Port of Heraklion

Location

The city of Heraklion is located on the central east part on the island of Crete which is the most southern island of Greece. Heraklion is the most important civil center, the capital and the financial, social and scientific center of the island of Crete. Considering its size, it is the 4th largest city of Greece.

History

The history of the city of Heraklion starts many centuries ago with the development of the Minoan civilization. Knossos was the center of it and Heraklion was said to be its main port. The area was developed mainly because of the beginning of overseas trading by the Minoans. This proved Heraklion had a very strategic position between three continents (Asia, Africa & Europe) which made a lot of emperors, later, wanting to conquer the area.

The Venetians conquered the city for many years and contributed significantly to the architecture of the island and the development of the commercial overseas trading and Heraklion’s port shortly became the most important port of the east Mediterranean area on the crossroads of all the commercial seaways. After the conquest by the Ottomans and then a short period of autonomy, Crete was united with the rest of Greece at 1913 and Heraklion was recognized as its capital in 1970.

Newest facts

Today the city of Heraklion, as the rest of Crete, is based economically mostly on tourism, international trading and agriculture. Its main attractions include the Venetian fortress “Koules” and the walls built around the “old city”, the lions square in the center of the city and the church of Saint Titos. The international airport of Heraklion ‘’Nikos Kazantzakis’’ is one of the busiest ones in the country especially in the summer with connections from all around the world.

Important people from Heraklion

Many significant internationally recognized personalities were born in Heraklion such as the writers and poets Nikos Kazantzakis (known for his novel “Zorba the Greek” and many other) and Odysseus Elytis (nobel prize in literature 1979) as well as the famous painter and sculptor Domenikos Theotokopoulos also known as El Greco.

Local products

The regional area is most famous for the production of olive oil, cheese and crackers. Also, raki is a traditional product of the island, a choice of drink (mostly older people) make quite often.

Geography

Heraklion’s region includes the areas of Knossos, Hersonissos, Malia, Alikarnassos and Stalis.The city of Heraklion is, also, close to the region of Lasithi and more specifically to the areas of Aghios Nikolaos, Sissi, Elounda, Istron and Ierapetra.

Santorini is a top destination connected to Heraklion by the sea and the most famous for a short escape, in less than 2 hours with our vessels.