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.

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.

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.

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.

The Port of Heraklion is the main and most modern gateway for the transport of passengers and commodities on the island of Crete.
There are three main companies that connect Iraklion to mainland Greece, Minoan Lines, Superfast Ferries and ANEK. During the winter months there are daily trips from Athens to Iraklion. The trip takes approximately 6 - 9 hours by ferry boat. The ships depart Athens in the evening (10.30 p.m.) and arrive in Iraklion at 5:00 - 6:00 a.m. There is also a weekly trip to Thessaloniki. During the summer season all companies operate also an extra daily trip that departs in the morning from Athens and arrives at Iraklion port in the afternoon. Finally various other companies operate ships connecting Iraklion with other island in the Aegean (Rodos, Santorini etc.). Daily cruises are also offered to the island of Santorini.

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.
No deposit required for booking.

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.

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/

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.

Petrokéfalo (GR: Πετροκέφαλο) lies 16km from Iraklion and 3km from Agios Myron at 340m a.s.l with 248 inhabitants.
It is built on a rocky hillside. The hill' shape resembles to a human head and it is supposed that the village owes its name to this (petrokefali = stone head) .
The settlement was fortified and lately were discovered significant ancient findings.
The patron Saint is "Agia Paraskevi" and there is a village feast on the 8^th September in her honour.

Picture(s):
• Panoramic

Pentamódi (GR: Πενταμόδι)one of the oldest villages in Crete, is located in the valley of Gazanos river, 17km from Iraklion and 4km from Agios Myron at 350m a.s.l with 278 inhabitants.
At "Agia Paraskevi" a place with rich vegetation are organized every summer a series of cultural festivals.
A fountain of the 15th century with the blazon of the house of "Quirini" is one of the significant monuments of the area.
The patron Saint is "Agios Nikolaos" and there is a village feast on the 26^th July in his honour.

Picture(s):
• Panoramic
• Fountain

Nikos Xylouris (Greek: Νίκος Ξυλούρης, 7 July 1936 - 8 February 1980), nicknamed Psaronikos (Greek: Ψαρονίκος, "Grey Nick"), was a Greek composer lyra (Cretan lyre) player and singer from the town of Anogeia. He was part of the movement that brought down the Greek military Junta of 1967. His songs and music captured and described the Greek psyche and demeanor, gaining himself the title the archangel of Crete.

The court is crossed by the so-called "Processional Causeways", which stand out from the rest of the paving and intersect each other. One idea is that processions paraded along them during ceremonies.
The West Facade of the Palace rises up along one side. The facade is constructed of massive gypsum blocks (orthostats) set on a plinth. The facade is indented or protrudes corresponding to the interior arrangement of space.
In front of the West Façade, two bases can be seen, thought to belong to stone-built altars. Settlement remains of the Neolithic (6700 - 3200 B.C.) and pre-palatial (3200 - 1900 B.C.) periods have been found beneath the level of the "West Court".

Three large pits, known as "kouloures" (rings), with stone-lined walls were built in the West Court during the Old Palace period (1900-1700B.C.). The excavation workmen gave them their name and A. Evans kept it.
The function of the circular pits is not clear. They have been interpreted as rubbish dumps either for all the refuse from the Palace or just the left-overs from sacred offerings. Support has also been given to the idea that they were storing grain.
In two of them, it is possible to see the remains of houses of the Pre Palatial period (3200-1900 B.C.). In the New Palace period (1700-1450 B.C.),the "kouloures" were covered over and out of use.

The "West Porch" was a roofed area opening onto the Court, supported by one column of which part of the gypsum base remains. The east wall was decorated with a bull-leaping fresco. There was a small "guard-room" at the back.
The porch was closed off by a double door and from here began the long "Corridor of the Procession".

North of the South Propylaeum, at a lower level there is the start of the corridor that joins eighteen long and narrow storerooms, covering an area of 1300 sq.m.
In the floor of both the storerooms and corridor, there are ninety three rectangular cists, the so called "Kasellas". From the finds it appears they were used for keeping safe precious equipment and vases. There are also even larger cists in the corridor, internally lined, perhaps to hold liquids.
The pithoi (large storage jars) of the "West Magazines" bear witness to the wealth of the palace. The remains of some 150 pithoi were found, although there is room for about 400. Their contents are unknown, although they could have oil, wine, pulses, etc.
At different points of the magazine, clay tablets came to light in the Linear B script with records of an economic character. At the north end of the corridor, a large number of older clay seal impressions and clay tablets in the Cretan Hieroglyphic script were discovered.

British archaeologist whose name is inextricably bound up with excavations and restoration work at the palace of Knossos. Born as the son of numismatist John Evans, he studied at Oxford and briefly in Göttingen. From 1875 to 1882 he travelled through the Balkans as a correspondent of the Manchester Guardian. In 1884 he was appointed curator at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, which post he held until 1908. One year later he became a university don. In 1894 Schliemman's excavations at Troy, Mycenae and Tiryns prompted Evans to visit Crete for the first time, in search of Bronze Age script. The following year he published his first book on Cretan pictographics and pre-Phoenician writing. He set about systematic excavation work after the island was liberated from the Turks (in 1898), having already located the wider area in which to dig. At the same time he toured the length and breadth of Crete.
Evans worked at Knossos for no less than 35 years, bringing the palace and countless finds to light. The building's large surface area and shape led him to the conclusion that it had been the palace of King Minos. He thus gave the name 'Minoan' to the civilization he had uncovered, subdividing it into three major periods. In 1911 he was knighted for his excavation activity and extensive work. Alongside the excavations, Evans showed great zeal in restoring the palace and reconstructing the wall paintings that had come to light. For all the intense criticism this part of his work has often attracted, it still stands as a first approach to what is now known as the Minoan palace. The ensuing publications of material added many pieces to the puzzle of Minoan civilization and remain useful research tools to this day. In the course of his last visit to Crete, Evans was given the Freedom of the City of Heraklion.

Born in 1843 as the youngest son of Andreas Kalokairinos. Having completed secondary education on the island of Syros, he matriculated at the University of Athens School of Laws and attended for one year, but was forced to abandon his studies after his father fell seriously ill and died. Thereafter his interest turned to his father's estates, which he initially managed together with his brother Lysimachos. Kalokairinos later went into soap manufacture, winning awards at world exhibitions.
Unfortunately, however, his business enterprises were not destined to be successful to the end; in 1895, having taken out numerous loans at exorbitant interest rates and mortgaged all his estates, he was forced to declare bankruptcy and was thus deprived of the right to engage in commerce. In 1903 he decided to resume his legal studies at university, and was later awarded a a degree.
In 1878 his passion for archaeology and classical studies led him to attempt the first systematic excavations at Knossos, which brought the first finds from the Minoan palace to light. These comprised the Kalokairinos private collection, held at the site where the Kalokairinos Mansion (the present-day Historical Museum of Crete) was later built. The finds were destroyed when the first mansion was burnt to the ground during the 1898 riots. In 1869 Minos Kalokairinos married Skevo Kyriazi, with whom he had five children.