Around 1500 BC, the great Minoan civilization thrived on the islands of Crete and Santorin in the eastern Mediterranean. A guided tour of the legendary sites at Akrotiri, Phasestus, Ayía Triáda and Knosses culminates in a visit to the palace of Minos, famous for its mythical labyrinth. Minoans were traders, and their cultural contacts reached far beyond the island of Crete — to Egypt's Old Kingdom, to copper-bearing Cyprus, Canaan, and the Levantine coasts beyond, and to Anatolia. In late 2009, Minoan-style frescoes and other Minoan-style artifacts were discovered during excavations of the Canaanite palace at Tel Kabri, Israel, leading archaeologists to conclude that the Minoan influence was the strongest foreign influence on that Caananite city state. These are the only Minoan remains ever found in Israel.
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