Category: The Mediterranean
Crete: Heraklion
Crete: Gortys
Crete: Minoan civilisation and its successors

Crete, like most islands in the Mediterranean, has always been a crossroads of civilisations. It has been inhabited since at least 6000 BCE, when migrants from Anatolia in present-day Turkey crossed the sea and settled on the island. Some 3000 years later, Crete was part of an extensive naval trade…
Cyprus: Paphos and the history of Cyprus
Cyprus: Polis and environs
Cyprus: Kourion
Cyprus: Paphos mosaics

Paphos in the southwest of Cyprus is known for quite a few historical treasures. It became the capital of Cyprus during the Ptolemaic period (ca. 323-58 BCE), when the island was ruled by the descendants of Alexander the Great’s general Ptolemaios. Previously, the capital had been at Salamis, but the…