The fate of Crete’s most treasured archaeological sites is still in UNESCO limbo as planning, preparation and presentation of plans seem endless. Europe’s oldest temples/palaces, the monumental heritage they represent, appear to be in the hands of hapless bureaucrats. Like everything else here in Greece, progress is prioritized based on some invisible variable no one but the unelected public servants can discern. Here is the latest and most critical assessment of the progress to list Knossos and other sites as World Heritage Sites.
Unsolved Paperwork Mysteries
First, at the behest of the head of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Heraklion, Vasiliki Sithiakaki, I have attempted to contact the Director of the National Archive of Monuments at the Ministry of Culture, Elena Kountouri. After no response to phone calls or two emails spaced one year apart, I assumed the Ministry of Culture was not prepared to answer any questions about their alleged efforts to include Knossos and other ancient Cretan sites as UNESCO World Heritage sites.
In September of 2024, the Greek Reporter covered an announcement from the Ministry of Culture about major renovation plans to be carried out until 2030. More recently, the ministry announced that a € 3.5 million project to upgrade fire protection was about to get underway. A € 2.5 million project plan for fire protection and lightning shielding for Phaistos Palace was also announced earlier this month. For those of you who have visited either of these historic sites, I am sure it will be difficult for you to visualize 4,000-year-old rocks catching fire. Wait, though, the Looney Tunes tenor of this ongoing comedy gets better.
The Minoan Palatial Centres of Knossos, Phaistos, Malia, Zakros, and Kydonia were previously inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2014. However, a submission for Knossos took effect much earlier, in 2003. In a report I wrote about this ridiculous state of affairs back in 2019, I had assumed it was UNESCO that turned down the Knossos bid. As it turned out, I was wrong. For the most part, the delay in listing these Greek treasures as World Heritage Sites was primarily on the Greek side.
According to UNESCO’s head of PR, it was the Greek authorities that put the listing in limbo, offering the most ludicrous excuses. The Greeks claimed that the site was too noisy and that there were some unauthorised houses on its outskirts. This was stated by Ekaterini Tzitzikosta, President of the Hellenic Commission for UNESCO, back in 2009. Again, a visit to Knossos on any day will reveal why the ancients decided to build there. It’s one of the most peaceful places on Earth. And yes, there are some unsightly privately owned souvenir shops in front of the main entrance, but the government has never made a genuine effort to correct this. I asked all the merchants there if they would sell their properties, and each one said they would. But, when I asked if anyone from the government had made them any kind of offer, the reply was negative.
Other Agendas
My 2019 report also uncovered the fact that Knossos and other sites were removed from the list of “sellable assets” owned by the people of Greece after massive protests. In other words, Greece was about to privatize the country’s oldest heritage to the highest bidder. While this is not surprising for anyone who lives in Greece, on the world stage, such ludicrous activity is only discovered in the most backward banana republics.
Supposedly, there is a so-called “management plan” inside the nomination file of Ms. Kountouri at the Ministry of Culture. News that a UNESCO delegation visited the Malia Minoan Palace as part of a series of evaluations was recently reported on Argophilia. If a picture is worth a thousand words, perhaps someone can spot the flammable stone in the aerial view of Phaistos Temple/Palace above. I know hundreds of tourists have already been struck by lightning :)
To illustrate the complexity of Greek bureaucracy, an official response to parliament by the Minister of Culture, Lina Mendoni, reveals not only the arrogance of these bureaucrats but also their incompetence. When MP Frangiskos Parasiris submitted a speech about “Knossos and the necessary conservation and restoration works,” Mendoni was impertinent, condescending, and just mean, in my opinion.
Parasiris made mention of a prominent reproduction of the Prince of the dolphin fresco falling from a wall at Knossos. The parliamentarian noted it was not the original, but Mendoni sought to minimize his concerns by schooling him about the original being in the museum. As if a giant, framed fresco dropping off a wall where a million tourists pass is not insignificant. And especially given the “Beautiful, big plan” Mendoni has been peddling for years now.
The woman goes on to insult and argue with the people’s elected representative, downplaying every valid point he makes. For instance, this ludicrous bureaucracy managed to allocate a large sum of money to simply “draft” our “Big, beautiful plan.” This was around 2019 after I lit a fire under their asses. Let me quote directly (Google Translate):
“From 2017 to June 2019 we had a SYRIZA government. Indeed, in April 2019 the Programmatic Agreement was signed, with a budget of €140,000, with the Region of Crete. However, due to an error in the drafting of the Programmatic, on the part of the Ministry of Culture, which referred to incompatibility with the then institutional framework, the Programmatic could not proceed and only €38,500 was absorbed from the specific budget. In order to proceed with the preparation of the candidacy file, the Ministry of Culture allocated €145,000 from its own budget. The project began on 30/11/20 and was completed on 30/09/23.”
Poor Things
The good minister goes on and on educating not just Mr. Parasiris but the rest of us as to how contrite these people are. In the statement from Mendoni, we find tour guide-like instructions about the temple/palace, punctuated with admissions of having spent millions of euros on this project. Clearly, more anchors and mortar holding the dolphin mural replica were not in those huge budgets. And neither were sanding and painting the main entrance or weed eating. (see my photos) Mendoni goes on and on about the “tremendous” responsibility, listing the ambitious and expensive “building projects” this super plan entails. My God, how overworked these paper shufflers and speechmakers are. Someone give them a vacation soon.
Trying to glean information from these people is like pulling crocodile teeth. My initial conversations with George Papagiannis, the head of UNESCO communications, in 2019 placed the ongoing holdups firmly in the hands of local officials. Given my previous communications with this ministry on various projects, shifting the blame has reached its peak here in Greece. I was at Knossos the other day and felt, well, exactly as I have felt the other 43 times I’ve been there. It’s as if nobody cares at all about these antiquities, not even the people in charge of them.
11 years ago, when we first visited Crete, these sites were in far better condition than they are now. It will not surprise me if the eventual collapse of the reconstructions of Arthur Evans at Knossos over a hundred years ago gets blamed on Evans’ cheap labor. God forbid, but you get my point. Bottom line, don’t expect to find Minoan sites get off the tentative list anytime soon. Oh, and if you dare to question these officials with lifetime appointments? Well, don’t expect that philoxenia treatment Greece used to be famous for. “How dare you!” That’s the feeling you or an elected official gets. They are just that empowered.
