GOURNIA IN CRETE
 This Minoan "Pompeii" is situated on a hill close to the sea, where once a 14km long Minoan road lead south to Ierepetra. There are no palaces in the center of attention. Gournua was a city for ordinairy people, with homes, workshops an shops. The center is a square on the top of the hill, with next to it a sanctuary. The streets are paved. the houses were two to three stories high. Downstairs was the place for the cattle and the supplies, upstairs were the living quarters. Here and there there are in the floor places to drink for the cattle (in Greek these are called "gournes", and this is where the name derives from). |