⭐ Travel Guide for Island Crete ⛵, Greece❗

Crete in ancient times was not threatened by external enemies. The first external enemies of the island were the Romans. Therefore, till then, the fortification of cities was focused on internal enemies. After the Roman Empire (67 BC-330 AD) things changed radically. Crete became a province of the Eastern Roman Empire, which later transformed to the Byzantine Empire. At the same time, several civilizations started developing around the Mediterranean Sea.

Thus, Crete, because of its natural and geopolitical position, acquired great importance and became an "apple of discord" for the civilizations of the Mediterranean. During the First Byzantine Period (330-824) things looked calm. For that reason, combined with the internal and external problems of the Empire, the island was on the fringes of the Byzantine interest. Thus, pirate raids increased and the seaside monasteries were fortified to protect themselves.

Under these circumstances, the first storm on the island was imminent. The Saracen pirates managed to easily occupy Crete in 824, that was almost defenseless. They settled for 140 years, till 961, during which they fortified the largest town, today’s Heraklion. After continuous failures to reoccupy Crete, Nikiforos Fokas managed to liberate the island from pirates in 961. Then, the Byzantines built new walls, which managed to keep invaders away for a few more centuries.

In 1206, Crete passed into the hands of the Genoese, who immediately gave particular importance to the fortification of the island. Within a few years the fortified three castles and 12 fortresses, but still the Venetians managed to occupy the island in 1209. The Venetian Era in Crete lasted for 4.5 centuries and was mainly dependant on the colossal fortification structures. The best Venetian engineers built the Great Castle of Candia (Heraklion). The Turks managed to take over Candia in 1669 after 22 years (!) of besieging and immediately started restoring the Venetian Forts and built a lot of small fortresses across the Cretan Territory, called Koules. The Turks took care of their forts till the end of their presence on the island.

Even today, visitors can get an idea of what the fortified cities of Crete were like, as the walls are still in excellent condition. The impressive castles in Chania, Rethymnon and Heraklion and the fortresses on the islands of Souda, Gramvousa, Spinalonga are but a few samples of Cretan fort architecture.

Show Map

Kavalos Fort

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Rating 4.00 (3 Votes)

The Fort of Kavalos is located at an elevated position east of the village Larani and apparently belonged to a lord of the area who wanted to control his lands.

Fort Monopari (Castel Bonriparo)

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Rating 4.00 (3 Votes)

16km south of Rethymno, near the settlement of Monopari in Varsamonero, there is a steep and isolated hill, encircled by the local torrent. The hill is called Kastellos and, atop of it, the Genoese pirate Henry Pescatore founded one of the 15 forts built by the Genoese all over Crete in 1206. The fort was named Bonriparo (meaning strong fort), after which the village Monopari is named.

Castel Malvicino (Malevizi Fort)

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Rating 3.00 (2 Votes)

The fort Malvicino or Malvesin is located on a hill near the village Keramoutsi at a position that now is named Castel Malevizi. It occupied an excellent position in the inner land, which offered great views over almost the entire province of Malevizi (getting its name after the castle).

The tower of Mouzouras

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Rating 3.50 (4 Votes)

The tower of Mouzouras is a three storeydefensive building of the Venetian Era or more likely of the early Ottoman period, which is reserved in a very good condition. The tower was built with the same architecture with the towers at the corners of the fortification walls of Gouverneto monastery.

Vainia Tower

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Rating 3.75 (4 Votes)

Above the village Vainia of Ierapetra you will meet the top of Stavros (Cross) with the white chapel of the Holy Cross in panoramic point that controls the entire isthmus of Ierapetra. Just a few meters away from the chapel at position Pirgos (i.e. tower) there is an unknown and forgotten Venetian tower. Its square shape surrounds a semicircular prominence, like as artistic edging.

Meronas Koules

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Rating 2.67 (6 Votes)

One of the many defensive towers (koule) built by the Turks at the strategic places that controlled the passages between the different regions of Crete and was the Koule of Meronas, next to the current church dedicated to Prophet Elijah. The point has panoramic views to the valleys of Amari and Potami. The Koule survives in bad condition.

Koules of Agios Ioannis

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Rating 3.50 (2 Votes)

The Koules of St. John still stands deserted, while the visitor still sees the cisterns for storing water. The place can be accessed via a trail crossing the beautiful landscape with cypress trees and the views of the Libyan Sea.

Kourmoulis Towers at Kouses

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Rating 3.67 (3 Votes)

The village Kouses is located west of Pompia and 62km southwest of Heraklion. Here lived the crypto-Christian family of Kourmoulis, numbering around 100 families in 1821.

Forts

Also read: