'The Blue Guide to Crete'

'The Blue Guide to Crete' by Pat Cameron; Published by A& C Black 2003. ISBN 0713646764; pp390 inc index plus maps at rear; price £17.99 (about €28.00)

Crete is an historian's paradise, and the 'The Blue Guide to Crete', is the perfect book to help you unravel the island's extraordinarily rich heritage. Now in its seventh edition, this is a well written and highly erudite companion, taking the reader from classical pillar to post-Minoan remains, via periods ranging from the seventh millennium BC to the present day. This amazing historical framework is nicely summarised in the 'background information' section, allowing the first-time visitor to become immediately versed in the island's diverse past and culture. A very useful timeline is included, though the dating of the cusp between the end of the Neolithic period, and that of the beginning of the 'bronze age', at the middle of the 4th millennium BC is between 300 and 700 years earlier than most experts place it. As you'd expect, the 'Minoan' (Bronze Age) sites, scattered across the island, feature heavily. All of the "palaces" (Knossos, Phaistos, Malia, Zakros and Petras; though the latter is not described as a "palace", here) have sizeable sections devoted to them, along with the latest updates from these and other sites such as Kydonia, Myrtos Phournou-Koryphi, Vassiliki, Kommos, Palaikastro, Gournia, Archanes, et al.

Not only do we get a history of these sites, but also of their excavations. These make for wonderful reading - educational, informative and beautifully written. The book is not entirely devoted to the 'Minoans', however. Far from it. Dorian and Classical sites such as Phalasarna, Polyrrhenia (page 427 if you can't find it in the index) and Gortyna; Graeco-Roman ones such as Lyssos, Lappa and Gortyna (again), and those of the Byzantine period are all described in detail. Architectural evidence of Crete's turbulent past under Arab, Venetian and Ottoman rule are well catered for, though in the case of the Arabs there is so little to see that the only worthwhile inclusion is that of Rabdh el Khandak in Heraklion. The descriptions of the multifarious sites are superb. Whether you wish to rub shoulders with a stranger at Knossos, share some time with a terrapin at Kato Zakros, or get closer to God at one of the hundreds of monasteries or churches (there is a fabulous one at Gortyna!) replete with priceless icons, this is the book for you. The quantity, quality and diversity of archaeological remains, from all these periods of Crete's past, is staggering. All periods of Crete's amazing history are treated with equal measures of care, though, as you'd expect, the sheer wealth of Bronze Age ('Minoan') material found on the island, gets the lion's share of attention. This may be your reason for visiting the island in the first place, but if it is not, then you will find it hard to move without stumbling across evidence of Crete's past, and if you want to get the best out of these remains, you'll find that this is the best guide book to help you achieve that aim.

In common with most guide books to Crete, 'The Blue Guide', divides the island into the four 'nomoi' - or districts - of (from west to east): Chania (here "Khania"), Rethymnon, Herakleion and Lassithi. The eponymous cities of the first three of these, and the towns of all of the 'nomoi', have sections detailing where to stay and eat, which museums and sites to visit and other useful snippets of information, before we are taken out-and-about by the author. A number of different itineraries are given for each of the 'nomoi'. These itineraries are not only cleverly arranged, but actually work. Walking and driving options are given. The 'Epsilon Tessera' (Pan European footpath E4) is mentioned regularly (and quite right too!), as are the old mule tracks - 'kalderimia' (a Turkish word for "road", we are told) - which still line the countryside, despite the best efforts to bulldoze them into oblivion in recent years. The author, Pat Cameron, effortlessly takes the reader around the island. A number of 'boxed text' sections, allow the reader to learn more about the people who were born here - such as the icon painter Mikhail Damaskinos, "an elder contemporary of El Greco" - or visited - such as British archaeologists JDS Pendlebury and AJ Evans. These are highly readable and hugely informative. The opening section, includes short pieces on 'natural history, including ornithological matters, an article on Cretan wine and an excellent bibliography.

The book is illustrated, throughout, with line-drawings, maps, the occasional black-and-white photo and reproductions of lithographs from Robert Pashley's and T.A.B. Spratt's 19th century travel books to the island. It would have been nice to have had a few colour photos to whet the appetite, but that may have been prohibitively expensive. The 30 or so maps of the archaeological sites and the cities are excellent, as indeed are the maps of the island at the rear of the book. Spread over four pages, they are detailed enough to allow the reader to plan their own trips. If you are the owner of a previous edition of the 'Blue Guide to Crete' you will notice several changes. For a start text is larger and far clearer than before; there are plenty of updates and the prose style is less matter-of-fact. Accommodation options are now given. Not that these are particularly thorough, but 'The Blue Guide to Crete' is more of a "stand-alone" guide, than previous editions. I was particularly impressed with Ms Cameron's description of how to find 'Orestes' rooms for rent in Archanes, by asking in the taverna 'Spitimo'; that was exactly how I found this small oasis of beds in an otherwise hotel-free town.

Ironically, the inclusion of details such as these, makes it tempting to compare this guidebook with others to Crete. It shouldn't be. The Blue guides are excellent travel guides, dedicated to the more historical side of the destination's make-up, and this one is among the best in the series. Despite its unique appeal, chances are, you'll only want to take one guide book with you, and that's what you want to know, isn't it? Which book to take? Well, the only real competition for 'The Blue Guide', as far as history of the island is concerned, is 'The Rough Guide to Crete'. The latter, in my view, is the best all-round guide book to the island, available in the English language. I compared 'The Rough Guide' with the 'Lonely Planet Guide to Crete' for explorecrete.com and up to a degree, one can also draw comparisons between the 'Rough Guide' and the 'Blue Guide'. Both are very thorough on history ('The Blue Guide' is better, for this). Both give accommodation and eating-out options ('The Rough Guide' is better for these). Both are equally well written. If you want a holiday with a bit of culture thrown in, then the Rough guide is your better bet, if you want a cultural holiday, with accommodation options thrown in, then the Blue Guide is the book for you. It is very difficult to find any fault with this book, but of course I shall try:

As is becoming a habit in these reviews, my only major misgiving with 'The Blue Guide to Crete' is the price of the book. £17.99 is too expensive for a book of this ilk. It's worth every penny, of course, but to your everyday punter, 18 quid may be off-putting. The spelling of place names is consistent, but at first glance a little unusual. Remember that Ms Cameron prefers Kh for Ch (as in Khania as opposed to Chania) and Ph for F (as in Phaistos as opposed to Faistos) or you may have problems finding the place you are looking for. There are a couple of typos, which is inevitable. Kaselli (as opposed to Kastelli or Kasteli) Kissamou in the contents should have been spotted, though seeing as these place-names are arranged in geographical sub-sections and is spelt correctly in the text itself, nobody is likely to be too bothered, or confused. The index is very good, but could be better. Why, for instance, are we not directed to an excellent text-box on the epic Cretan poem "Eritokritos", when we look-up its title? It's there under its author, but really should have been cross-referenced in the index. A number of villages appear in the text and are omitted from the index (i,e. Orino). Not criticisms of any great consequence, but criticisms nonetheless; you really will have to nit-pick in this fashion to find anything at all to complain about with this excellent book. I would summarise this book by saying that you will learn more about Crete's history from it, than from practically any other source. It really is that thorough.

A final caveat to any prospective emptor, and one that has bugged me for years: If you are thinking of buying the more general 'Blue Guide to Greece', remember, that for reasons that I can only believe are to do with marketing, the largest of all the Greek islands, Crete, is not included. 'The Rough Guide to Greece' has a very sizeable entry to Crete, despite having a guide book dedicated to the island, but the Blue Guide to Greece does not. Draw your own conclusions.

Stelios Jackson (13/4/04)

'The Blue Guide to Crete'

Contents: