Accommodations of any kind can be found here as well as taverns, restaurants and bars. Only a section of the first palace is preserved, northwest of the building. Copyright 2020 © About Heraklion.com, All Rights Reserved. This is the version of our website addressed to speakers of English in the United States. Undoubtedly, during the Minoan and Mycenaean periods, Knossos was the most important city, an economic and cultural centre. The village has retained its traditional features, such as old houses, uphill narrow streets and stone fountains, in the shadow of old plane trees. In Heraklion, scooters zip past Minoan and medieval relics such as the seaside Koules Fortress, while Turkish fountains bubble up in the shadow of apartment blocks. The town expands over a large area and is divided into the old and the modern part. The destruction of the new palace occurred in 1450 BC, along with the destruction of the other Minoan palatial centres.Today, visitors of Malia may see the ruins of the New Palace period. Most notably, Heraklion hosts OFI and Ergotelis, two football clubs with earlier presence in the Greek Superleague, the top tier of the Greek football league system. It was named after the nearby town of Malia. During the Cretan War (1645–1669), the Ottomans besieged the city for 21 years, from 1648 to 1669, perhaps the longest siege in history. Between 1600 and 1525[13] BC, the port was destroyed by a volcanic tsunami from nearby Santorini, leveling the region and covering it with ash. From 1922 to 1937, there was a working industrial railway, which connected the Koules in Heraklion to Xiropotamos for the construction of the harbor. This settlement served as a port of Knossos at the time.In 824 AD, the Saracens captured this settlement and named it El Khandak (= moat) because of the strong walls protecting the city, surrounded by a deep moat. [9] This was hellenized as Χάνδαξ (Chándax) or Χάνδακας (Chándakas) and Latinized as Candia, which was taken into other European languages: in Italian and Latin as Candia, in French as Candie, in English as Candy, all of which could refer to the island of Crete as a whole as well as to the city alone; the Ottoman name was Kandiye. The best outdoor activities in Heraklion according to Tripadvisor travelers are: What are the best day trips from Heraklion? The palace is surrounded by the houses of one of the most important Minoan towns. . It remained inhabited throughout the Middle Minoan period, but it is still unknown how important the city was at that time. It is situated 65km southeast of Heraklion Town. The 1960s and early 1970s saw an increase in the number of foreigners who visited the caves. About Heraklion A boisterous port city on the surface, this urban capital of Crete hides millennia of history beneath its modern trappings. In 960, Byzantine forces under the command of Nikephoros Phokas, later to become Emperor, landed in Crete and attacked the city. The Venetians improved on the ditch of the city by building enormous fortifications, most of which are still in place, including a giant wall, in places up to 40 m thick, with 7 bastions, and a fortress in the harbour. Moreover, there is a bus service every 10 minutes to Knossos. ), Metallurgy in the Early Bronze Age Aegean (Sheffield Studies in Aegean Archaeology, 7, 2007), pp. Heraklion, the city that will never disappoint you. Please contact us via email at [email protected], Greece.com is a private, commercial website. When the Old Palace was completely destroyed, a new palace was built from scratch. Venetians ruled here until 1699, when the town, now named Candia, starting flourishing. Its proximity to the capital has made this beach one of the most popular and thus, gets crowded during summer. The present city of Heraklion was founded in 824 by the Arabs under Abu Hafs Umar who had been expelled from Al-Andalus by Emir Al-Hakam I and had taken over the island from the Eastern Roman Empire. Furthermore, west of the palace, lies the Venetian church of St. George of Phalandra. Heraklion was Europe's fastest growing tourism destination for 2017, according to Euromonitor, with an 11.2% growth in international arrivals. The modern town still develops and the municipality has made a lot of effort to preserve the old and authentic character of Malia. Dry hot days are often relieved by seasonal breezes. [6] According to the ranking, Heraklion was ranked as the 20th most visited region in Europe, as the 66th area on the Planet and as the 2nd in Greece for the year 2017, with 3.2 million visitors[7] and the 19th in Europe for 2018, with 3.4 million visitors.[8]. Worth seeing is also the Megaron of the Mycenaean type, built over the storerooms of the Royal Villa, as well as the church of St. George.3. Today, visitors of Phaistos can see the Old and the New Palace. After the fall of the Minoans, Heraklion, as well as the rest of Crete in general, fared poorly, with very little development in the area. At 7,500m², it is the third largest of the Minoan palaces. Because Heraklion is further south than Athens, it has a warmer climate during winter but cooler during summer because of the Aegean sea. Further west, lie the official rooms of the palace. It is a temperate Mediterranean climate with hot and dry summers, moderated by northern winds, and mild, rainy winters in the plains. A boisterous port city on the surface, this urban capital of Crete hides millennia of history beneath its modern trappings. European route E75 runs through the city and connects Heraklion with the three other major cities of Crete: Agios Nikolaos, Chania, and Rethymno. 827–961). This coastal town welcomes thousands of visitors every summer and has all necessary tourist facilities. Visit top-rated & must-see attractions. In Hellenistic times, the city prospered; houses of the period can be seen in the west court of the palace. Amoudara: This beach is situated in the Gulf of Heraklion, 5km west of the capital, on the northern coast of the prefecture. A new temperature record for February was set at 27.8 °C, reached on 15 February 2016.[24]. Accommodation is plenty and for every budget, both in the village and in the nearby tourist resorts of Mononaftis, Lygaria, Made and Paleokastro. Julies Apartments Kokkini Hani Heraklion Crete. Many fountains of the Venetian era are preserved, such as the Bembo fountain, the Priuli fountain, Palmeti fountain, Sagredo fountain and Morosini fountain (in Lions Square). Today the city has a population of 150,000 people, the fourth biggest in Greece. Heraklion is Crete's biggest city (among Chania, Rethimno, Agios Nikolaos, Sitia, Ierapetra), whose emblem is the Venetian fortress of Koules and it harmoniously combines a multilingual past as Byzantine churches standing next to the Venetian mansions and Turkish fountains and a thriving present with many restaurants, coffee shops and bars that cater to every taste. Partly sandy and partly pebbly, the beaches have crystal-clear waters and an interesting seabed. It is situated 27km east of Heraklion Town and has a wide range of hotels for every budget, rooms to let as well as camp sites. Accommodations and restaurants can be found here. Zeus Cave-Traditional-Villages-Old Wind Mills-Olive Oil Factory-Small Group.
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