Crete-Heraklion

I don't know Greek, but I "accidentally" learned the greek alphabet in my training. I am pleasantly surprised that I can sound out the letters we find on signs, and often recognize the word! This was one of my first: phi-alpha-rho-mu-alpha-kappa-epsilon-io-omicron: "pharmakeio", close enough to "pharmacy", as confirmed by the courtesy subtitle in English.

Someone once told me that the word "taxi" is common among nearly all languages. Maybe so, but it is not always spelled the same. Greek has a letter that matches "X" in appearance, namely chi, but it's not the right sound. A better phonic choice is xi, as seen on this taxi.

The entry to the Palace of Knossos. It is very popular; I'm glad we were not here during the high season!

A restoration of a pillar. It has a characteristic "inverse taper".

There is not much remaining of the palace. The foundations of these walls have been excavated.

These tourists had a virtual 3D viewer that displayed reconstructions of the palace.

We stop for a breakfast snack and coffee.

Heraklion Archaelogical Museum entrance. See also: https://heraklionmuseum.gr/en/virtual-tour/#tour

Poldi peruses prehistoric pottery

"Bronze tripod cooking pots. Clay tripod fruit-stands... and basin-strainer with drainage hole for the collected liquid. Malia, Quartier M, 1800-1700 BC."

"Clay female and male figurines in an attitude of worship. Chamezi, 1900-1700 BC."

It is my suspicion that the famous labyrinth at the Palace of Knossos (which held the Minotaur), was really just an adjective applied to the whole complex. Here is a reconstruction of it. What do you think?

The Phaistos Disc, a clay artifact stamped with an undeciphered set of symbols from 1-2 millennia BC.

The Bull-Leaping Fresco, dated 1450 BCE.

A carved stone vessel for rituals.

Clay figurines called the "goddess with upraised arms" (13th century BCE).