A few nice ‘did you know….’.

Did you know that…..
The writer Nikos Kazantzákis, famous for the novel ‘Zorba the Greek’, only started writing novels after he turned 70 years old.

Did you know that…..
The first Raki after distillation is also used as a medicine for example to disinfect small wounds or to cure a cold.

Did you know that…..
The 9 stripes on the greek flag stand for the word ‘Elefteria’, which means ‘freedom’ in the Greek language. Every stripe represents one letter. Another theory for the blue and white colours of the greek flag, would be because as in origin the Greeks were fair-haired with blue eyes.

Did you know that…..
The system of hot-houses as you see it on this island today was invented by a Dutch farmer, Paul Kuypers. He lived and died in Ierapetra.

Did you know that…..
The Greek word for orange is ‘portokali’, which originally was a term of abuse for the Portuguese, who brought the oranges to Crete.

Did you know that…..
The breaking of plates is not a Greek tradition, but comes from the the movie ‘Zorba the Greek’, the filming of the book of the Cretan writer Nikos Kazantzákis, with Anthony Quin in the leading role.

Did you know that……
It won’t be long before you, as a tourist on Crete, will be throwing carnations.

Did you know that……
Agia Varvara is also called ‘the navel of Crete’. This is because the village is the geographical centre point of Crete.

Did you know that….
The bee hives that you see here and there, are placed in areas where a lot of thyme grows, so one can produce thyme honey. This honey relieves the pain of a sore throat or a cold.

Did you know that….
It is a tradition to pass on the name of the father or mother when a child is born. That’s why a lot of Cretans have the same name. Names that you will hear very often are: Manolis, Kostas, Jiannis and Michalis.

Did you know that….
When you address a person the last ‘s’ of the name disappears. This is caused by the greek grammar. So instead of ‘Manolis’ you say ‘Manoli’.

Did you know that….
The ‘comboloi’, the well-known beads necklace, used to have a religious meaning. It consists of 33 beads. These beads represent the 33 life years of Christ. In Turkey the ‘comboloi’ still has a religious meaning. When you multiply the 33 beads by 3, you’ll get 99 and this number stands for the 99 names of Allah.

Did you know that….
The chapels alongside the road have a three way meaning; either an accident happened with casualties, or an accident happened with a good ending, or it is a reference to the nearest church or monastery. They always contain an icon, an oil lamp, oil, matches or a lighter, fuses and sometimes even some money.

Did you know that….
The steel reinforcement can be seen in many buildings sticking out of the top. The reason behind this is that one could profit a tax benefit if he made sure the house was not finished. Make sure the first floor of the house is finished, but not the top floor. Since this law is no longer valid, you will see more houses and buildings that have been completed.