Crete is the gem of the southern Aegean. The biggest island in Greece with an exquisite 1,000 kilometer long coastline dotted with numerous coves, bays and peninsulas, which afford a multitude of soft, sandy beaches along the beautifully blue Mediterranean Sea.
It is located in the southern part of the Aegean Sea separating the Aegean from the Libyan Sea.
Its population exceeds 700,000 inhabitants and the total area of the island is estimated at approximately 8,400 t.chm, with 255 km length and width between 12 and 56 kilometers. There is a point from where it can be seen the Cretan and the Libyan Sea together.
In Crete you can enjoy a total of about 100 beaches of which you will find organized ones but also remote and deserted.
Surrounding Islands:
1. Gramvousa (Kissamos, Chania) the pirate island opposite the Balo lagoon
2. Elafonisi (Chania), which commemorates a shipwreck and an Ottoman massacre
3. Chrysi island (Ierapetra, Lasithi), which hosts the largest natural Lebanon cedar forest in Europe
4. Paximadia island (Agia Galini, Rethymno) where the god Apollo and the goddess Artemis were born
5. The Venetian fort and leper colony at Spinalonga opposite the beach and shallow waters of Elounda (Agios Nikolaos, Lasithi)
6. Dionysades islands which are in an environmentally protected region together the Palm Beach Forest of Vai in the municipality of Sitia, Lasithi
Crete seems to took the name of either the nymph Crete or the son of Zeus and the nymph Ida in Crete. Moreover, Ida name to the highest mountain of the island, while Zeus, the god of gods in mythology was born in the Dikteon Andron (in Lasithi).
Crete is an island in Greece which offers large sandy beaches and small coves as well as incredibly beautiful villages in the mountains from where you admire in the winter the snow-capped peaks that reach a height of 2.5 km. The majestic landscape of Crete is quite mountainous with great gorges, caves and plateaus.
It is an island that is inhabited year round and attracts visitors throughout the year.
The specific geographical coordinates of Crete are 35°11’37.2″N 24°58’26.0″E and about 30 miles far from the south part there is Antycthera island.
