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Places near Agia Aikaterini


The Nautical Museum of Crete is located at the entrance of the historical fortress "Firka". It was founded in 1973 in order to promote the nautical traditions and history of the island. The Museum cooperates and interacts with other Nautical Museums in Greece and abroad.
The permanent exhibition includes 2.500 items, such as relics, objects found in the bottom of the sea, paintings, maps, photographs, models of ships, nautical equipment etc. The exhibits are organized in units, in chronological order from the Copper Age until today. There is also a special exhibition of sea environment, with a rich collection of shells from different places of the world.
An important development step for the Nautical Museum is the creation of a permanent exhibition of ancient and traditional shipbuilding. The main exhibit of the museum is the reconstructed Minoan ship “Minoa” an experimantal model, faithful copy of the original ancient commercial ship. Other exhibits are the tools and the materials that were used for its manufacture, some photographs and a map of its experimental travel.

The fortress Revellino del Porto on the northwest side of the port of Chania was constructed by Venetians to prevent any enemy danger for the port. Its construction began in 1610 and completed a few years before the fall of the city in Turks in 1645.
The interior was organized to barracks and ammunition storage areas. It was also the headquarters of the Army Commander of the city. In about the middle of the courtyard, there is a large domed water tank that gathered rain water from the roofs. On the northern side of the wall there are six arched openings that included cannons for the protection of the entrance of the harbour.
During the Turkish period Revellino was used as barrack (Firka = barrack), for that reason the name Firka is still used today. The arched openings were used as prisons from the Turkish period to the civil war. On the corner watch tower of the Fortress the Greek flag of the Unification of Crete was raised on December 1st 1913 in an official ceremony. Today, at the entrance of the Fortress is situated the Maritime Museum of Crete.

It is located in the internal part of north-westernside of the fortification walls that was renamed to Monastery of Saint Salvatore. The exhibition is focused on the historical and artistic identity of region of Chania during the Byzantine and Post-Byzantine period.
The exhibits have been separated in units according to their category (Mosaics, Signs, murals, ceramic, sculptures, coins etc.) and are placed in chronological order, accompanied by information tables and maps.

One of the most important constructions of the Venetian Period is the Entrance of Renier Mansion. It is a palace (Palazzo) of the homonym Venetian-Cretan family with a small family chapel of Agios Nikolaos and the impressive entrance with the Latin sign and the blazon of the family.
The largest part of this building is still preserved with some alterations. Over the arched gate of the entrance, the inscription is still preserved: “MULTA TULIT, FECITQUE AT STUDUIT DULCES/PATER, SUDAVIT ET ALSIT SEMPER REQUIES CERENAT, MDC VIII. IDI B. IAN” ("Many things he brought, done and studied, the sweet father, who worked hard. May he rest in peace 1608").

The Etz Hayyim Synagogue (Hebrew: בית הכנסת עץ חיים) is the only surviving remnant of the once Romaniote Jewish community on the Greek isle of Crete. After being restored, the synagogue (with its Mikveh) has become a tourist destination.
Today the community is a symbol of a good living together. The community life has revived while almost all congregants are Non-Jews. Occasionally a Rabbi or (at the jewish holidays) someone who is able to blow the shofar visits the community. An International team takes care of the congregation work. Christians and Muslims are invited to visit the meetings and in opposition to other Jewish Congregations in Europe, the visitors have not to show their passport at the entrance.
Despite of the community's romaniote past, the congregation today uses primarily the sefardic custom of Greece and has developed its own Haggadah text.

Bulwark San Salvatore
This is located on the North-west corner of the Venician fortifications and it was named after the Monastery of San Salvatore, still surviving in the area. Over this bulwark, there is a four-sided watch-tower which, together with the Fort of Fircas, could protect the sea and a part of the west side of the fortifications.

The Municipal Art Gallery of Chania constitutes a unique place of culture that hosts works of painting, engraving and sculpture of Greek creators and local artists, that are dated by the 18th century until today. Core of the collection of works that are exposed in the Municipal Art Gallery of Chania was the donation of Lykourgos Manoysakis during the end of decade 1950.
Then followed important donations, as that of Kostas Ioannidis and Panagiotis Grabbalos, as well as offers of individual works from many artists, natives and foreigners. The Municipal Art Gallery of Chania, centre of wider cultural creation, develops significant editorial activity while it organises and hosts exhibitions, speeches, meetings, educational programs and other activities, during the whole year.

During the Venetian and Turkish period, Chania presented a high development in commerce and marine mercantile. Not only in imports but also the export of various products was notable, despite the lack of a large and safe port. Since this time, it was common knowledge that the port of Chania was vulnerable due to the weather conditions and for this reason it was not considered an appropriate port. The natural port of Souda, on the other hand, was in a much better position and was perfect for a port. After the occupation of the city by the Genoans, the need for the construction of a port was once again highlighted, and the local authorities started the construction works during the Venetian period. In 1302, the request was submitted to the government by the Rector Marino Gradenigo and was finally accepted.The first phase of the construction of the port was between 1320 and 1356. However, during this time it was once again realized that the natural condition and morphology of the port was inappropriate, as the port was overall small in size and shallow, it was vulnerable to north and west winds, and its east basin suffered from alluvions. Thus, the reports of the officials often record the urgent need to clean and deepen the port (especially its east basin).After the revolution of "Aghios Titos" (1363-64), the port of Chania is abandoned and the port of Heraklion is used instead, as the port of Rethymnon presented similar problems. During the Venetian period, in 1551, a second request was submitted to deepen the port of Chania and to construct a wall with battlements to protect the ships from the rocks and reefs.In 1645 however, the city falls into the hands of the Turkish army after siege. The occupation of Crete by the Turks was official in 1669, after 25 years of war, when "Handakas" (Heraklion) fell. The new rulers of Crete had no interest to maintain the port of Chania, which was completely neglected during the Turkish period.Between the years1831-1841, Crete was assigned to the Regent of Egypt, Mehmet Ali, as a gift for his services to the Sultan during the 1821 revolution in Crete and Peloponnese. The value of the port of Chania was then recognized, as well as its potential to improve the local economy. It is said that Mehmet Ali ordered Mustapha Pasha to clean the basin of the port of Chania, to conduct maintenance works and to construct the lighthouse. Indeed, the construction works were finally completed, after a lot of effort and money.However, even then the ships were not able to approach the land, especially when the weather conditions were harsh, and the passengers and goods were transferred by small boats from the ships to the land, in front of the Mosque of "Kioutsouk Hassan", commonly known as "Giali Tzamisi". Nowadays, the picturesque Venetian port of Chania gathers a large number of visitors and local people, especially during the summer months. There are many restaurants, taverns, bars and cafeterias lengthwise to the coastline to offer you a pleasant time and entertainment.

The Egyptian Lighthouse, which is one of the oldest in the world, prevails in the old Port of Chania. The sea-tossed stone lighthouse that is located at the edge of the breakwater, is not only the “guard” of the old Venetian port, but also its most famous jewel.
The lighthouse was constructed by the Venetians at the end of 16th century. It has been reconstructed by the Egyptians during the period 1830-40, when English had assigned Crete to the regent of Egypt, Mehmet Ali. At the end of the Ottoman empire, the project had been completed with the addition of the ladder in its east side, as well as pipes, through which passes sea water under the surface of its base. The lighthouse has a hight of 21m, height from sea surface 26m and its light reaches a distance of 7 miles. Its base is oktagonal, the middle part has 16 angles, while the top part is circular.

The beach is at the end of the "Nea Chora" district, a developing area that extends to the northwest of the city of Chania. To the left, there was a large building complex, the old soap factory of "ABEA". Its high funnel is still preserved. Across the factory there is the National Water Sports Center of Chania and the Nautical Association.
In the district of "Nea Chora" there is a small fishing port and a clean sandy beach. Lengthwise the beach there are several good quality fish taverns. The "Sardine Festival" is organized every summer at the beach of Nea Chora, with traditional music, dances and free fish for the visitors