A guide to the area of Akrotiri. Tourist facilities, regional information and image gallery. Akrotiri with its scenic landscape provides a relaxing, refined country break away from the pressures of urban life. Its numerous monasteries, from the oldest in Crete, played a significant role in the history of the area. Gorges of outstanding beauty offer a unique hiking experience, breathtaking views and the joy of exploration...

11th, 12th and 13th June- We had made camp in the yard beside the Aghios Ioannis chapel at Rouvas but, the following morning, it was quite clear that I wasn’t going to go any further on foot until the shin splint had settled down a bit. Minor surgery on the blisters exposed the full extent of those problems and I hung them out to dry in the sun while Triantafyllos went off looking for paths to put on his maps. I think I was lucky not to get infected blisters but Betadine is a great resource which I used extensively.

14th June- The walk up from Rouvas is quite straightforward; once you have walked back down the stream from the Rouvas picnic area and turned right (north) up the dry river bed for two hundred yards, you scramble up a short, easy rock section (well sign posted) before the path continues up through open oak woodland (the Rouvas Forest) heading first for the Duo Prinoi chapel, which has a water tap, and then later up and over a ridge, beyond which a small dry water course leads up a steep sided valley to the flat lands of the Nidha plateau.
Distance:12 km
Time: 4.75 hrs.
Mov av 3.7 km/hr
Height overnight: 1,360m.

Agios Georgios" the General Hospital of Hania. Situated in the outskirts of the city of Chania, near Mournies village. It was established in 2000 and has a capacity of 450 beds. Its fundamental aim is the provision of high quality health services to all citizens, within a friendly and humane environment.

The only inhabited island of Crete with approx. 40 permanent residents. There are some nice beaches with fine sand, a few rooms and apartments to rent and some taverns. Apart from the harbor Karave, there are three village on the islet, Kastri (the capital), Vatsiana and Ambelos. The landmark of Gavdos is the Light House built in 1880.
According to Callimachus, this is the ancient isle of Ogygia where, as Homer claims in "Odyssey", the nymph Calypso lived.
Distance from Sfakia 22 nautical miles and from Paleohora 32 n.miles.
Ferry connection from Sfakia (Tel. 28250 91292) and Paleohora (Tel. 28230 41214).

Gavdos island video (Youtube)

The village of Mournies is a principal village, located 3.8 km south of Hania at 40m a.s.l. It took the name "Mournies" from the numerous mulberry trees, that use to be here even today. At the beginning of the 17th century, Mournies was famous for its beautiful villas, belonging to local noblemen. One of them, located southeast of the village, was the imposing three storey villa of "Koukounara". It had beautiful flowery gardens, fountains, statues ..., a real paradise, where many famous persons were received hospitality, amongst them the glorious Mme Ortans, the empress Eugene of Napoleon the third, queen Olga of Greece, and the king Constantinos in 1913. The villa today, being restored, houses a department of the Geek Navy.
Mournies was the birth place of one of the greatest statesman of the new Hellenic Republic, Eleftherios Venizelos. Venizelos' influence on the history of Greece was paramount, from his participation to the talks with the Ottomans that resulted to granting Crete independence in 1897, to the final union of Crete with Greece in 1913. The house of Venizelos located in Mournies is going to be a museum, and many personal items of the politician are going to be on display there.

The Technical University of Crete, one of Greece’s Higher Education Institutions, which places emphasis both on education and research, was established in 1977 in Chania Crete and admitted its first students in October 1984. Today, the Technical University of Crete comprises 5 academic engineering departments, the Department of Production Engineering and Management, the Department of Mineral Resources Engineering, the Department of Electronic & Computer Engineering, the Department of Environmental Engineering and the Department of Architectural Engineering, assisted in their curriculum by the Sciences Department, all of which have set very high objectives.


The Campus is built on a panoramic location in Kounoupidiana, Akrotiri, 7 km northeast of the city of Chania, with a total area surface of 290 hectares. Off campus, the Department of Architectural Engineering is located at the former French School in Halepa whereas the Rectorate and the rest of the administration offices are located in the heart of the old city of Chania in the Venetian complex of the old barracks and prison.
Website (GR) :http://en.tuc.gr/contact-en.html
Website (EN) :http://en.tuc.gr/contact-en.html
Contact Information at:http://en.tuc.gr/contact-en.html

The famous - mainly due to the gorge of Samaria- plateau of Omalos (GR: Ομαλός) is surrounded by the high crowns of the Lefka Ori (White Mountains) at 1,040 to 1,250 meters and is just 38 km from the town of Chania. It extends to the counties of Sfakia, Selino and Kydonia in the prefecture of Hania. Its shape is nearly rectangular with a perimeter of about 25kms and a diameter of approximately 4 kms. It can be reached by car from the north (Neratzoporo) and from the south (Agios Theodoros).

At the magical and historical location of Profitis Ilias, in Akrotiri, at the east of Hania lays the tomb of Eleftherios Venizelos, one of the most long-standing prime ministers of Greece and whose political life was focused on doubling the size of Greek territory and on the creation of a contemporary State. Eleftherios Venizelos himself had designated this position to be his resting place before his death.
For the visitor, it affords a panoramic view of the rich green plain of Hania, the imposing White Mountains, the Cretan Sea, the town of Hania and the Chalepa quarter which is the location of the house in which the great politician spent most of his life and today is the headquarters of the National Research Foundation 'Eleftherios K. Venizelos'.

At a time that living organisms are disappearing at an alarming rate, especially through habitat destruction, the Park for the Preservation of Flora and Fauna of the Technical University of Crete, which extends to 30 hectares, constitutes a small but important area where native plants and co-existing animals are protected and can develop without human intervention.
Up to now 250 different plant species that grow naturally in habitats of the Park have been identified, while their systematic documentation is still in progress.
The development of new ecological units (“habitats”) began in areas of the Park that have been cultivated in the past. These will include plant species of Crete that do not grow naturally in the Park. Two such units, the wetland and the coastal habitats have already been launched.
www.park.tuc.gr/

The Archaeological Museum of Chania is located in the historic suburb of Chalepa, on a plot of land covering 11,526.81 m2, with a total area of approximately 6,000 m2. Its location, averaging 98 m above sea level, offers a magnificent view over much of the city, especially the seafront. The Museum, designed by architect Theofanis Bobotis and partners, is composed of two distinct linear monolithic masses rising from the earth, a symbolic reference to the vestiges of civilisation beneath the surface.

The permanent exhibition of the Archaeological Museum of Chania is set out in three galleries on the ground floor, presenting the archaeological riches of the regional unit of Chania from the first traces of human presence in Chania to the 4th century AD, and a gallery on the upper floor where part of the Konstantinos, Marika and Kyriakos Mitsotakis Collection is exhibited.

The exhibition is enriched with faithful reconstructions of various spaces, visual media, digital presentations, tactile exhibits (copies of ancient objects) accompanied by Braille captions, and an audio guide.

The Temporary Exhibition Gallery and the Museum gift shop are on the ground floor, while the Educational Programme Room, the Amphitheatre and the Café are on the upper floor.

Eleftherios Venizelos (Elefthérios Kyriákou Venizélos, GR: Ἐλευθέριος Κυριάκου Βενιζέλος - 23 August 1864 – 18 March 1936), born in Mournies village near Chania, was an eminent Greek revolutionary, a prominent and illustrious statesman as well as a charismatic leader in the early 20th century. Elected several times as Prime Minister of Greece and served from 1910 to 1920 and from 1928 to 1932. Venizelos had such profound influence on the internal and external affairs of Greece that he is credited with being "the maker of modern Greece", and he is still widely known as the "Ethnarch".

After the scientific and administrative services of the Foundation "Eleftherios Venizelos" were transferred to the former Vloom Mansion, in 2005, the Venizelos residence remained the Foundation's headquarters and it has been converted into a Museum, a commemoration site for Eleftherios Venizelos.
The residence bears the imprint of Eleftherios Venizelos and the building has maintained its original form, of the years he lived there. The furniture of the decade 1925-1935 was selected by Venizelos himself and his wife Elena, and was brought from Athens and abroad. Decorative objects and paintings of the period, original photographs and personal items of significant value decorate the interior of the residence.
Website:www.venizelos-foundation.gr

The aim of the Foundation is to function on a national level as a dynamic european research and educational centre constituting a central point of reference for the coordination of research into the work, era and life of the great statesman and more generally into modern Greek history without ideological constraints and preconceptions and without local limitations.
The address of the Foundation is:
National Research Foundation "Eleftherios K. Venizelos"
House of Eleftherios Venizelos
Elena Venizelou Square, Chalepa, 731 33 Chania
T.K. 73133
Tel. (0030) 28210-56008, 51555-6, 54011
Fax (0030) 28210-56009
Email: info@venizelos-foundation.gr
Office Hours: 08:30 - 16:00
Website:www.venizelos-foundation.gr

The Market, impressive for its size and shape, is built in the shape of a cross with 76 shops grouped according to their wares in the four arms of the cross. The south façade is particularly well constructed out of chiseled limestone, in the architectural style of the local tradition, developed during the Venetian period. Its construction was completed in 1913 and the formal opening was made by Eleftherios Venizelos on 4th December 1913 as part of the celebrations for the Unification of Crete to Greece.

Hania (or Chania GR: Χανιά) is the capital of the Prefecture of the same name and the second biggest town in Crete, with a population of 60.000 inhabitants. It lies (Coordinates 35°31' N 24°1' E ) along the North coast of the island, about 55 km west of Rethymnon and 140 km west of Iraklion (Heraklion). Hania's old town (although it was heavily bombed by Germans in World War II) is considered as Crete's most beautiful urban district, especially the Venetian harbour with its 16th century lighthouse and the Mosque of the Janissaries ("Giali Tzamissi", built 17th century). Many of the old buildings have been restored as hotels, restaurants, shops and bars, making the old town a lively and colourful place, especially during the tourist period.

An institution of culture, that aims in the creation of necessary "space", where the various sectors of Art, Science and Literature can coexist, each seeking the contribution of the other, thus becoming feasible the materialization of visions that each one of these means of expression of the Human spirit, to be able offer to the community.
Address: 98-102, Chalidon Street, 73 131 Chania, Crete, Greece
Phone number: +30 28210 92294 / +30 28210 36190
E-Mail: info@pinakothiki-chania.gr
Links:
Dimodiki Pinakothiki Hanion

The south complex was completed in 1599, with the construction of 17 Neoria. Today only 7 survive out of the 17. In their original form they were open on the side of the sea. The ceilings are arched, and they are connected with arched openings of the same thickness as the walls.