The fourth day of our cruise, we docked in Agios Nikolaos (Crete) and visited the Palace Complex of Minos at Knossos.

While the remains of the Palace Complex of Minos at Knossos may not be too spectacular, its history and legend (ever heard of the Minotaur?) are fascinating. That’s why tours guided by experts are absolutely worth it.

Knossos is a large Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete and has been called Europe’s oldest city. Inhabited continuously since the Neolithic, it became the center of the Minoan civilization. While Evans’ restoration / imagined-recreation with cement may seem like a disaster today, it may have served to protect the archeological remains from earthquakes. Thanks to that, today we can admire their advanced engineering, particularly around water management and ventilation.

Even the Minoan column is interesting: it was constructed from the trunk of a cypress tree. Smaller at the bottom and wider at the top, a result of inverting the cypress trunk to prevent sprouting once in place.

Back at the ship, we had Regent’s famous and delicious king crab legs for dinner at Prime 7.

Some photos here.