Old cities hide behind walls, their complicated narrow alleys winding past squares, churches, and the ruins of palaces. The main cities-ports like the port town of Hania, built on top of ancient Kydonia, picturesque Rethimno, noisy Iraklio, cosmopolitan Agios Nikolaos, and beautiful Sitia, grew up on the north side of the island and only peaceful lerapetra is on the shores of the Libyan Sea, facing Africa. They are cities living the fast pace of modern life, developing day by day. Shops selling folk art, textiles, pottery, leather goods and department stores with luxury items spring up like mushrooms. Green grocers bring the rich produce of the fertile valleys and greenhouses to the growing market places. Days awash in brilliant sunlight, emerald clear waters, star spangled nights redolent with the smells of jasmine and honeysuckle, sometimes restful and sometimes set to a rap beat: this is Crete remembered.