Crete, Greek Island, Greece

Crete, sometimes spelled Krete is the largest of the Greek islands and the fifth largest in the Mediterranean Sea. It is the Greek island closest to North Africa.

It has an area of 8,300 square kilometres, a coastline of 1,040 kilometres, and a population of over 500,000. It consists of four prefectures: Chania, Rethimno, Heraklion and Lasithi. It has three significant airports, Nikos Kazantzakis at Heraklion, military airport Daskalogiannis at Chania and the new Public Airport (will open not before mid 2005) in Sitia. Among its principal cities are Heraklion (Iraklion), Chania, Rethimno, Agios Nikolaos, Ierapetra, Sitia.

Tourist attractions in Crete include archeological sites at Knossos, Phaistos, Gortys and many other places, the Venetian castle in Rethimno, the Samaria Gorge and many other minor gorges (Agia Irini, Aradena, etc).

Crete was the location of Minoan civilization (3000-1400 BC) one of the first civilizations in Europe.

Heraklion

Heraklion, also Heraklio, Iraklion or '''Irakl io''' is the major city and capital of the island of Crete. It is also the capital of the prefecture of the same name. It has an international airport named after the writer Nikos Kazantzakis. The ruins of Knossos, which were excavated and restored by Arthur Evans, are nearby.

History

As mentioned above, Iraklion is close to the ruins of the palace of Knossos, which in Minoan times was the biggest centre of population on Crete. So it is very likely that there was a port here as long ago as 2000 BC. There is however no archaeological evidence for such a port.

The present city of Iraklion was founded in 824 AD by the Saracens (an Arabic Muslim people). They built a giant ditch around the city for protection. They named the city Khandak, meaning 'moat', after the ditch. The Saracens allowed the port to be used as a safe haven for pirates, much to the annoyance of the nearby Byzantine Empire.

In 961, the Byzantines attacked and defeated the city, slaughtered all the Saracens, looted the city and burned it to the ground. They remained in control of the rebuilt Khandak for about the next 150 years.

In 1204, the city was bought by the Venetians as part of a complicated political deal which involved among other things, the Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade restoring the deposed Byzantine emperor Isaac II Angelus to his throne. The Venetians improved on the ditch by building enormous fortifications, most of which are still in place, including a giant wall, in places up to 40m thick, with 7 bastions, and a fortress in the harbour. The name Khandak became Candia in Italian. The city retained the name of Candia for centuries, and the whole island of Crete was often called Candia as a result.

After the Venetians came the Turks of the Ottoman Empire. They besieged the city for 22 years in a bloody war in which 30,000 Cretans and 120,000 Turks died. The Venetians eventually handed it over in 1669. The city was renamed during the Turkish occupation to Megalo Kastro (big castle). During their occupation, the harbour silted up, so they moved most of their business to Hania in the west of the island.

The city only became truly Greek with the withdrawal of the Turks in 1898. At this stage, the Greeks decided to rename the city to something Greek, so they chose the name Iraklion, meaning City of Heracles (Hercules), after the port of Heracleum which had existed somewhere in the locality in Roman times.

The biggest monument of the city in the Venetian medieval castle located on the port.

Agios Nikolaos

Agios Nikolaos is a port town on the Greek island of Crete.

It is located in the east of the island, east of its capital Heraklion, and west of the town of Sitia, on the Mediterranean Sea. In the year 2000 the town had about 19,000 inhabitants.

The name Agios Nikolaos means Saint Nicholas; Nicholas is the patron saint of sailors. The stress lies on the second syllable of the word "Nikolaos".

It is easy to reach the town by bus. There is a regularly scheduled bus service along the northern coast of Crete, and it takes several hours to get from Heraklion to Agios Nikolaos.

There is a small beach near the inner city (see picture). Also, there is a small lake near the harbour, Lake Voulismeni, along which there are terraces.

The archeological museum has artifacts from the Minoan era. There is a folk museum in the city as well.