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Around Town

KTEL Bus Wars: East is East and West is West

Rethymnon Bus Station A haven of peace and tranquillity KTEL (The Cretan Intercity Bus Company) has experienced something of an identity crisis in recent weeks, resulting in a grand schism. So now instead of having one company servicing the island, we now have KTEL East, and KTEL West (or, Hania—Rethymnon and Heraklion–Lassithi). So, what does this mean for the traveller who wishes to cross the island by bus (and we use the word ‘cross’ advisedly)? If you want to go to Hania from Rethymnon using a Hania based bus, then you won’t notice any difference. You can buy your tickets and board the bus at Rethymnon bus station, and final destination is the Central Bus Station in Hania. However, if you want to go between Rethymnon and Heraklion, as we understand it (and please don’t quote us on this!) things become more complicated. You can still buy your ticket and board the bus at Rethymnon bus station, but if it’s a West KTEL bus then it doesn’t have access to Heraklion Central bus station so will drop you off somewhere nearby. You can probably see where this is leading in terms of getting a bus from Heraklion to Rethymnon with East KTEL…. The split has been acrimonious, to say the least, and so far, professional mediators have been unable to resolve issues between the two factions. Let’s hope this mess gets sorted out FAST!

Sporting Life: Nail Biting Times Ahead

This month’s sporting round-up is a bit of a mixed bag. Our local soccer team, Asteras, is currently top of the ‘Δ Crete’ division and are in line to be champions, and to be promoted to the ‘Γ’ division. However, as we all know, it’s generally not over until the last whistle goes. Asteras are on 57 points, with two games left to play. Nearest rivals, Malia, have 52 points with three games in hand, so could, theoretically overtake Asteras. Thankfully, Asteras and Malia do not meet each other for any of their final games! Hania, in third place on 49 points, with three games left is out of the running (no inter-city rivalry to be detected when reporting this fact, honest!). AGOR, our basketball team, are still theoretically in line for promotion from A2 to A1, but working out the potential scenarios involves complicated ‘if x beats y and z doesn’t beat x and there’s a full moon and an ‘r’ in the month’ type calculations that are just too much for this correspondent. As for volleyball, well let’s not be disheartened. Next season will be better. The men’s team have definitely been relegated, and the women’s team are not doing that well either.

Restoration of Asomatos Monastery, Amari Valley

The first phase of restoration of the Asomatos Monastery has now been completed. The church has been completely restored, and lighting of the ‘first candle’ recently took place in a ceremony attended by local dignitaries and residents. The Monastery was initially established in the Second Byzantine Period, and for several centuries played an important role in supporting and instigating revolt against occupying forces. In 1927, the Monastery shut down and the building became an agricultural school. The school closed in the mid 1970’s, and since then, most of the site remained abandoned. Following the important renovation project that is now being carried out, Asomatos will once again become a working monastery—which will emphasise not only religious observance but also arts and crafts and the importance of preserving traditional skills in the region.

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