Tag Archives: Barry Unsworth

Hidden Treasures in Crete

Books, Crete, Destinations, Greece, Guide Books, Memoir, Travel, , , , ,


 

Destination: Crete

Book: Crete by Barry Unsworth (2004)

Barry Unsworth was a prolific novelist and sometimes travel writer from England, who lived in Italy and frequently visited Greece.  Since I share his fascination with the Mediterranean and Mid Eastern countries I’ve reviewed two other books by Unsworth, Pascali’s Island (listed for the Booker Prize) and Land of Marvels. See all his books here.

Mountain Road, Crete
Mountain Road, Crete

I believe, though, that of the books I have read, his memoir of travels called Crete is my favorite.  Ken and I traveled from Athens through the Peloponnese and took a ferry to Crete for a two-night look around one summer.  We immediately realized that two nights was a ridiculously inadequate period to get even a vague feeling for this island full of mysteries and hidden treasures. The next summer we were back, and spent over a week crisscrossing the island in our rental car.

The best known Minoan site in Crete is Knossos. Unsworth explains why it is so striking. “One thing which makes Knossos different from all other Minoan sites on Crete is the reconstructions that were carried out by Sir Arthur Evans…mainly in the course of the 1920s….he used the architectural details he found in fresco fragments to reconstruct some of the buildings….”

Minoan Palace of Knossos, Crete
Recreated Mural at Minoan Palace of Knossos, Crete

Although we touched base with many of the places that Unsworth talks about in this book–seeking out Minoan ruins from the famous Knossos to an isolated Minoan mansion now surrounded by a vinyard–Unsworth and his wife discovered many places that we did not get to.  Hidden shrines to ancient gods tucked away in mountain caves, churches that have morphed from pagan to Christian to Muslim and back to Christian as the island was conquered by the Venetians and then the Turks who, along with the Byzantines, left their mark on architecture.

The island was even taken over by the Germans during World War II. Through all the waves of conquerors, the tough mountain men took to their highlands hideaways  from which they attacked their conquerors.  Crete was never an easy place to subdue.

Lassithi Plain, Crete
Buying oranges from a fierce warrior at the pass to Lassithi Plain, Crete. That’s a knife he wears at his belt with his traditional costume.

Blood feuds in the southeastern portion of Crete bred the fiercest fighters of all, from the region of Sfakia. Of the Sfakia region, Unsworth says “This is a wild and remote region where roads are few, the climate unrelenting, and the living conditions harsh. The atmosphere of abandonment and desolation one sometimes feels here is in a sense the price the people have paid for their indomitable spirit, their refusal to accept a foreign yoke.”

You would never suspect from the peaceful looking town of Chora Sfakia. This is where the boat from the end of your hike in the Samaria gorge–the most dramatic and popular hike of many dramatic paths in Crete– will take you. It is difficult to get to Chora Sfakia any other way than by boat.

Harbor of Sfakia
Harbor of Sfakia on the south side of Crete.

Although you won’t be attacked from the mountains, or in Sfakia today (unless you’re part of a feuding clan), you can run into various difficulties when traveling in Crete.

Drivers, particularly bus drivers, appear to be suicidal.  Some mountain roads are so bad that car rental companies include clauses forbidding travel to those regions. You may have difficulty deciding which of the two caves that were the “birthplace of Zeus” you want to visit.  You may despair of ever finding peaceful and hidden places if you get stuck in the overbuilt north coast resorts or string of beach towns.

We agree with Barry Unsworth that Chania is a charming town, layered with history, and a great base for exploring Crete.

Cafe in old Chania
Harborside Cafe in old Chania

I was curious whether the charming small hotel we stayed in, the Doma, still exists in Crete, and I was delighted to find out that not only is it still serving customers, it is still run by the two sisters,  Irene Valyraki and Ioanna Koutsoudaki, who were there when we stayed in the historic home twenty years ago. Unfortunately, I don’t know which sister is in this photo with me, sitting in the parlor of the home, which once was an embassy, and was commandeered by the Germans during World War I.

Doma Hotel, Chania
Sitting in the parlour of the Doma Hotel, Chania with one of the owners

Using Unsworth’s Crete as a guide, you can discover those mosques hiding under Orthodox churches, some of the hidden meaning behind the ruins of the Minoans and valuable icons in fascinating monasteries. He says of the Panagia Kira, near Kritsa, “…if obliged to choose among them, to single out one which best exemplifies the atmosphere and the spirit of devotion of medieval Byzantium, I would favor the Panagia Kira.”  And we totally agreed. This small 14th century church is crammed with wonderful art from the 14th and 15th century.

Kritsa, Crete
Postcard image of a 14th century painting from the church of Panagia Kera at Kritsa, Crete

The book starts in Chania, which was also our favorite town.  My only regret is that we used it mostly as a base, driving out each day to a different region, rather than exploring the town in depth. But having read Unsworth’s Crete, I feel that I know Chania much better.

The map at the front of the book has just enough detail to help you figure out where he is as he discusses the hidden treasures of Crete. Unsworth visits several caves that have ties to ancient Greek legends, worship and mysteries. But there are caves that served other purposes as well.

 

Matala, Crete
Hippies lived in these caves at Matala, Crete in the 60s. A few yards away, over a rise, is a nude beach.

I think Crete is underrated as a destination in Greece.  It has all the best of Greece. Fantastic ancient ruins, interesting history from Byzantine to the present, warm beaches in the south (including the ONLY palm tree grove in Europe), hiking, sailing, scuba diving, parasailing, shopping and FOOD like no where else in the country.

beach at Vai, Crete
Only European palm trees on beach at Vai, Crete

So what are you waiting for? Once you have read Barry Unsworth’s Crete, I’m sure you’ll be itching to uncover some of those hidden treasures.

Barry Unsworth died in 2012. You can read his New York Times obituary here.  Get more information about visiting Crete here.

Note: All of the potographs here belong to the author–scans of twenty-year-old photos. 

I have included a link to Amazon (with the book cover) so that you can go directly to the on line store and purchase an e-book or print book. I am an Amazon affiliate, so any time you buy something through links on this site, I make a few cents. Thanks for your support.

 

Unsworth on a Greek Island

Books, Greece, Novel, , , ,

 

Greek Fishing Boat

Destination: An Anonymous Greek Island

Book: Pascali’s Island by Barry Unsworth (1980)

We move today to an early book by Barry Unsworth about treachery and deceit in pre-modern Greece.

Pascali’s Island deals with many of the same themes as Land of Marvels, a book he wrote about archaeologists in Iraq. I did not care for that book,  But in this literary novel,  Pascali’s Island, everything works. The author focuses once again on the dying  Ottoman empire and the struggle of the Americans, British and Germans to pick up the spoils. But here the story spotlights the rot and corruption of the weakening government instead of the imperialistic aims of the stronger nations.

Another similarity to Land of Marvels comes with the ever shifting line between truth and self-serving lies, and the exploration of the act of story telling.  The main character, an informer to the Ottoman ruler can be defined by a circular equation: writer = informant =spy = writer. Writers/spies tell tales that  recreate people, action and scenes so that someone else can draw meaning from the words.

Pascali tells us plainly that he is an undependable narrator. Not only does he state, through his reports to the Sultan that he  sometimes invents people and events, but he also wanders far away from the task and embellishes with so many details that the reader wants to scream, “Get to the point!” However, gradually, one realizes that the wandering IS the point.

Greek Island
Greek Island

Because of Pascali’s charming diversions into scene setting, Pascali’s Island becomes an appealing book for travelers.  Not only does it lend some insight into a formative point of Greek history, but it also paints a picture of a Greek island that rings very true.  Oddly, even though the island is never named–we know only it is in the Eastern Aegean, near Turkey–the descriptions seem to be so precise that you could paint it.

“Below me I can follow the sweep of the bay as far as the headland, and see beyond to the pale heights of the mainland, across the straits.  In this thickening of atmosphere, the sand and stones of the shore appear slightly smoky, as if enveloped thinly in their own breath.  Beyond this the sea is opaline, gashed near the horizon by a long, gleaming line of light. The light fumes upward into the sky.”

Reading a passage like that, I found myself thinking, yes, it is exactly like that, and then snapping back to realize that he was not describing a real place, but rather an amalgam of Aegean islands–perhaps the Platonic ideal of Aegean Island. Unsworth/Pascali speaks frequently of the quality of the light, which always impresses visitors to Greece. But also refers to truth as light when he says that “humans could not live long in the light, it would shrivel them up.”

Finally, I cannot resist quoting his comment on writing. Pascali says parenthetically in a report, that he has recently discovered he has a wish to suffer and gives examples. “That is why I became a writer of reports, Excellency.  Otherwise why would I wrestle with words, go on wrestling, when every bout ends with me thudding to the canvas.”

I would say that in Pascali’s Island, the decision goes to Unsworth.

Photograph by VMB. All rights reserved.

Barry Unsworth and Iraq

Books, Novel, , , , ,

Destination: Iraq

Book: Land of Marvels by Barry Unsworth

In 2009, I wrote the following.

I have recently read two books by Barry Unsworth that touch on the period immediately before World War I. One of them directly deals with the part of Mesopotamia that became Iraq, and I will talk about that one first. Tomorrow I’ll talk about the other book, which takes place on a Greek island.

What Kind of Book?
Land of Marvels: A Novel by the Booker Prize winner (for an earlier book), Barry Unsworth, arrived on shelves in 2009 and was trumpeted by some as a thriller, some as an historic novel. Some reviews criticized it for trying to cram too much–long lectures on archaeology and geology as well as the pre-World War I history of Mesopotamia, into a book of fewer than 300 pages. A jacket blurb praises it as lean. In scanning reviews, I got the distinct impression that few knew quite what to make of it.

I usually do not read reviews before I write my opinions here, but this time I was confused. Looking forward to a thriller, I became restless when the plot was not afoot until page 96 or so and the real action started barely 70 pages before the end of the book. Even for an historical novel, this is an exceedingly leisurely pace.

The Story

I am a fan of history and of archaeology and might have enjoyed the historical setting if the information had seemed more like part of the novel rather than periodic intrusions of needed information.

The Characters

Unfortunately, most of the characters sound and look like stereotypes and despite the fact that the book, according to the author, is about the evils of imperialism, we only meet the oppressors–never the victims. Only servants and a wily seller of information represent the native people of Mesopotamia.

Unsworth tells an intricate tale where no one can quite be believed.

  • The archaeologist wants to protect his dig and make his name;
  • the geologist wants to verify fields of oil and sell the information to several parties;
  • the Germans are laying a railroad;
  • the Turks and British are laying plots against each other.

The archaeologist’s wife comes across as a pathetic, malleable creature who will follow a big, strong man anywhere he leads her with a story. The other archaeologist’s girlfriend is allegedly a feminist, but one suspects that is only so she can jump in with an occasional “manly” observation that could not conveniently come out of the mouths of other characters.

The generalized duplicity is underlined by the parallel use of people who tell stories to achieve their goals. Not just lies–but stories. The geologist, the wily spy, even the archaeologist trying to make sense of what he finds. With all these unreliable story-tellers, the reader begins to wonder if the author’s story is to be trusted.

My Conclusion

I cannot recommend Land of Marvels, even as a picture of Mesopotamia/Iraq. It seems Unsworth  set out to make a point rather than a novel. All in all, Ozymandias makes the point more succinctly and with more grace.

Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley

I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: “Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert . . . Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed:
And on the pedestal these words appear:
‘My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!’
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.”