If you are into the Greek myths you might have heard that Zeus seduced princess Europa in the form of a white bull, crossed the sea and brought her to the beach of Matala. There he changed into an eagle and flew her to Gortys where they had a son which was king Minos.
Or you might have heard about Matala as the Hippie hub of the 60s!
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| Caves from the Neolithic Age in the northern cliff of the bay |
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| Hippie monument at Matala |
In the 1960s, hippies from all over the world, including many young US citizens who refused to participate in the Vietnam War, settled in the Neolithic caves and founded a large community. Joni Mitchell, Cat Stevens and Bob Dylan came to Matala. And nowadays every summer a music festival takes place at the beach.
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| Beach bar waiting for the new saison |
In December nearly every restaurant or bar is closed, but from here you can hike in both directions of Matala and will find a fascinating landscape. In the north lies the beach of Kommós, in the south the Red Beach which is only accessible on foot from Matala.
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| Behind the camping we walked up to the cliff |
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| Bizarre sandstone |
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| Matala in the back |
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| Windy area |
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| Everywhere sea squill was growing again from its large bulbs |
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| Beach of Kommós |
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| Sandstone cliffs full of treasures |
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| Big shells were everywhere! |
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| Fascinating sandstone cliff |
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| Easy to walk along this coast |
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| Only some gaps in the even surface |
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| Matala from above |
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| Many beach bars for the summer |
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| Cliff with caves during sunset |
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| Sunset at the bay of Matala |
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| Happy that we found one open restaurant! |
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| Fried courgettes and aubergines |
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| Cretan cheese with a crust |
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| I think it is 27,- ??? |
