"Byzantine art is a holy, spiritual art" says Kóstas Falkónis, one of the last icon painters in Greece, who still works according the strict Byzantine school. To an outsider it may seem as if we are just copying one icon from another, but in fact an icon is living art.

Who says bull contests are a Spanish tradition? In Minoan Crete bulls were not challenged by a piece of red cloth, but by skilled athletes who performed Tarzanic acts, somersaulting over a bull’s back. Not only did it take immense strength, speed, suppleness and a solid technique to achieve this but also a close bond between athlete and animal.

For so many holiday makers the water’s edge or the water’s surface is the limit of their activity. For the snorkel enthusiast however, it is just the beginning. He or she knows that under the water’s surface lies a complete, serene new world waiting to be explored: the underwater world. The Bay of Malia, with its clear waters and its rocky sea beds around the scattered islets, hosts a perfect snorkel environment: rocky sea beds attract all kinds of sea life, which makes its aquatic world an extremely rich one.

The loggerhead sea turtles, or caretta-caretta, go way back to the times when dinosaurs still ruled the earth. But whereas dinosaurs long since have disappeared, the caretta-caretta continue on their journey of life. Being amphibian, the females go ashore at night, between May and July, to lay their eggs on sandy beaches.