Chania Archaeological Museum and Dinner on the Beach

Wednesday May 14 was another beautiful sunny day with the wonderful Greek blue sky.  High of 22C.

Our first destination was the Archaeological Museum of Chania which is located about 45 minutes away in Chalepa, a historic suburb of the city.

We passed the Elena Venizelou National Stadium of Chania

A small cinema was showing Conclave!!

On our walk we passed a number of former consulates with plaques beside the buildings. The first we passed was a building that housed the Consulate of the former Austro-Hungarian Monarchy.  The plaque put up by the Hungarian government in 2019 said that it was under the "consulship of the Hungarian Gyula Pinter that the international peacekeeping mission of 1897-1898 was launched, which prevented the conflict from escalating into war and thereby saving the lives of thousands."

Former Austro-Hungarian Consulate building

There were then a number of buildings with plaques placed by the Municipality of Chania entitled "Promenade Architecture".  The next building we saw with a plaque is now a hotel.  The building had housed the British Consulate during the Autonomous Cretan State period (1898-1913).  It was erected in 1886 for the merchant Themistocles Mitsotkis on plans by an Italian engineer.  The building has been designated as a listed monument by the Ministry of Sports and Culture.

Former British Conlsulate during the Autonomous Cretan State Period (1898-1913)

There were a few abandoned buildings with plaques and then we came to a two-story building which housed the German Consulate during the Autonomous Cretan State.  It had been erected by a Turkish pasha in 1870.  After Crete became part of Greece in 1913, it was sold to Kyriakos Naxakis in 1914.  During WWII, it was requisitioned by the Germans to house the General Kommandantur (General Headquarters).

Former German Consulate and later WWII German Headquarters

As our walk continued, we had great views back at the Old Town.

Looking back at the Old Town

We arrived at Archaeological Museum of Chania.  The Museum was designed by architect Theofanis Bobotis and partners, and is composed of two distinct linear masses rising from the earth, a symbolic reference to the vestiges of civilization beneath the surface.  In 1996, land of the former Russian Consulate in Chalepa was ceded to the Ministry of Culture.  Construction began in 2013 and the Museum was inaugurated in 2020.  The collection had been previously housed in the Monastery of St. Francis. 

Outside of the Museum

There is a permanent exhibition set out in three galleries on the ground floor, featuring the archaeological  riches of the regional unit of Chania from the Palaeolithic period to the Roman era and a small gallery on the upper floor where part of a donated collection is found.

There was also a temporary exhibit of eight contemporary sculptures called ArTies.  These pieces were on loan from the National Gallery-Alexandros Soutsos Museum.  It was called an "exhibition within the permanent exhibition" and is an attempt to renew the way in which the visitor approaches and discovers the ancient objects.  The narratives with each sculpture included On the Wings of Victory, Hybrid Creatures, The Ritual of Dance, The Time of Beauty, The Lamentation of Loss, The Virtues of the Hoplite and the Finiteness of Love/The Inevitability of Death.  The placement of the sculptures really fit in with the surrounding artefacts.

Poster for ArTies

The lobby had one of the eight sculptures. It was in a section On the Wings of Victory, which noted that the goddess Nike (depicted in the sculpture) was the personification of victory and prowess in war, art, music and sports and is connected with Zeus and Athena.  In Ovid's Metamorphoses, Nike is associated with Crete, "wavering over the war between King Minos and the city of Megra".  The write-up refers to items in the permanent collection with references to Nike.

Frosso Efthymiadi- Menegaki, (1911-1995), Nike, 1962--- creates the impression of ancient garments

Christos Kapralos, Centaur and Lapith Woman, 1962 (one of the works with which he represented Greece at the 31st Biennale (1962)).  In the Hybrid Creatures section.

Frodo Effnymiadi-Menegaki -In the Ritual of Dance section (I missed getting the title of the work)

The permanent collection opens with artefacts from the island of Gavdos, the southernmost point of Europe where human activity is attested from as early as the Palaeolithic period.  There are then finds from the known Neolithic sites in the Chania region.  There are many artefacts from the Minoan past of West Crete and the importance of the palatial centre of Kydonia, present-day Chania.

The second gallery continues with the establishment of the city-states of West Crete from the 8th century BC onward, notably Kydonia and Aptera.  In the third gallery, everyday life is explored including the reconstruction of a house that was destroyed in the earthquake of 365 AD.  

Minoan storage vessels.

Minoan palatial centre at Chania.  

After the destruction of the Minoan palaces around 1450 BC and the arrival of Mycenaeans, Knossos continued under a different administration.  Due to its proximity to the Peloponnese, Chania was a gateway for elements of Mycenaean culture.  The destruction of the palace in Knossos c. 1350 BC meant that Kydonia (now Chania) became the pre-eminent administration centre of the island.  The architectural remains of the Final Palatial period (c. 1450-1200 BC) features a mixture of Mycenaean and Minoan elements.

There were many items that came from Kydonia, the palatial installation in the city of Chania.

Double ritual vase, Kalami 1300-1250 BC.  The vessel consists of two jugs connected by a horizontal stem and a basket handle.  One jug has a mouth with a strainer while the other terminates in a deer's head.  

Jars from 1300-1250 BC.  These "stirrup- jars" were used for holding perfumed oils.

The "Master Impression".  A clay sealing know as the "Master Impression".  It bears an image unique in Minoan art: a multi storey palatial complex on a coastal hill, with a harbour on a steep, rocky shoreline; a landscape identical to the Kastelli hill where it was found.  A young man stands proudly on the topmost central roof, holding a spear or staff in his right hand.

Minoan vessels c. 1450 BC

There were a number of displays of pottery found in cemeteries in the 8th century BC.

There were close cultural ties with Alexandria, Egypt in the late 4th- early 3rd century BC reflected by the family mausolea constructed in the underground tombs with side chambers.

Part of a figurine imported from Alexandria.  It represents a standing woman wearing jewellery and crowned with a "rolled wreath" with blue ivy leaves and gilded fruit.  
She is holding a folding mirror of two cymbals.

Partial reconstruction of the "Miser's" House, Kissamos, named after its inhabitants who rushed to the basement to retrieve three coin hoards and were crushed by the collapsing building on the day of the devastating 365 AD earthquake.

From the excavation of the open-air rural sanctuary of Poseidon at Tsiskiana in East Selino.
4th c. BC-3rd c. AD.

Bella Raftopoulou (1902-1992), Mourning Woman, 1957 in The Lamentation of Loss section

Group of Artemis and Apollo, 2nd c. AD.  The group came from the niche of a domestic shrine in a Roman house of Aptera.

Christos Kapralos (1909-1993), Funerary Composition, 1971

Portrait statue of the Emperor Hadrian from the sanctuary of Diktynna. 2nd c. AD

We really enjoyed our visit to the Museum.  A very different way of displaying the artefacts compared to the Heraklion Archeological Museum, which contained the rich Knossos artefacts.

We had heard that the Museum had a café with a great view.  As it was mid-afternoon and we were hungry, we decided to have a bite to eat.

The view was great- Old Town, the White Mountains and the Aegean Sea

We shared a very tasty fava bean puree with tomatoes, onions and capers on a rusk.  Rusks are the traditional twice-baked bread from Crete which are on many menus on the island.

We then headed back to our apartment.

Wonderful flowers everywhere

We passed the very colourful Church of Saint Magdalene

After a rest at the apartment we decided to take the 10 minute walk to the nearby urban beach in the "Nea Chora" district on the west side of the Old Town

Lovely sandy beach

We took a bit of a walk on the beach- lots of umbrellas and recliners

As it was around 6:45 p.m., we decided to have an early dinner at Kaiki, a seafood restaurant next to the beach, that the owners of the jewellery store we visited yesterday had recommended.  The reviews were very good as well.  We had planned to go somewhere else but it was in a different direction and the waterfront location close to our apartment was too good to pass up.

Grilled bread with olives, chickpeas and tomatoes

We shared some delicious zucchini flowers stuffed with rice and herbs and a beetroot salad.  
We each had a glass of white wine.

We also shared some grilled sardines

Brownie and red wine liqueur with cloves and cinnamon on the house

Sunset on the beach

Looking back at the restaurant- very busy now

We walked back to the apartment after a very full day.  We had news from a friend about an earthquake on the eastern side of Crete!!!   We didn't feel anything in Chania as we are in the western part of the Island. On Thursday, we take the bus back to Heraklion for one night and then head out on an early morning ferry on Friday May 16 for the island of Paros.