The impact of foreign rule on an ancient civilization is nowhere more evident than in Crete. The Arab rule, the Venetian rule and the Turkish conquerors all left their footprint on Crete. Venetian castles, noble mansions, Byzantine churches and Turkish mosques jostle with each other for attention. The amphitheatre like homes of the rural folk speak of the long history of the peoples struggle with pirates and invaders. The religious bent of mind of the people is reflected in the clustering of homes around a church.
Typical Architecture:
The Traditional Cretan House:--The Town House
The town house is a two storied building with a ground floor called the Katoghi and a mezzanine floor called metzao. The Metzao was used as the office. The family lived in the upper floor called the anoghi. These houses are characterized by portals or central doors and the windows are inscribed with ornamented carved stone frames, Koutsounares or spouts for water to drain from flat roofs. The staircases are made of stone.
Modern Cretan houses built on traditional lines can be seen in Vassiliki. The houses have been constructed with oil fired central heating, a boiler, fireplace in the living room, wall to ceiling fitted wardrobes in all bedrooms, double sink units in the kitchen, wall cupboards and fully tiled splash back bathrooms. Satellite TV connections have also been provided.
The houses have semi outdoor spaces and two courtyards covered with pergolas and contain the traditional Cretan oven, a barbeque and open kitchentte. The ground floor consists of the living space, the fire place and the kitchen. Staircases lead from the living area to the basement and the mezzanine floor. The gardens are spacious and contain a swimming pool.
The Mezanine floor contains a bathroom, a bedroom and staircases to the first floor and access to the gardens from a landing. The first floor consists of the master bedroom and full sized bath and access to a terrace. Occasionally, a staircase leads to a loft. The Loft has access to a small terrace.
The basement too is at two levels. The first level contains the guest bathroom with wash area and WC. The second level has extra bedrooms, store rooms and boiler rooms.
The Traditional Cretan Rural Home
The rural Cretan home is cubical in shape with few openings. It is surrounded by comfortable gardens and courtyards. The houses have terraced roofs built with long wooden boards supported by a wooden crossbeam which was later replaced with a stone arch. This became an important element in the rural home and is known as the Kamarospito(arched house). It divides the house into two parts. The interior of the home is simple and Spartan. The pesoula(bed) would probably be the only piece of furniture in the bedroom and the Portego or sitting room would consist of tables, chairs and a trunk which was adapted to the needs of daily life. The walls of these homes were painted ochre, blue or pink.
These houses are often built on two levels. The first level contains the kitchen, a balcony, a large bath and one bedroom. The second level of the house is the living room and a guest bedroom. There is a balcony with a pergola on the upper floor opening off the guest room. There is a staircase which leads to the roof terrace which has a pergola for shade.
Traditional Villas of Crete
The best Italian artists were employed by the Venetians to construct the homes and Castillo of their nobles. These homes are examples of the Fortress architecture of Crete. The Castles are square or rectangular and have thick walls that are very tall. The walls are of ashlar blocks and decorated with frescos. Each end of the castle sprouts a tower. The gate is elaborately decorated with arms of the nobleman. The castles usually have a number of floors. Large cobbled courtyards and romantic pools are typical features of this architecture.
Jewish heritage in Crete
The Jewish synagogues and houses are modest buildings like their counterparts in Turkey. These buildings are constructed behind walls and are accessed through small doors from the market side of the street. Unfortunately nothing much is being done to preserve these buildings by the Cretans. Early Jewish synagogues and houses were built by travelling builder’s guilds of the Byzantine and Ottoman times. Most of the architectural features are paralleled from residential homes of the Jews. The homes and the synagogues used local materials—wood. The foundations were of shallow stone and built over with wood. The walls were coated with three layers of plaster reinforced with goat hair. The buildings are characterized by the Sahnisi, which is a projection of the first floor over the ground floor. The purpose was to allow more light and air to percolate into the building. Romanesque and Venetian influences on the Jewish architecture is also visible in Bimah or reader’s table often located on the Western wall of the Synagogue and the eihal which is located on the eastern wall or next to each other as in the later traditions. |
