CHANIA, CRETE, GREECE - General Information, Places to Visit
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GREECE,
CRETE, CITY OF CHANIA or HANIA
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Chania
also spelled Hania is the second city of Crete and the capital
of the prefecture of the same name. It lies along the North coast
of Crete, about 70 km west of Rethymno and 145 km west of Heraklion.
Despite being heavily bombed in World War II, Chania's old city
is considered Crete's most beautiful town, especially the crumbling
Venetian harbour with its 15th century lighthouse and the Mosque
of the Janissaries. Many of the old buildings have been restored
as hotels, shops and bars, although the Splantzia quarter behind
the inner harbour and Venetian Arsenals is still largely untouched
and very atmospheric. The 1860 Greek Orthodox Cathedral is located
in a square facing the entrance to the 1879 Roman Catholic cathedral
across Halidhon street. The Synagogue - Etz Hayyim in the Topanas
District, has been restored in recent years after falling into
disrepair when the Jewish community of Chania was transported
off the island by the Nazi occupiers in 1944. Tragically a British
torpedo sank the ship Tanais carrying most of the Jewish prisoners,
killing the island's pre-war community. The city boasts archaeological,
naval history and folklore museums, art galleries and many stores
and tavernas in the old town. The 1913 indoor market, a large
building based on the market of Marseilles, is on the edge of
the old town and is popular with tourists and locals alike. In
the new town that spreads out some distance there are popular
boutiques and cafes as well as the University, Town Hall and Hospital.
Some 60,000 people live in Chania.
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GREECE, CRETE, PREFECTURE OF CHANIA or HANIA
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Chania
prefecture is one of the four
prefectures of Crete and covers the Westernmost quarter of the
island. Districts include the verdant Apokoronas, the mountainous
Sfakia and Selino in the far South West corner. Some notable towns
in the Chania prefecture are: Hora Sfakion, Kastelli-Kissamos,
Paleohora, Maleme, Vrisses, Vamos, Georgioupolis and Kalives.
The natural park of Samaria Gorge, a major tourist attraction
and a refuge for the rare Cretan wild goat or kri kri, is in the
South of the prefecture of Chania. The White Mountains or Lefka
Ori, through which the Samaria, Aradena, Imbros and other gorges
run, are the limestone peaks topped by snow until May that occupy
much of Chania prefecture. They contain more than 40 peaks over
2,000 meters high. The highest peak in this area is Pahnes, at
2,452 meters above sea level. Western Crete is popular with tourists
for its spring flowers that linger on into early May in the mountains.
Bird watching is also popular, with the lammergeier and golden
eagle especially sought for. As an island, Crete has many endemic
species of plant and animal. Crete's only freshwater lake, Lake
Kournas, is in the prefecture close to the border with Rethimnon
prefecture, 47 km from Chania. It is relatively large, with a
perimeter of 3.5 km. The lake used to be called 'Korisia' after
ancient 'Korion', a city thought to be in the area with a temple
to Athena. The lake used to be reportedly full of eels but now
is better known for its terrapins and tourists. Tavernas and pedalo
rental shops line part of the shore. Overall, however, the lake
retains its beauty, the White Mountains reflected in the mirror-like
waters.
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GREECE, CRETE, HOW TO GET TO CHANIA
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Chania
Transportation: The city has
an international airport code CHQ on the Akrotiri Peninsula
named after Daskalogiannis, a Sfakiot hero who was skinned by
the Turks in the 18th century. There are several flights a day
from Athens to Chania, with Aegean Airlines or Olympic Airlines.
From April to early November, there are many direct charter flights
to Chania from the UK, Germany, Scandinavia and other European
countries.
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GREECE, CRETE, CHANIA - HISTORY
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Chania
History: Chania is the site of
the Minoan settlement of Kydonia, the Greek for quince. The
city reemerged after the end of the Minoan period as an important
city-state in Classical Greece whose domain extended from Hania
Bay to the feet of the White Mountains. Kydonia was constantly
at war with other city-states such as Aptera, Falasarna and Polyrrinia
and was important enough to be mentioned in Homer's Odyssey. In
69 BC the Roman Consul Metellus defeated the Cretans and conquered
Kydonia to which he granted the privileges of an independent city-state.
Kydonia reserved the right to mint its own coins until the 3rd
century AD. The early Christian period under Byzantine rule is
not well-documented. The Arabs overtook the island by 824 and
first called the settlement Chania. Again there is little from
this period which was largely an enslavement of the people rather
than a colonization. The Byzantine Empire retook the city in 961.
They began to fortify the city to prevent another Arab invasion.
After the Fourth Crusade and the dismantling of the Byzantine
empire, in 1204, Crete was given to Bonifacio, Marquis de Montferrat.
He, in turn, chose to sell it to the Venetians for 100 silver
marks. In 1252 the Venetians managed to subdue the Cretans but
in 1263, the Genoans, with local support, seized the city under
the leadership of the Count of Malta, Henrico Pescatore, and held
it until 1285 when the Venetians returned. Chania was chosen as
the seat of the Rector Administrator General of the region and
flourished as a significant commercial centre of a fertile agricultural
region. Contact with Venice led to close intertwining of Cretan
and Venetian cultures. The city's name became La Canea and fortifications
were built around the city, against invaders and pirates, giving
Chania the form that it still has today. However the walls did
not prevent the Turkish army overrunning the city in 1645 after
just two months siege. The Turks landed near the Monastery of
Gonia in Kissamos, which they plundered and burnt. They seized
Chania itself on 2 August 1645. Huge numbers died in the siege,
particularly Turks. The Turkish commander was executed on returning
home for losing up to 40,000 men. Most churches were turned into
mosques and the riches of the city were taken. The Turks resided
mainly in the eastern quarters, Kastelli and Splantzia, where
they converted the Dominican church of St Nicholas into the central
Sovereign's Mosque Houghiar Tzamissi. They also built new
mosques such as Kioutsouk Hassan Tzamissi on the harbour. Public
baths - Hamam, and fountains were a feature of the Turkish city.
The pasha of the island resided in Chania. In 1821, as Greece
rose against the Ottomans, many Christians were slaughtered and
the Bishop of Kissamos, Melhisethek Thespotakis was hanged from
a tree in Splantzia. In 1878, the Treaty of Halepa was signed
and Christians were granted certain rights. Eleftherios Venizelos,
who hailed from Mournies near Chania, was a leader of the 1896
uprising against Ottoman rule and went on to be Prime Minister
of Greece and a great statesman. His tomb is on a hill overlooking
Chania. In 1898, during the final moves towards independence and
enosis with Greece, the Great Powers made Chania the capital of
the semiautonomous Cretan State, with Prince George of Greece,
the High Commissioner of Crete living here. The district of Halepa
has many fine neoclassical embassies and consulates dating from
this period. Crete issued its own stamps and money. The capital
was moved to Heraklion in 1971
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