On The Run With Some Nuns!

(Kate and Maddie)

The group started the day of the right way in Greece by inhaling many of the traditional pastries provided by the adorable little Cretan woman who owned the hotel in Zaros. After a brief bus trip we enjoyed more hospitality, this time provided by the nuns of the Ayia Eirine Convent in Krousonas. The nuns provided us with orange juice and an array of homemade cookies and candies. They also shared with us the history of the convent and the day to day life of the present 15 sisters. The convent was named after the 10^th century Persian princess Penelope whose baptism into the Christian faith and name change caused tons of controversy but her baptism name of Eirine was fitting because it means peace. However, the convent has not always seen peace. It was originally a monastery that was destroyed by the Turks and rebuilt in the 1940’s by some of the same women who still inhabit it today.

After another short bus trip we found ourselves in the village of Tylissos. This is the site of ancient ruins of Minon houses. The site became important during it’s excavations in 1909 to 1913 due to the large bronze cauldrons that were found by Cretan archeologists. The site is made up of three houses that are called house A, house B, and house C. House A is the most intelligible, it contains a court leading from the entrance, an L-shaped perisyle, storerooms, a centrally located main hall, a lustral basin, and a pillar crypt. House B was a rectangular building with a staircase and has been associated with storage. House C is a square with an irregular outline and appears to be of an earlier time then the other two. It is also presumed to be a storage unit of sorts.

Finally the bus made it’s final stop for the night, in Herakleion, where the group will stay for the next two nights and explore the Palace of Knossos. Stay tuned for more!