The market hall of downtown Chania on the island of Crete in Greece is cross shaped, almost looking like a church when seen from above. Even looking to the iron construction and the glass of the roof reminds one of a church service.
The mix of stands is quite nice, the focus of the products is on basic foods: cheese, meat, vegetables, olives, fish. It looks like a market hall for locals. The way meat is presented is old fashioned or rather robust: whole chicken, sheep heads, whole rabbits etc. It is for sure not a supermarket presentation. And therefore really interesting.
There is lots of local cheeses, even though the variety is limited and often vacuum packed. Fish looks really yummy and seems to be an important part of the diet. Well, we are on an island.
The market hall is also very tourist friendly. It is easy to find some gifts to bring home, also home made raki, kind of a grappa, meaning that is does not taste like anise as usual in the Mediterranean region. Mix the raki with honey from Crete, it tastes nice. Local herbal tea is also sold in large quantities, people seem to enjoy staying healthy.
There are also some joints in the market hall for lunch, and it can really be recommended. Simple, tasty food and quickly prepared.
All in all: A nice market hall, worth a visit, especially for non-vegetarians.
A little link list:
- The official Chania market hall website
- A short description and pictures of the market hall
- A nice areal picture of the market hall plus additional pictures
- A nice blog entry from eatasyougo.blogspot.de