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“Kalimera” is the beginning of a meeting with the word “good morning”. The weather is excellent, the sun shines brightly and warms what you see. It is true that Audrius has had to start traveling in the dark, when he goes to the mountains. Only this time we are not traveling to the mountains.
We to the inexperienced Crete.
In the guide’s car, a black string bracelet hangs from the rearview mirror, said to have been donated by local monks.
Ernesta Čičiurkaitė / 15min photo / The consecrated bracelet guides the way of the guide Audrius Antanas Morkūnas
“It is from a monastery, since the bracelet is worn by monks or ordinary people. Protects against all problems. As one of the monks made a gift, we were hooked, ”says Audrius and soon reveals that one of our stopping points will be a monastery in the mountains: we will see Mass here.
But until then, we drive. We begin to see the first olive fields, the hills of Crete, the goats. We talk about life with them.
When the shepherds show the way
“This is how life came about,” Audrius answers the question of why Lithuania moved to this island. – My wife and I came here for the first time in 1999 and since then we go to rest every year, I really enjoyed it. Friends jokingly said that when you retire you will live in Crete, but it happened that you did not have to wait for that retirement. It is no secret that in 2008 the crisis has had an impact. “
“We learned Greek even before we thought we were going to come here, we were interested in understanding this culture. Here you need a completely different worldview, mindset and speak to them in their language. We start hiking in the mountains. When you meet a pastor there who doesn’t speak another language, but wants to speak, because he didn’t see a person alive for a week, but only his own animals, then somehow the need arises to start learning the language, especially because the shepherds know a lot. He knows these mountains, “says Audrius, who started the” My Crete “island travel project while driving down a mountainous highway.
Photo by Ernesta Čičiurkaitė / 15min / Audrius Antanas Morkūnas
The guide sees Crete as a crossroads of different cultures and geographies between East and West. According to him, a European will feel good here, but will be “bitten” by certain local subtleties. They, according to the guide, were influenced by the story of a thousand stories from Crete, in which the Minoan civilization, antiquity, the ancient Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Byzantines, Venetians, the Ottoman Empire left their relics.
“They (Greeks – ed.) Live on this day. We need to enjoy this moment. The Cretan approach to life is best reflected in the works of Niko Kazantzakis. (…) He is the most famous writer not only in Crete but also in all Greece. (…) There is nothing to worry about here if something happened, that is the will of God ”, Audrius paraphrases the poet.
Who could upset the Europeans? “Proximity to communication,” says the guide. “They like to be around, get in touch with strangers, communicate.” Apparently, Audrius himself did not scare him. On the contrary, it seems to be the same. withered. Although we saw him for the first time in my life, I felt that we were communicating as friends.
Ernesta Čičiurkaitė / 15min photo / Journalist Lukrecijus Tubys and guide Audrius Antanas Morkūnas
It is true that perhaps the greatest treasure in Crete for Audrius is the history of this island, to explore it and, therefore, to explore the beginnings of European civilization.
When you touch it, you can feel that eternity and know that you have not been before: it was standing. You will no longer be, he will stop.
“While many say that Greece is the cradle of European civilization, the Cretans have shaken their heads, no, they say, it is here in Crete,” says the guide as he drives up the hills.
“The legacy of the Minoan civilization is impressive, especially the archaeological site of the Palace of Knossos, where high-rise buildings can be seen. When you realize that they were built 4,000 years and more, what was the idea of engineering then? (…) Then they look at the paintings, they discover what they ate, how they traveled, what they knew about the sea, because they were great sailors. This is the beginning of the beginning, ”says a Lithuanian who worked as a journalist in Lithuania.
Photo by Ernesta Čičiurkaitė / 15min / Eastern Crete
After about an hour and a half we reached the monastery of San Panteleimon. In Greece, the church occupies an important place in the life of society, hermit monks are valued for their dedication. It is true, although on Sunday we did not find the Holy Father. Audrius speculates that he will go on to do other church duties.
“The Greeks often say they are true Christians because it all started here. Cretans emphasize this too, because Saint Paul also visited Crete, baptizing the first Cretans and the patron saint of Crete, Saint Titus. If you read the Bible, there are letters from Saint Paul to Saint Titus, the Bishop of Crete, “says Audrius.
Ernesta Čičiurkaitė / 15min photo / Monastery of Saint Panteleimon
Although we did not meet the monk, we found peace in the air, sheep running behind the fence, a rooster ready to show his greatness, and chickens silently eating food from the ground. According to Audrius, this settlement is under the patronage of the local community of the village of Fodele. The Lithuanian himself says that he visits here several times a year.
“Just sit under the orange trees. Peace. Okay, “smiles the guide.
Ernesta Čičiurkaitė / 15min photo / Monastery of Saint Panteleimon
The magic of olive trees.
Crete’s thousand-story history is also evident in local olive trees that date back centuries. According to Audrius, there are also those here, at the beginning of the new century, who could see the apostle Paul coming to the island to spread the science of the spirit. And such, whose fruits could have been gathered by representatives of the Minoan civilization. Scientists declare that the oldest olive trees in Crete that still bear fruit are about three thousand years old.
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