Chania, Crete

Crete has a wide variety of "living" folk art, hand-crafted items made of glass, wood and various metals can be found at Casteli Kissamos, while many workshops for ceramic handicrafts, wooden sculptures, as well as jewellery workshops that specialise in copper, gold and silver are numerous.

All across Crete and Chania is no exception to this, village women and local co-operatives make embroideries from silk or wool to the extent that there is quite a proliferation of popular traditional Cretan art. This is continued today in carpet making, crocheting, lace work, towels, weaving, etc. evidence that the Cretan people have a feel for beauty and art.

Many shops selling popular art can be found in the old town and above the Catholic Church there is the “Cretan House” which is essentially a private folk museum. There is a workshop for glass blowing at Kokkino Chorio Apokoronou. Rich folk material can also be found in exhibitions at the firka Fortress. If it is farther back in history you wish to travel, you can see collections of objects from farming and the local civilization at Askifou (Sfakia), Azogires, Gavalochori, Kandanos, Kefalas, Therisso, Sougia, Spilia, Kissamos, Vamos and elsewhere. Another specialised skill is production of Cretan boots made only from genuine leather and to order in the Stivanadika area, specifically on Skridloff Street in Chania where the smell of leather is prevalent. Cretans were always a knife culture and it was and still is a part of their folk dress so the characteristic Cretan Knives with a split pommel at the back end of the handle for the thumb and with four line stanza is always carved on their blades. These knives are usually handmade and ornamental.