“We need life and light in our life,” Marinella, our tour guide, said, as she lit a candle in the narthex of a Greek Orthodox church. Today was our first full day in Heraklion. We spent the afternoon and early evening on a walking tour, exploring the different parts of the city such as a Greek Orthodox church.

Heraklion is our third stop on our adventure in Crete. It is also the largest city on the island and the capital of Crete. Its name was given to honor the Greek hero, Heracles. On our journey through these ancient streets, Marinella brought us to a few different Greek Orthodox churches. She led us to the first church named Ayios Titos, after the first bishop of Crete.

The architecture of the church looks very much like a mosque with its blue dome and square ground plan. It was built in the 19th century by architects from the northwest area of Greece. This area of Greece was heavily influenced by Muslim Turks, which explains the mosque-like facade. All of us proceeded into the sacred space, following Marinella’s direction. We congregated in the narthex, the area connecting humans from the physical to the spiritual world in the sanctuary. Marinella, then, crossed herself before she spoke to all of us. As she began to give a brief history of the church, she put money into a collection box and lit a candle.

Marinella then discussed the notion of needing a source of light in our life. Similar to Greeks attending church for spiritual nourishment, I feel that this trip to Crete has given all of us nourishment whether spiritual, cultural, emotional, etc. As a group, we have all had new experiences from traveling overseas, eating foreign food, learning a different language, and more. At least for me, this trip has given me “life and light.” It has opened new doors of culture, taste, and most importantly friendship.