Χανιά is Chania, the city where I spent the last two nights. I just admire Greek for having one letter for sounds that the Latin alphabet requires two letters to spell. Χ (chi) represent the “ch” sound in German “Ach” or Scottish “loch.” Θ (theta) gives Greek its “th” sound with just one letter. It’s one phoneme. Why do we need two letters? English needs θ. German needs Χ.
Anyway, I’ve spent the last two days in Chania.
I really don’t have much to write about. We had a walking tour on the first morning, followed by free time. And yesterday we went to the Botanical Garden of Crete, where we had a cooking class and went for a hike. We made tzatziki and stuffed peppers, tomatoes, and zucchini, and after our hike, we enjoyed them for lunch.
Chania has been inhabited since the Neolithic era, and it had an ancient Minoan settlement during the Bronze Age, more than 5000 years ago. On my free time I visited some excavations in the Old Town and learned a little about the ancient past of Chania.
Crete was part of the Republic of Venice in the Middle Ages. In 1718 it became part of the Ottoman Empire. It became independent in 1898, and then became part of Greece in 1913.
Chania was severely damaged by bombing in World War II, and much was destroyed. Today, the Old Town consists largely of short-term rentals. Like many charming old cities, many locals can’t afford to live there anymore.
Last night our group of five had dinner at a place with live Bouzouki music. It was a lot of fun.
Enjoy my photo albums from Chania and the Botanical Garden.
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