Morning shift

This image is taken at sunrise at Iraklio port - the main port of Crete. It is a Venetian fortress, named Koules, created to guard the main port of the island. Now, this place is a museum and still stands as a reminder of the Venetian domination of the island.

Cretans were no fans of the Venetians. To them, the Italian-speaking intruders just came to usurp their land, pillage their forests for wood to build ships and exploit the inhabitants to have them built. Venetians are also known to cause one of the deforestation of the island. Crete today lacks dense forests in most parts and some say the Venetians did it.

Come to think of it - Cretans have spent quite a lot of time under someone's thumb - first the Mycenaeans, then the Doric tribes and then, and then... But all the while they managed to take a little bit of the invader's culture and transform the invaders themselves.

The place:
Koules fortress is the biggest fort on the northern shores of Crete. Now it stands as a picturesque building in the centre of Iraklio and coming and going ferries can enjoy an amazing view of it from the port. It's open to visitors, the exact opening hours and fees can be found here:
http://koules.efah.gr/koules/Page?name=index&lang=en

How to get there:
I recommend the ferry from Piraeus to Iraklio - you have your time to enjoy the voyage and experience the Greek way of living - these people think of ferries the way we think of bus lines, even though embarking a ship is way different than buying a bus ticket.

The story behind the shot:
There I am, fresh off the ferry and I'm wondering what to do. The accommodation is around 100 kilometers away, at one end of the island, and I have plenty of time to wander around. Still, the port of Iraklio is a busy one so once you disembark, you have to immediately get out of the way of lorries that come out of the belly of the ferry.

It's 6 a.m. and it's quite dark but we have to move out.

So while going round the sea-street - in Iraklio, as in any other Greek town or city, main streets always lead to the port - I saw this amazing sunrise coming. I'm not a sunrise person (more of a owl) so the car stops and I'm running towards Koules like insane.

The sunrise lasted for only 15 minutes and I managed to capture this boat heading out of the port.

Part of the Culture Crossroads project:
https://www.facebook.com/culturecrossroads/

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