⭐ 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.

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Fortetsa Tower

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A few meters east of Fortetsa settlement in Heraklion city, amid a fertile valley with olive and vineyards, we meet a small 7m high tower overlooking the area to the sea. The tower was not defensive, as it was built during the Second World War by locals and was used as an Electric Power Station.

Malia Koules

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South of Malia rises a small mountain which locals call Kouledes. Its name is taken after the Turkish fortresses (koule) built by the Ottomans to control the fertile plain of Malia. The Turkish forts of Malia had eye contact so as to communicate in case of emergency. Although they have almost been completely destroyed, the existence of so many fortresses in such close distance indicated how important the plane of Malia and the surrounding passages were for the Ottomans.

Tower of Malaxa

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Malaxa, apart from a village, is a mountainous area, the hills of which block the plains of Kydonia plain from the south. It is a fortified area that rises up opposite Souda Bay, which has several times been a scene of warfare between Crete and its occasional conquers.

Viannos Towers

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Ano Viannos during the Venetian era was the largest village in the province of Belvedere. It was therefore necessary for the Venetians to fortify the area very well. As we can see even today, there are some ruins of a Venetian tower found on the western part of the village, which was also used by the Turks.

The Tower of Kerimides

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Episkopi village is located in Mylopotamos provice, near Perama. There lived the Cretan-Turkish family of Kerimides (Kerimoglou) or Kyrimides. They built this tower there, so as to protect their property.

Stergiano Tower at Vasilies

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The tower was first mentioned in a document of 1226 and still stands in very bad condition. It could accommodate 150 people and had a fortified enclosure. It construction reveals its Venetian origins, but it was also used by the Turks.

Ambela Tower

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Inside the Kritsa village, at position Ambela, we meet the ruins of a small medieval tower with one arch still standing. Apparently the tower was used for overseeing the crops of the region, but also for controlling the passage to Kritsa.

Unknown towers of Crete

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Several towers were built in other areas of the prefecture of Heraklion. In Panasos, in the Turkish neighborhood located 500m southeast of the village, there was a tower, which was used by the Turks during the great revolution of 1821.

Forts

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