CRETE- an island rich, blessed with rare flora and fauna, and a unique geographical position

The August moon shone, the cruel sun had already grown a little less harsh. It tenderly stoked its dear Crete, which had again given birth to wheat and barley, maize and grapes and was now longing for the fresh rain, writes Nikos Kazantzakis in " Freedom and Death".

And it is true : Crete is an almost magical place an island rich in produce, blessed with rare flora and fauna and inhabited by people with a particular way of life and of thought. Not least because of its unique geographical position; Crete is at a cross roads in the midst of three continents: Europe, Africa and Asia. And as a result the island was deeply influenced by all these cultures, like no other area in the world. We take a closer look at this magnificent Greek isle, its unique products, its export potential, its culture, its dietary patterns which form the basis of the much-lauded Mediterrean diet and cuisine and all those things that make it so different from other places in the Mediterranean region and the world for that matter.Crete, of course, is only a small but integral part of Greece.

No wonder Greece is considered by many the culinary heart of the continent. But if Greece is the heart of Europe, Crete is its the soul. A soul that countinues to inspire great cuisine to this day, almost 4000 years from Minoan times…