 |
|
|
FIND
|
 |
 |
|
| Newsletter 8 November 2003 Download Archive |
|
| NEWS & EVENTS | |
 |
 |
| Introduction to Crete Overview of the Region Crete is located to the southern end of Europe, it is the closest European Region to the equator and almost equidistant from mainland Europe (110 km), Asia (175 km) and Africa (300 km). These geographic characteristics of the island provide Crete with a unique chance to play a key role in the international scene. Crete is Greece’s largest island and the fifth largest in the Mediterranean basin. It covers an area of 8.336 square km, which is 6.3% of the total area of Greece. It’s population of 603.000 houses 5,5 % of the country’s people. Crete is the 13th Region of Greece and is divided into four regional councils. The two biggest cities of Crete, Heraklion and Chania , are also the two main gateways for people and trade.  The terrain of the land stamps from mountainy capacities with trace about the 50% of the total area and create inter-se fertile flats area (22.5 % of the total). However Crete has important more than the average of the country agricultural land (37.8%) and rangelands (53.1%) but a few forest .The greater part of the agricultural land is situated to the prefecture of Heraklion (44%) and the least to the prefecture of Chania (17%), which however is the second extension (28,5 % of the total land). The water potential of the Region is limited and it is of unequal parts allotted. The role of Crete in the Eastern Mediterranean was particularly important in ancient times. Lying at the crossroads of three continents and many routes, it was a meeting point for different peoples, a melting pot over the centuries, for the most ancient and diverse civilisations from East and West. A Greek land, a unique amalgam of elements derived from the creative assimilation of multifarious cultural forms. A junction of the roads of civilisation, the roads followed by conquerors, merchants and travellers, the road of collision and synthesis which marked Crete’s long history and spurred the development of Europe’s oldest civilisation. A span of 4.000 years is merely a link in the single unbroken chain, which joins the distant, mysterious, and mythical past with the living present. Here, for the first time, Europe is given a name. The privileged strategic position, which defines Crete’s intercontinental essence, has contributed to the meeting, dialogue and dynamic synthesis of different civilisations. The cultural heritage of Crete may be described as the “spearhead” for a distinctive role in the wider Mediterranean area, for substantial contribution to a new cultural experience in the context of the sought-after cohesion of a united Europe, and for the preservation, which will nevertheless express the spirit of co-existence, which we all envision. Today, Crete links the role, which it played in the time of its historical acme- its role as the centre of a wider area- with the Greek present and its European future. It wishes to create and provide a home for institutions, which will be worthy of its historical memory and will, in addition, vindicate its desire to become the bridge between Europe and the peoples of the southeastern Mediterranean. The traditional, inward-looking mentality of the past which for a number of years determined its development choices, saw Crete as a small, rural island region far from the centres of decision-making, with a small market and limited human and natural resources. This mentality is now giving way to a new dynamic, outward-looking spirit which looks upon Crete as a European region, drawing the benefit of its strategic geographical position in the Mediterranean, with a large market created by its numerous visitors and by the wider Mediterranean area, with a wealth of entrepreneurial talent, cultural heritage and tradition, and with considerable human resources built up, in the fields of science and research, by the internationally renowned education and research institutions which have developed in this part of the world over the last 15 years. An ambitious goal and aspiration has already taken shape: a goal which sees Crete in the year 2010 radiating its influence outward to the wider Mediterranean area, as a centre of culture and tourism, a centre for research and education, a centre for the supply of high-quality products and services, and a centre for commerce and the exchange of products and technology. This is a strategic choice: “CRETE - A CENTRE IN THE SOUTH - EAST MEDITERRANEAN”. a cultural centre, with the monuments of its long history, and also the promotion of its present-day cultural presence and creativity. a tourist centre, with a protected natural environment and preserved man-made environment. a centre for education and research, maintaining the quality and continuing the development of its major university and research institutions and its production of technology. a centre of production, developing the resources of the primary sector, and also developing the secondary sector, by vertical structuring of the primary sector, and by linking it to research and attracting investments in “an unspecified installation site”; also by developing sectors for the provision of high-quality services, e.g, education, health and technology. a centre for the exchange of products and know-how with the development of an adequate infrastructure, e.g. free trade zones, international trade fairs, supply depots, development of transport. Population Characteristics Evaluation of the population The population of Crete in 2001 was 603.000 inhabitants1. The evolution of the region’s population as compared to the evolution of Greece’s population from 1951 through to 2001 is shown in Table 1. Table 1: Population of Greece 1951-2001 Territorial Unit /Year 1951 1961 1971 1981 1991 20011 Crete 462124 483258 456642 502165 536980 603000 Greece 7632801 8388553 8768641 9740417 10264156 10930000 |
|
||||||||||||||||
