Crete's history as well as the inhabitants' personality were affected by the island's mountainous landscape.
Did you know that in Greece, 47 mountains are over 2000m., 105 mountains between 2000 and 1500m., 155 mountains are between 1500m. and 1000m. The number of mountains under 1000m. have yet not been recorded.
The very first sprint race of the first Olympic Games in 776 B.C. was won by Coroebus of Elis, a cook!
About 7% of all the marble produced worldwide comes from Greece.
Did you know that Greece is the third largest producer of olive oil in the world? Greeks have cultivated olive trees since antiquity. Some of the olive trees that are still producing olives, date back to the thirteenth century.
Greece has historically engaged in wine making. Take for example Dionysus, the son of Zeus, the God of the grape-harvest, winemaking and wine. His face is seen today on the sommelier’s pin which is a symbol of respect to wine’s contribution throughout history.
No part of Greece is more than 137km from the sea.
Greece's national drink is ouzo. Ouzo is a dry anise-flavoured aperitif. Cheers, "stin igia mas" in Greek!
Crete, Greece’s largest island and birthplace of the Minoan Civilisation, is the most southern one, except for the little island of Gavdos!
Did you know that Greece has around 6,000 islands, islets and rocky islets? 2,000 of them are islands and only 107 of them are inhabited!
Olympus (2,917m), the mountain of Gods and Muses is the highest mountain of Greece and the 2nd in the Balkans.
Greece has historically engaged in wine making. Take for example Dionysus, the son of Zeus, the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking and wine. His face is seen today on the sommelier’s pin which is a symbol of respect to wine’s contribution throughout history.
Did you know that Greece hosts 50% of the brown bear population in western & southern Europe.
Did you know that in Greece you can enjoy skiing with a sea view?
Greece has one of the richest varieties of wildlife in Europe, including 116 species of mammals, 18 of amphibians, 59 of reptiles, 240 of birds, and 107 of fishes.
The species and subspecies of the native plants in Greece are about 6,000, almost as much as 50% of the native plants of Europe!
Greece is a leading producer of sea sponges.
Did you know that Greece is the 4th largest cheese producer worldwide. Greeks eat 28 kg per capita per year. And guess what, mostly feta cheese!
Greek is one of the oldest spoken languages in Europe since it has been spoken for more than 3.000 years.
An old Greek legend says that when God created the world, he sifted all the soil onto the earth through a strainer. After every country had good soil, he tossed the stones left in the strainer over his shoulder and created Greece.