ISSN 2756-3405
African Journal of Philosophy and Religious Studies ISSN 1621-4587 Vol. 6 (6), pp. 001-009, June, 2020. © International Scholars Journals
Review
Minoan culture and tourism
Snezana Besermenji1*, Tatjana Pivac1, Miroslav Vujicic1 and Athanasios P. Stamos2
1University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Department of Geography, Tourism and Hotel Management, Trg Dositeja Obradovića 3, Novi Sad, Serbia.
2Principal of the Advanced School of Tourism Education of Rhodes, Greece.
Accepted 24 September, 2019
Abstract
The Greek culture was enormously influenced by the Minoan culture, as was its foundation stone. It had been developing in Crete from the 3rd millennium to 2nd millennium BC and being an ode to joy and life. The frescoes representing noble dresses and jewelry of Cretan females, pleasure in sports activities and nature, as well as serene and happy people are genuine masterpieces. A substantial number of sites with remains of Minoan culture have been discovered on the island of Crete. Pendlebury, a renowned British archaeologist, listed nearly sixty sites of that type in the first phase, above twenty in the second and above sixty in the last phase of Minoan age. The well-known and most significant sites of Minoan culture are Knossos, Festos, Malia, Zakros and Agia Hagia Triada. The most interesting archaeological site is the Palace of Knossos reconstructed with its surroundings, including the cereal storerooms, porches and gardens. The Palace of Knossos, with its Grand Staircase with columns, numerous rooms and the throne room, was the palace of the oldest kingdom in Europe. The elegant throne with its high back, carved in stone has been standing in the same place, flanked by the Griffin (mythological creature half lion, half eagle) fresco. Today, the Minoan culture might be observed at archaeological sites and museums, which have been successfully valorized for tourism purposes. H. du Cros model for tourism valorization will be used to highlight what makes a successful tourism valorization of archaeological sites and museums representing the Minoan culture from the aspect of tourism. Moreover, subindicators in tourism sector analyzing market attractiveness and importance factors in tourism product design as well as management sector analyzing cultural significance and robustness will be applied.
Key words: Minoan culture, archaeological sites, museums, management.