees in the world, and they’ve been given the grandiose title of ‘Monumental Olive Trees’ which makes them sound a bit like superheroes – which, in many ways they are. Park at the side of the road here to check out this superhero tree which scientists say has been producing olives since the late Minoan period (around 1100 BC). If only trees could talk then, perhaps, we’d finally know why this ancient civilization collapsed, but that’s another story!
There’s signage next to the tree which explains how its age is calculated. Unfortunately, the grand title of ‘World’s Oldest Olive Tree’ goes to another tree, near Chania in Western Crete.

In my opinion, Agios Nikolaos is an under-rated town. It doesn’t have quite the Venetian splendor of Chania or Rethymno (in the West) but the colorful houses that cover the hillside and the waterfront restaurants make it a lovely place to hang out. And how many towns in Crete are built around a mysterious lake?

Lake Voulismeni is the source of much folklore. The goddesses Athena and Artemis were said to have bathed here, and locals will also tell you that it’s a bottomless hole that connects to the underworld, or that it’s the opening to a lava cave that goes all the way to Santorini. In reality, it’s an ancient sinkhole that was formed when the roof of an enormous cave collapsed, flooding the hole with fresh spring water to form a lake.
This lake was a much-loved part of the town until the 1850s, when it started to get stinky (assumed to be caused by the results of an earthquake blocking the flow of the stream into the lake). So, a channel was cut to link the lake to the sea – and that’s what you can see today. Lake Voulismeni is the source of much folklore. The goddesses Athena and Artemis were said to have bathed here, and locals will also tell you that it’s a bottomless hole that connects to the underworld, or that it’s the opening to a lava cave that goes all the way to Santorini. In reality, it’s an ancient sinkhole that was formed when the roof of an enormous cave collapsed, flooding the hole with fresh spring water to form a lake.
This lake was a much-loved part of the town until the 1850s, when it started to get stinky (assumed to be caused by the results of an earthquake blocking the flow of the stream into the lake). So, a channel was cut to link the lake to the sea – and that’s what you can see today.

As you walk along the seafront, you’ll notice a number of steep stairs that connect the lower and upper parts of town. In fact, there are around 70 staircases, many of which are decorated like the one you can see here. This was part of a 2018 Spirit of the Stairs art project that continues today. There are 11 decorated stairs in total, so see how many you can spot as you wander around.

Gyros, aka the döner kebab, is a ‘must-eat’ dish when in Crete. Sadly, this famous kebab has a bad reputation, being synonymous with late night drinking and cheap takeaways, but gyros is something quite different and is the perfect supper to end this trip.
Don’t be put off by the plastic ketchup bottles and the picture menu, the Vardas Brothers Café is about as authentic as you get and the best place in town to eat gyros. Get a table on the promenade with the gorgeous sea view, and order a large gyros pita, and some souvlaki. Don’t forget the napkins as eating gyros is not a refined experience!

It’s the end of the 3-day trip around Eastern Crete, and you’ve explored the plateau and coast, visited caves, castles and islands and heard many myths and legends. You’ve also had a chance to try some of Crete’s most traditional and appetizing dishes, and you maybe even have a small bottle of raki as a souvenir. There’s a lot of Crete to explore though, so start planning your next road trip.