The magazine to the north of the Grand staircase took its name from the pithoi (large storage jars) that were found here. The jars have relief disk and rope decoration, a characteristic of the beginning of the New palace period (1700-1450 B.C.). A variety of finds show that the place had also been used as a magazine in the Old Palace period (1900-1700 B.C.).
Next door is the "Corridor of the Bays", where three small openings were used for storage. Many vases and religious artefacts were found here. The magazines were buried at the end of the New Palace period(1700-1459 B.C.).

Here is the so-called "School Room", an area where, according to Evans, scribes were taught to write on clay tablets. He supposed that they kneaded the clay in the built mortar next to the bench. It is more likely, however that it was a workshop for ceramics or wall-painting.
Behind the "School Room" is the "Lapidary's Workshop", where blocks of crude or semi-worked lapis lacedaemoniae (spartan basalt) and stone tools were brought to light.
According to Evans, the main workshop lay on the upper floor from which vases and large stone amphora had fallen to the ground floor.

Here the excavators found a number of very large storage jars (Pithoi) and Evans named the place the "Magazines of the Giant Pithoi". These magazines are one of the older parts of the palace. The pithoi stand out for their size, the number of handles and the richness of their relief decoration with ropes and discs.
To the right of the magazines a staircase which has been reconstructed by Evans descends to the east entrance of the Palace.
The entrance is a robust construction that gives the impression of a "bastion". From this point it would have been easy to reach an important building of the palatial period, the so-called "Royal Villa" which lies outside the main archaeological site.

The Royal Gaming Board was found here, a kind of board game made of ivory, rock crystal, Egyptian blue, silver and gold, now in Heraklion Museum.
To the right of the corridor are the "Royal Pottery Stores", where Kamares pottery of the Old Palace period (1900-1700 B.C.) was uncovered, and to thee left, storage and workshop areas.

An open air narrow passage linked the Central Court with the North Entrance. It was paved and had a strong inclination towards the north. Right and left were two raised colonnades known as "Bastions".
Arthur Evans reconstructed the "Bastion" on the west side. He also placed a copy of a restored relief fresco of a bull here. The wall painting may have formed part of hunting scene.
The passage ends in a large hall with ten square pillars and two columns. The pillars and columns probably supported a large hall on the upper floor. Evans suggested that, due to its position on the seaward side, it was here that the produce of seaborne trade would have been checked when it reached the Palace. It was therefore named the "Customs House".

This room, located beside the north entrance, resembles a cistern. Its floor is lower than the surrounding area and is reached by steps. The "Lustral Basin" was surrounded by columns and was lined with slabs of gypsum giving it a luxurious appearance. In its present form, the area has been completely reconstructed by Evans.
Areas with a similar arrangement have been found in other parts of the palace of Knossos, as well as other palaces and important Minoan buildings of the period (1700-1450 B.C.). It is not known how these places were used. However, from their construction it seems that theu would not have been filled with water, nor was there any drainage. Evans thought that they were used in purification ceremonies and therefore called these places "Lustral Basins". Evans also believed that the Palace was a sacred place. That is why, in his opinion, the "Lustral Basin"in question was used to purify visitors going into th Palace via neighbouring North Entrance.

This area, sited at the north-west edge of the palace, was called the "Theatre" by Evans because its shape reminded him of later theatres. It is a platform and rows of steps that form a right angle. At the base of the stairs is the end of a narrow elevated road that crosses a paved court. Evans believed that the court was used for ceremonies watched by the standing viewers.
The elevated paved road continues in the opposite direction. It passes underneath the modern road to Heraklion, connecting the Palace with the Minoan town, which extended to the West and North.
Evans named the road the "Royal Road". Along the length of the road are town houses with workshops on the ground floor and residential areas on the upper floor.

Villa Ariadne was built at Knossos, Crete, by Sir Arthur Evans soon after he discovered the Minoan palace, when the site was his own private property. The villa became home, in turn, to John Pendlebury, who used it as a base for his excavations at Knossos and his explorations of the island. After Pendlebury's death at the hands of invading German paratroopers, the Villa Ariadne was taken over by General Karl Kreipe, who was living there when he was kidnapped by Patrick Leigh Fermor and his team.
Ariadne villa is surrounded by the only existing Greek Edwardian garden, a large oasis of Cretan and other flora and shrubs in specific formations. The garden has been fully studied by the British School of Archaeology with the participation of special architects and agronomists from Heraklion.

The General Hospital of Heraklion "Venizeleio & Pananio", named after the great statesman Eleftherios Venizelos, is one of the largest hospitals in Crete with 500 organic beds. It is located 4km away from Heraklion center on the road to Knossos, and occupies an area of ​​25,000 sq. meters. Venizeleio hospital provides high quality health services to citizens in a friendly and human environment. It was established in 1953 by a donation of Cretans of America and worked initially for Pulmonary Diseases. It was for many years the major hospital in East Crete.
Telephone: (+30) 2813 408000
Website: www.venizeleio.gr/

Iraklion (Heraklion or Herakleion GR: Ηράκλειον) is the largest urban centre in Crete, the capital of the region and the economic centre of the island. The first European civilisation, the Minoan civilisation, flourished on this land 5000 years ago. Currently the population of Iraklion is approximately 150.000 people. It is a very dynamic and cosmopolitan town, particularly during the summer period when thousands of visitors can be seen shopping in the market or visiting the museums and other places of interest. Today Heraklion is the top choice for tourist destinations in the Mediterranean. The city is also the commercial and scientific centre of the island. During the last 20 years the city has made remarkable progress in the academic and technological fields...

Heraklion International Airport, "Nikos Kazantzakis" (Greek: Κρατικός Αερολιμένας Ηρακλείου, "Νίκος Καζαντζάκης") or Nikos Kazantzakis International Airport (IATA: HER, ICAO: LGIR) is the primary airport on the island of Crete, Greece. It is located about 5km from the main city of Heraklion.
Heraklion International Airport is is one of the biggest in Greece and receives approximately 15% of the total tourist traffic of Greece. There are many airlines currently operating flights from Athens and Thessaloniki to Iraklion (Olympic Airways, Aegean Airlines and others), while during the high season there are flights from/to Rhodes, Mykonos, Santorini and other Greek islands. There are also international airlines that connects Iraklion to other European cities. During the summer season there are numerous chartered flights to Iraklion from all over Europe (mainly Germany, the United Kingdom, Russia, and Holland). During the summer months there is a huge increase in air traffic that peaks in August (approximately 130 flights per day).
Major car-rental companies have desks at the airport. Taxi and public bus are available for transfer from/to Iraklion.

Oasis is the part of the ditch of the new Venetian fortification that corresponds to the Rampant of Jesus. East of the entry of Oasis is the Cyprus square, roughly 600m from the centre of the city. For the first time, Oasis functioned as a small theatre during the 2nd world war when enough pines were cut. Then, up to 1963, a lot of assemblies took place here, mainly political. In 1963, the first serious effort of exploitation of Oasis as summer theatre, which was maintained up to 1976. In 1976 the theatre was created with the form that it has today. It became a modern open theatrical space of 1200 seats with all the necessary comforts.

Behind the "N.Kazantzakis open theatre", in the low square of the Gate of Jesus, was made after the proposal of Manos Hatzidakis and the design of Dionysis Fotopoulos, the Small Open Theatre, that recently named after the famous composer. It is constructed in a way so that is not caused damage in the Venetian Walls, that have been characterized as preservable monuments. In the "Manos Hatzidakis open theatre" (400 - 450 seats), as in "N.Kazantzakis open theatre" a lot of important events took place during the Heraklion Summer Festival.

The bastion heart shaped in plan with an acute angle, has two "piazza bassa" and one cavalier. It defines the southeast and the highest part of the fortification. Its name is due to Gabriele Tadini Martinego (1520) who started the construction of a circular tower at the place of the later bastion. It was one of the strongest bastions (the others were that of Pantocratora and that of Vittouri) which also suffered the main attack and most of the bombardment from the Turks.
On the top of the bastion itself there was made a cavalier (which looks like a smaller bastion), whose main purpose was the better defense and control of the area around the bastion.

The grave of Nikos Kazantzakis, the famous Cretan writer, is situated on the highest point of the Venetian fortification at the Martinego cavalier. The inscription by the wooden cross reads: " I hope for nothing. I fear nothing. I am free ", a phrase taken from "The Odyssey" which Kazantzakis considered as one of his most significant works.

The playgrounds of the Academy of the local football team "Ergotelis" are located today on the main bastion and in the ditch around the bastion are the botanical gardens of the city.

Since 1985, with hard work, we have managed to become well known and trusted car hire company, not only in Crete but also amongst our numerous customers from Europe and other countries. We are the cheapest in town. We deliver to port, airport and hotels. Full insurance without excess. - New models, Safe Cars, Special Offers.
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The Emmetropia Mediterranean Lasik Eye Clinic, a private-sector ophthalmic surgery clinic, offers advanced vision correction in a patient-centered environment. Access to conventional and cutting-edge refractive surgery technologies such us Lasik, Lasek and more, for a wide range of vision problems, enable our physicians to optimize results by meeting each patient´s individual needs.

This 2 km long sandy beach was for years and still is the favorite beach of the people of Heraklion town. It is named after the river "Karteros" which outflows at the west end of it near the airport. The water is clean, the seabed is sandy with smoothly shelving and swimming is safe. The access is free in most parts except for some areas that are reserved for military personnel and the municipal beach "Akti" where visitors should pay an entrance fee in order to use the facilities. At the east end there are some very good taverns offering fresh fish among their specialties and are very popular with locals and tourists alike.

It is next to the external Gate of St. George, underneath the statue of Eleutherios Venizelos. Within an arched construction, which its top is decorated with floral elements, there is a plaque and the spout is within a relief decorated frame. The water was collected in a marble basin of a similar decoration.

The Gate of Agios Geórgios (GR: Πύλη Αγίου Γεωργίου - Saint George also called the Gate of Maroula or Lazaretto) was one of the central gates of Chandax during the Venetian period. Today it connects Eleftherias Square with Ikarou Avenue and at the same time is used as an exhibition venue.
The gate used to lead towards the eastern provinces of the city, the Maroula suburb and the Lazaretto. Designed by Giulio Savorgnan and dedicated to St. George, the monumental city side facade featured a relief medallion of the warrior saint on horseback, set directly above the finely carved stones that formed the main portal. This monumental facade was demolished in 1917 for the opening of today’s Democratias Avenue. Of the gate today, its entrance towards Ikarou Avenue is preserved, the internal domed hall and part of its climbing arcade which have been restored by the Municipality of Heraklion.

Anemóspilia (GR: Aνεμόσπηλια). Anemospilia is an archeological site at the northern foot of Mount Yuchtas, in the prefecture of Heraklion in Crete. A rectangular building has been found which dates from the Minoan era and was destroyed by an earthquake in the 17th century BC.
The building with three narrow chambers, each opening into a long corridor to the north, which extends along the whole width of the building. The area is enclosed with a stone wall and the whole structure has been interpreted as a shrine; in the central room was found a "xoanon" (statue) of the deity worshiped here. In the west room, where the altar stood, was uncovered, according to the excavator, the first human sacrifice to have ever taken place in Minoan times. (although this view has been challenged).
The building at Anemospelia was used for only half a century, as it was suddenly destroyed by an earthquake in the middle of the 17th century B.C. The site was excavated in the summer of 1979 by John Sakellarakis.



Links:
Minoan Religion (Foundation of the Hellenic World)