Crete is one of the 13 regions of Greece. It is the biggest island in Greece and the second biggest (after Cyprus) of the East Mediterranean. It lies at the southern end of the Aegean Sea and covers an area of 8,336 km². Its population is around 800,000 people (as of 2000). The island is 260 km long and varies in width from 60 km (measured from the Dion cape to the Lithinon cape), to only 12 km at the Isthmus of Ierapetra in eastern Crete. The coast is deeply indented, giving Crete over 1,000 km of shoreline.

The island is extremely mountainous and is defined by a high mountain range crossing it from West to East, formed by three different groups of mountains. These are:

* the White Mountains or Lefka Ori (up to 2,452 m high);
* the Idi range (Psiloritis (35.18° N 24.82° E) 2,456 m);
* the Dikti mountains (up to 2,148 m high)

These mountains gifted Crete with fertile plateaus like Lasithi, Omalos and Nidha, caves like Diktaion and Idaion cave, and gorges like the famous Gorge of Samaria

Climate

Crete straddles two climatic zones, the Mediterranean and the North African, mainly falling within the former. As such, the climate in Crete is primarily temperate. The atmosphere can be quite humid, depending on the proximity to the sea. The winter is fairly mild. Snow fall is practically unknown to the plains, but quite frequent in the mountains. During summer, average temperatures are in the high 20's-low 30's (Celsius). The exception can be the south coast, including the Messara plain and Asterousia mountains, which fall in the North African climatic zone and thus enjoys significantly more sunny days and high temperatures during the summer. Probably the best time to visit Crete is spring and autumn.

Economy

The economy of Crete, which was mainly based on farming, started changing visibly during the 1970s. While there is still an emphasis on farming and stock breeding, due to the climate and the terrain of the island, there is a drop in manufacturing and a big increase on the services industry (mainly tourism related). All three sectors of the Cretan economy (agriculture, processing-packaging, services), are directly connected and interdependent. Crete has an average per capita income which is close to 100% of the Greek average. Unemployment is at approximately 4%, half of that of Greece.

The island has three significant airports, Nikos Kazantzakis at Heraklion, the military airport Daskalogiannis at Chania and a new public airport in Sitia.

Cities

Crete's principal cities are:

* Heraklion (Iraklion or Candia) (275,000 inhabitants)
* Chania (Haniá) (139,000 inhabitants)
* Rethimno (69,290 inhabitants)
* Ierapetra (21,025 inhabitants)
* Agios Nikolaos (19,000 inhabitants)
* Sitia (9,075 inhabitants)