Matala
written by jogintas
on April 27th, 2008
(1 vote)
Have you ever been in Greece? No?! Then it’s time to do that, because Greece has lots of good things for you… And if you choose to make a sightseeing-trip to Crete Island which is very friendly to the tourists from the whole world, do not hesitate to rent a car and take a little road to the south of the island. To be precise, go to Matala village, which is about 75 kilometers south-west of Heraklion (or Iraklion), the center (or capital) of Crete island.
First of all, the village has nothing to do with tourist routes, as there are no big hotels or fun parks, but it has something, that you will not see anywhere else – the artificial caves in the cliffs… The story starts in Neolithic Age, when people used those caves as cemeteries for their dead family members. There are still some evidence left, that those caves where used as tombs, and as the locals told me, one of them (do not remember which one) is called Brutospelian, in name of Roman general Brutus. Ok, so everything is cool, right? But you can ask me, why the hell did I choose “accommodation” theme?!?! Let me tell you one public-secret: about 40 years ago those caves attracted thousands of hippies, who occupied those places for several years.
There are lots of famous musicians, who did get the inspiration in one of those caves (do not want to mention their names, as it probably would be the same as saying “he or she was smoking pot in the cave when they did get the idea of their best song…”). And one more thing – you can book one of those caves as a “hotel” room today. Something like a cool and historical camping place… So, grab your passports and other stuff and head to the Crete island, where you will find lots of beautiful things (I will tell you about them later in my other stories), do not forget the Lomo cameras and flashes, as there will be very dark in your cave-room, Mr.Flinstone, at night…
http://www.ellada.net/crete-info/sightseeing/heraklio.php?pid=19
http://www.greekhotel.com/crete/heraklion/matala/village/heraklion-matala.htm
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