Today was our first day of the Erasmus Project PETS in Crete, where the countries Germany, Norway, Greece and Austria were participating. In the morning, we walked to the 1st vocational Lyceum Heraklion, where we received a warm welcome. In the beginning of the welcome ceremony, two Greek girls, Alex and Mar performed their own song Parastasi followed by Koita me by bofiliou and Paula me by pix lax. They sang beautifully and we were all impressed. Afterwards all the Greek students showed us how to dance their traditional dance „Kalamatianos“and we were welcomed to join in.
After their performance, it was our turn to introduce ourselves and our country. The German students then shared information about Cologne and Carnival, followed by the Norwegian students, who introduced us to their hometown of Bergen.
After every country had introduced themselves, we were given a tour of the school and had the opportunity to explore the specialized facilities of the vocational lyceum. First, we visited the Health and Beauty Laboratories and then we got a tour of the computer Laboratories. These visits provided us with valuable insights into the hands-on education offered there. The school has a total number of about 450 students and about 40 teachers.
In the afternoon, we visited Knossos, a major center of Minoan civilization known for its connection to the Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. Knossos is a Bronze Age archaeological site, located on the outskirts of Heraklion, it remains a popular tourist destination, and it is considered by many to be the oldest city in Europe. It was incredibly fascinating, but after a long day, we finally returned to our hotel. (Laura, 8e)
On Tuesday, we gathered early in the morning for the bus ride to the Preveli Monastery, during which we could see different sources of renewable energies, e.g. solar panels and windmills. When we arrived at the Preveli Monastery, which is an Orthodox monastery, founded during the Venetian occupation by a feudal lord known as Prevelis, we had the opportunity to explore the grounds, visit the church and observe all the different kinds of animals that were being kept there. Following this, the bus took us to the steps leading to Preveli Beach, where we enjoyed the water, relaxed on the beach, and explored the Preveli Palm Forest. The Preveli Palm Forest is an excellent example of sustainability through biodiversity protection, ecosystem restoration, water conservation and the promotion of responsible tourism. Later in the day, we returned to the center of Heraklion, where we had free time to dine and explore the city before heading back to the hotel. (Anastasia, 8e)
Day 3 in Crete.
The third day in Crete started when we visited the Greek school in Heraklion and watched an interesting presentation about the aquaponics and hydroponics by Vagelis Filipakis, one of the Greek teachers.
We learnt that aquaponics is like a mini ecosystem where fish and plants help each other grow. Here’s how it works: fish live in a tank, and as they eat, they produce waste. This waste is full of nutrients, but too much of it can make the water dirty. The dirty water from the fish tank is pumped to a plant bed, where plants are growing without soil (just their roots in the water). The plants soak up the nutrients from the fish waste to grow. As the plants absorb the nutrients, they clean the water, which is then pumped back into the fish tank, giving the fish clean water. So, the fish help feed the plants, and the plants help clean the water for the fish. It’s a cycle that makes it easier to grow both fish and plants together, using less water and space compared to traditional farming. And other alternative for countries with water shortage is hydroponics, a way of growing plants without using soil. Instead of planting in dirt, the roots of the plants are placed in water or another material (like sand or pebbles) that holds them up. The key part is that the water contains all the nutrients the plants need to grow.
After the theoretical part, we students were asked to lend a hand and remove the soil from the lettuce plants, put them in a pot with a sponge and place them in the prefabricated device. So the plants sit in water where nutrients are added to the water to feed the plants, giving them everything they need to grow strong and healthy. The plants roots absorb the water and nutrients directly, which makes them grow faster because they don’t have to search through the soil. We are looking forward to seeing our results.
After our workshop the Austrian group interviewed the Greek, German and Norwegian students on the impact of mass tourism and sustainability on Crete for a video that will be produced at the end of or mobility. After interviewing the students, we left the school and went for a city walk with a few Greek teachers and students who gave us a guided tour of the city.
We came across many interesting statues and buildings like the monument of Erotokritos and Aretousa. Their legend symbolizes an important part of Greek culture and identity and was later set to music. The fountain of Morosini consists of four lions which symbolize the power of the Venetian Republic. The impressive Venetian Loggia is located in the heart of Heraklion town, near the Morisini Lions Fountain and the church of Agios Titus. It is considered one of the most elegant Venetian constructions on the entire island and it has now been renovated, housing the Town Hall of Heraklion. The Cathedral of Saint Titus is an orthodox church in the city of Heraklion, Crete, dedicated to Saint Titus. The current church was built in 1869 as the Yeni Cami after the previous building was destroyed by the earthquake of 1856. It used to be a jail and a fortress back in the day. Eleftedios Venizelos was a Cretan Greek statesman and prominent leader of the Greek national liberation movement. As leader of the Liberal Party, he held office as prime minister of Greece for over 12 years, spanning eight terms between 1910 and 1933. He was however defeated in the 1920 General Election, which contributed to the eventual Greek defeat in the Greece-Turkish War (1919-1922).
In the evening the other students from Norway and Germany visited our hotel to play board games. It was a fun activity, and we got the opportunity to get to know each other better. (Mustafa und Harkirat, 6e)
On the 4th day we got up early and met the other delegations at Statue of the Eleftherios Venizelos to take the bus to our first destination the Archaeological Museum of Messara. They had a big collection of antiquities from all over Crete`s long history spanning from the Bronze Age to the Ottoman Empire.
After we had finished looking through the exhibits, we got on the bus to head to our next stop – the ancient ruins of the Minoan Palace of Phaistos. One of the Greek teachers gave us a guided tour of the fascinating site. We spent about an hour observing the rocks and stones that remained of the palace before we headed to our last stop for the day Matala Beach. The cliffs by the beach had a system of caves carved into them The Matala Beach Caves. The Matala Beach Caves are in Crete, the place that was home to hippies in the late 1960’s through early 1970’s. After learning about the caves history, we were free to relax and enjoy the beach. At 4:30 we got on the bus to head back to Heraklion, because it was the last evening, and we decided to have a final dinner with the Germans from Cologne. After dinner we headed back to the hotel where we played some card games with the Germans and one of the Greek students that had come to visit us before we left. After a long day we all headed up to bed to go to sleep before our last day in Crete. (Max, 8e)
All in all, across the week we observed the effect that mass tourism has had on Crete. The streets are often dirty and trash lays on the street. Most of the energy comes from fossil fuels and water is often allocated towards water parks and pools instead of agriculture. Despite of all of this and through the interviews we conducted with local students, teachers and the observations of the other delegations as well as our own, we learned that Crete was moving into a greener future by investing in wind and solar energy and recycling and separating trash. Crete has a way to go when it comes to sustainability, but after this week we are confident they will get there. Throughout this week we made new friends from all over Europe, viewed the ancient rocks and ruins from times long ago, learned about their expansive and long recorded history, tried new food, and explored the beautiful island of Crete with new friends from Germany, Norway and Greece. (Max, 8e)
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