PRIVATE THEMED TOURS
Themed tours organized by Tourist Guides of Crete boutique travel agency.
In the quest of the Labyrinth – Treasure hunt at Knossos – Minoan Symbolism.
Was the famous palace of Knossos the Labyrinth mentioned in the myths? Did the word Labyrinth have a different meaning back then? Can the symbols of Minoan Crete lead us the truth? Follow the team of Licensed Guides / Archaeologists of Tourist Guides of Crete Boutique and explore the palace of Legendary King Minos and Pasiphae, where Minotaur was imprisoned.
The Cretan Wine. Introducing endemic varieties in the global market.
Follow the guides of Tourist Guides of Crete Boutique Travel, to wineries that are known to the global market, but also family wineries that cultivate endemic varieties of Crete. Combine sites of the island that only locals would visit traditional taverns in small villages… It can be a full day tour or a week’s program.
A philosophical Quest – Kazantzakis.
Follow our licensed guides, as they unveil the secrets of Kazantzakis work, the author of Alexis Zorbas – Zorbas the Greek, by visiting sites and places on Crete that played an important role to the author. It can be a full day tour that combines different aspects of Crete that formed the character of the famous author.
WWII – Battle of Crete – The Resistance.
The Cretans are proud for the resistance during the Second World War Together with the licensed guides of our team we visit important sites, where critical events took place during the battle of Crete and the second World War.
The Venetian Era.
Tourist Guides of Crete boutique travel will guide you through the important Venetian buildings, the cities with the Venetian architectural influence. Let’s explore together.
Byzantine Influence – the Cretan School of icon painting.
Frescoes tell their own stories. Influence from Byzantium and the strict traditions resulted a new style that we name Cretan School and describes an important school of icon painting, also known as Post-Byzantine art, which flourished while Crete was under Venetian rule during the late Middle Ages, reaching its climax after the Fall of Constantinople, becoming the central force in Greek painting during the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries. The Cretan artists developed a particular style of painting under the influence of both Eastern and Western artistic traditions and movements; the most famous product of the school, El Greco, was the most successful of the many artists who tried to build a career in Western Europe, and also the one who left the Byzantine style farthest behind him in his later career.
Follow the team of Licensed Guides / Archaeologists of Tourist Guides of Crete Boutique and explore the small chapels and churches, with the amazing frescoes.
The Cretan Diet – Taste the Cretan Cuisine.
One thing is for sure, taste the local products, the Cretan cuisine and you will not want to leave this place… Crete is known for the variety of spices and herbs and superb olive oil the tasty wine. Our team can take you to the best places to taste all those products… Don’t miss the opportunity.
The Minoan religion – Peak sanctuaries, Cult in Minoan Crete.
The rich iconographic heritage, frescoes, works of art and representations on vases, of the Minoan period provide us an idea of Minoan religion. Its main expression was the cult of a female goddess which seems to be closely related to the cult of the goddess Astarte in the Middle East. The goddess marries a young god who is born and dies every year, in relation with the year’s seasons and the process of regeneration.
The cult of the female goddess is usually expressed through sacred rituals, often represented in Minoan art, mainly at frescoes. These rituals served as an appeal in the favor of the deity and for the appearance to mortals via a visionary procedure, the Epiphany, a ceremony probably organized in the areas of palatial centers identified as theatrical.
Sacred rituals were performed by the clergy in shrines designated areas in private villas and mansions as well as the palaces, and also in places far from inhabited areas, in sacred caves and inaccessible mountain peaks, the so-called peak sanctuaries.
During our tour, we will visit places of worship, sacred areas of great importance, where amazing artifacts were discovered and nowadays are to be seen at the new reorganized museum of Heraklion. Let us guide you, with the team of experts, the licensed guides of Tourist Guides Crete boutique travel, through the Minoan sites.
