Agios Vasilios Towers
In the village Akoumia in Agios Vasilios province, which is perched on the northern slopes of Mount Asiderotas, there are the ruins of a Turkish tower, although locals believe that it was Venetian. The tower had two or three floors and large windows. It was one of the strongholds of the Turks in the region, which guarded the passage of Agios Vasilios (from Messara plain to Rethymnon).
In the center of the nearby village Vrysses there were two adjacent towers, one large and one smaller. The towers were built with Venetian architecture. Later, the Turks systematically used it against the rebels.
On December 8, 1868 Akoumia area was the theater of murderous battles, where the Turks decimated the rebels. The Turks were supported by the several forts and towers in the region, including a tower in Myrthios near Sellia. The rebels, passing the next morning by Myrthios, were beaten by the Turks of that tower.
Another tower was the Tower of Kontos, against which the Greek rebel Tsouderos attacked at the end of the 1866-69 revolution in order to give a new impetus to the fading revolution. But, although he successfully repulsed the Turks, who arrived from Agouseliana to support the besieged Turks in Myrthios tower, the rebels were later forced to quit.
The Tower of lady Maria in Kissos
Kissos village is located 33.5km southeast of Rethymnon, in the province of Agios Vasilios. There was a tower in the center of the village, ruins of which still exist today. Presumably, it belonged to the legendary Byzantine lady Maria, who lived in the village. During the Venetian period, the tower was used by the Venetians, but the exact details of the owners are unknown. However, during the Turkish Era, it was used as konak (Turkish house) of the Turkish rulers of the region, one of whom was called Aranis and was killed in 1857 by the Christians of Melambes. The tower was demolished by the Christians after 1898.
