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Rizitika
The songs of the prefecture of Chania, with fifteen syllables of non-rhyming lyrics, are one of the most famous types of Cretan songs. To the locals they are also known as leukoritika (of the White Mountains) songs, since they come from the villages located at the foot of the White Mountains. There they were formed,…
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Mantinades
The Mantinades are the most common form of folk song and are a poetic genre widespread throughout Crete. The Cretan mantinada is a couplet with fifteen syllables and rhyming verses in the Cretan dialect. Each mantinada has an independent meaning despite its limited length. However, there are mantinades that are said in response to another…
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Tsikoudia and distilation
Tsikoudia or raki is synonymous with Crete and Cretan hospitality. It is a clear spirit produced by many agricultural co-operatives, wineries, distilleries, and families all over the island. Every guest or visitor to a Cretan home is offered a shot glass of tsikoudia as a welcoming gesture. Restaurants offer it to their patrons after they…
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Wine and winemaking
A brief history The history of the grapevine is lost in the depths of the centuries. It is believed that it originated in central Asia, central and southern Europe and the wider region of the southern Caucasus. The species “Vitis vinifera” was born there, which today in its various varieties is cultivated almost exclusively. The…
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Splantzia
Splantzia is the largest district of Old Town, nearly unchanged over the centuries having retained its Venetian name, a variation of the Italian word for square “plaggia” and Ottoman street plan of old. At the time of the Venetian occupation the area was called Plaggia de San Nicola and was a popular residential area for…
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Oinotropoi
Their names were Oino, Spermo and Elaïs, each representing a basic element of the Greek diet, wine, wheat and olive oil.
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Greek coffee
A brief history It all started when a shepherd in the mountains of Ethiopia noticed that his goats were much livelier when they ate the berries of a bush. He tried them himself and was convinced that the berries gave him more energy. He shared his findings with a monk in the nearby monastery, who…
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Bulbs – Vrovioi
The bulbs have been eaten by the Greeks since antiquity. In fact, it is characteristic that Greek cuisine uses them in the same way, thousands of years now, roasted and seasoned in vinegar.
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Traditional Cretan music
The Cretan music tradition is considered the most alive in Greece, because not only does it continue to evolve and incorporate creative contemporary musical elements, but at the same time it manages to express everyday life in a lively way.
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Rusks – Paximadia
The rugged landscape of Crete made travel difficult and time consuming for the people in centuries past. Often family members would be absent for days or weeks at a time tending their fields, livestock or exercising their civic duties in the urban areas, far from home. Fresh bread, a staple in the diet of those…