is a bas-relief of the Lion of St. Mark, with an inscription below it. The natives of Crete long considered their own countryman Titus as their patron saint. The bronze guns which had been suffered by the Turks to remain on the ramparts of this city, and on those of the other Venetian fortresses, were taken by Mehemet Ali to Alexandria. The several consulates look on the port, and are distinguished by their flags. Greek is generally spoken throughout Crete; Turkish and Arabic will be heard in the towns. Khania stands on or near the site of Kydonia, as appears from Strabo, Skylax, and other authorities; no remains of the ancient city are discoverable. The earthquake of October 12, 1856, caused great destruction here, as also in the other towns of Crete.

considerable height from the ground, | returning to the city the same evening. Half-an-hour N.E. of Khania is the village of Kalepa, on a rising ground not far from the shore. From above this village is a noble view of the snow-clad Sphakian mountains, and of part of the plain, to the 1. and to the rt. of the fortified city, of the Gulf of Khania, with the Dictynnæan promontory beyond, and, in the distance, of the Corycian cape. The road hence to the convent of the Holy Trinity passes near two or three villages without entering into any. The part of the Akroteri, over which it passes, is barren and uncultivated, but abounds in partridges. The monastery of the Trinity is surrounded by lofty cypresses. The church in the middle of the court is in the form of a Latin cross; the front is ornamented with Doric columns; over the doorway is an inscription dedicated to the Trinity. The monasteries in this part of Crete pay conjointly a sum of money to the patriarch of Constantinople, who is said to receive not less than 20007. annually in dues from the island. The convent of St. John is less than 3 m. from that of the Trinity, and is approached through a winding rocky gorge; m. farther is the Cave of the Bear, at the entrance of which is a little chapel. The cavern derives its name from the resemblance of a piece of rock within it to the form of a sitting bear. At the distance of m. from this cave is the secluded and now ruined convent of Katholicó. Near it is a grotto, to which the traveller descends by a flight of 140 steps. Its height varies from 10 to 50 or 60 ft., and it is nearly 500 ft. long; its sides are covered with beautiful stalactites, some of them forming columnar supports for the roof of the cavern, some transparent, and others brilliantly white. A few paces below the mouth of the cavern is a small church cut out of the rock. Near it are the cells of monks now abandoned. In the bridge, here thrown across the deep ravine, is an opening leading into a a cell, said to have been used by the monks as a place of imprisonment. The wild and sequestered spot in

The environs of Khania afford delightful excursions. One should not omit to visit the village of Murnies, at the foot of the mountains; near it is the monastery of St. Eleutherios, in the chapel of which are paintings of our Saviour, the Virgin, and various saints, and a crucifix consisting of an iron cross, with a Christ in alto-relievo upon it. This latter is remarkable as being a novelty in the Greek Church, approaching to the practice of the Roman Catholic worship.

Not far from this convent, and about 2 m. from Khania, is a spacious country house, with garden, erected by Mustafa Pasha, a former governor of Crete, and which should by all means be visited, both as a good specimen of the country residence of an opulent Turk, and for the beautiful view to be enjoyed from the flat roof.

The most interesting of all the short excursions from Khania is that to the rich and beautiful valley of Platania (Excursion 6).

A long day may be devoted to the Akrotéri, a peninsular promontory immediately to the N.E. of Khania. By setting out early the traveller may reach the ruined convent of Katholicó, 4 hrs. from the town, where he can dine on provisions taken with him,

situated is not above 1000 paces from
the sea.
No place could be better
fitted than this glen for those who
desire "remote from man with God to
pass their days."

which the convent of Katholicó is | N.E., extremity of Crete, for many years after the Turks took possession of the rest of the island. The islet of Suda and the rocks around it were the Leuca of the ancients, and have been supposed to be the Siren Isles of Homer. Leaving the Bay of Suda, and crossing a ridge, we descend to the plain of Apokorona, bounded on the S. by the castern half of the White Mountains. To the 1., on commencing the descent, we find 2 ancient tombs, and soon after reach ruins called Palæokastron, in the midst of which is a monastery. A little distance to the S. and S.W. are traces of 2 buildings, near which are fragments of several columns, and farther to the E. similar fragments indicate the site of 3 or 4 other buildings. Near these remains are those of a theatre, but not cut out of the rock like most Greek theatres. A considerable portion of the walls of the city remains; part appears to have been constructed before the Roman conquest of the island, and in one spot

EXCURSION 1*

FROM KHANIA BY THE BAY OF SUDA, APTERA, &C., TO RHITHYMNOS. From Khania to Rhithymnos are counted about 12 hrs., or one day'sm. N.E. of the monastery, the rejourney; but, with good horses the distance may easily be accomplished in 7 or 8 hrs.

From Khania to Palæo-kastron, on the Bay of Suda, the road leads over the plain, the greater part of which was stripped of its olives when Ibrahim Pasha alighted here in 1825, on his way to the Morea. Near the saltpans (in Turkish Tuzla), the ground becomes a marsh, and is only rendered passable by the remains of portions of the old Venetian paved road. The marsh abounds in snipes. The rock of Suda, a conspicuous object, is said to have been a receptacle for corsairs during the 16th centy., and was used as a landing-place in 1571 by the Turks, who ravaged the territory of Khania, and burnt the town of Rhithymnos. In consequence the Venetians fortified the islet, and retained it with the castles of Grabúsa, at the N.W., and of Spinalonga, near the

In these excursions we chiefly follow Mr. Pashley, and we refer our readers to his learned and valuable work for details respecting the antiquities, &c., of Crete.

mains are polygonal, and are almost as massive as those of Tiryns. N. and N.E. of the monastery is a large brick building, probably Aptera, composed of numerous arches, some above and some below ground. There are also the remains of a large cistern under ground.

Here is the scene of the legendary contest between the Sirens and the Muses, when after the victory of the latter, the Sirens lost the feathers of their wings, and having thus become white, cast themselves into the seawhence the name of Aptera, and the neighbouring islets Leuce. Berecynthos was in the district of Aptera, and has been identified with the modern Maláxa.

From Paleo-kastron to Rhithymnos the road continues over the plain of Apokorona, with the White Mountains on the right, and the promontory of Drepanon on the left, and after passing a fountain called White Water, arrives at the so-called Hellenic bridge. It then follows the E. bank of a river which runs down from the White

Mountains, and falls into the sea near | the hamlet of Armyró, where are the remains of a modern castle. Here all is desolation: the castle was stormed and dismantled by the Greeks at the commencement of the revolution, and the village has shared the same fate. In this neighbourhood must have been the ancient Amphimalla or Amphimallion. hour from Amyro is the small hamlet of Murni. At the foot of the hills near this place is Lake Kurna, so called from a village on the hill above it. 1 hour hence, on the shore, is the village of Dramia, occupied in winter by the Sphakians, who descend from the mountains in October, and remain here till April. It is probable that the city of Hydramon existed on or near this spot.

The village of Episcopi, a short distance farther, consists of 100 families. It contained before the revolution 300.

Episcopí to Polis (called also Guddaropolis, the City of Asses). This town is within the confines of Rhithymnos, though very near the borders of Sphakia. Before reaching Polis are considerable remains of a massive brick building, at one end of which are some large buttresses. Close by are the remains of a circular building. 300 paces S.S.W. of Polis is an ancient cistern, 76 feet long, and nearly 20 wide. A rapid descent, on the W. side of the village, leads to considerable remains of a Roman brick building, beyond which, in the deep valley between Polis and the mountain Phteroláko, is the stream which divides the district of Apokorona from that of Rhithymnos. There are remains of some Venetian buildings in the village, one of which was evidently a palace. Polis is supposed to be the site of the ancient city of Lappa, or Lampe, restored by Augustus, a fact which accounts for the number of Roman remains.

bad. 1 mile hence is the village of Rustika, and the monastery of the Prophet Elias. 1 mile from Rustika we cross a streamlet in a picturesque valley, and soon after traverse a plain 4 miles long, and, passing through the villages of Prine and Alitsópulo, arrive at a bridge of 2 rows of arches, one above the other. This was a common mode of construction among the Romans; witness the Pont du Gard near Nimes. Near this bridge are excavations in the rock, one of which is a chapel dedicated to St. Antony.

Rhithymnos (Retimo), a place of less importance in ancient times than in modern, contains a population of about 6000 souls, of whom two-thirds are Moslems. The bazaars and streets have entirely a Turkish character. The port is protected by a mole, and resembles that of Khanin, though on a much smaller scale. The town is surrounded by mediæval walls. The citadel has a picturesque appearance from the sea, its half-ruinous walls enclosing the summit of a rocky eminence to the W. of the town. As in most other Turkish forts, those guns which are not dismounted are unserviceable from rust and neglect. There are among thom several large bronze Venetian swivels.

Rhithymnos should be made the headquarters for a visit to the caverns of Melidoni (Excursion 2), which may be accomplished in one long day, starting very early, and returning late, but to which a day and a half had better be devoted-the traveller sleeping in the village of Melidoni. This town is also the most convenient starting-point for the ascent of Mount Ida. The first day the traveller should proceed to the village of Pistai, 5 hours from Rhithymnos by the direct road, and 7 hours by the more picturesque route which leads by the monastery of Arcadi (Excursion 5). Pistaï is a Greek village on the western slope of Ida, and indifferent sleeping accommodation may be procured therein, as also mules for the ascent. Hence it is proach or ridicule are frequently applied to 24 hours to the grotto: probably that towns in Greece by neighbours. in which, according to the old legend,

The village of St. Constantine is only 4 miles from Polis, but the road is very

Η Γαϊδουρόπολις.

Similar terms of re

the infant Jupiter was concealed and fed by bees (Virg., Georg. iv. 152). The path so far descends by bold cliffs and through a magnificent forest of evergreen oaks. So far the ascent can be performed on mules, as also half an hour further to the base of the bare central cone of the mountain, somewhat resembling that of Par

EXCURSION 2.

nassus. It takes 2 hours to ascend FROM RHITHYMNOS BY AXOS AND TY

this cone to the highest of the three peaks in which it terminates; nor is the undertaking of great labour in summer, when there is little or no

snow.

On the summit is a cairn-like chapel of rough uncemented stones, dedicated to the Holy Cross (Timos Tavpós), and in it a Greek priest annually performs mass on the anniversary of that festival, September 26. The view from this point in clear weather is one of the most glorious panoramas in nature. The whole of Crete, except where an intervening hill occasionally shuts out some low ground, is spread like a map under the feet of the spectator. The outlines of the White Mountains at the W. end of the island, of the Dictaan Mountains at the E. end, of the coast-line of the Egean to the N., and of the African Sea to the S., are almost perfect in their variety and beauty. The three chief towns of Khania, Rhithymnos, and Megalokastron are all distinctly visible; as also, in clear weather, some of the Egean islands, and-in the African

Sea-the islets of Gandos.

The sum

mit of the High Mountain (Pselorites, from Jλ and 8pos), as the modern Cretans emphatically call Ida, is 7674

feet above the sea.

LISSOS TO MEGALO-KASTRON.

From Rhithymnos to Megalo-kastron, or Candia, is one day's journey. Leaving Rhithymnos we proceed to the village of Pege, i. e. Wells; on one side of which are about 1000 olive-trees, which were formerly the property of the Sultana. The Kisler Aga, or Chief of the Eunuchs at Constantinople, used to name the Aga of this village, who, if not liked by the inhabitants, was removed at the end of 2 years. They once kept the same Aga, a Mohammedan of the village, for 33 years.

An hour after leaving Pege we reach the village of Bagalokhóri, and soon see, to the right, the ruins of another village, Khamalerri. 1 mile farther is the small and impoverished monastery of Arsani. The church is dedicated to St. George, and contains an elementary school. 6 miles from Arsáni, the road leads over the top of a ridge, whence the view extends over the fertile plain of Mylopotamo, interspersed with villages among olive-trees. Beyond the plain is the conical mountain of Melidóni. The road then passes the ruinous village of Perama. Proceeding hence towards Melidoni, we turn to the left of the regular road between Rhithymnos and Megalo-kastron, and after a short and steep ascent reach a barren tract, which extends as far as the olive-trees by which Melidoni (5 hours from Rhithymnos) is surrounded. An ascent of hour from the village conducts to the entrance of a Cavern, which, from the beauty of its stalactites, rivals the grotto of Antiparos. It was dedicated to the Tallwan Hermes, as appears from an ancient inscription over its entrance (Pashley's Crete, vol. i. p. 138). Lights are neces