Venetian Walls & Tomb of Nikos Kazantzakis

Frommer's Review

These great walls and bastions were part of the fortress-city the Venetians called Candia. Two of the great city gates have survived fairly well: the Pantocrator or Panigra Gate, better known now as the Chania Gate (dating from about 1570), at the western edge; and the Gate of Gesu, or Kainouryia Gate (about 1587), at the southern edge. Walk around the outer perimeter of the walls to get a feel for their sheer massiveness. They were built by the forced labor of Cretans.

On the Martinengo Bastion at the southwestern corner of the great walls is the grave of Nikos Kazantzakis (1883-1947), a native of Iraklion and author of Zorba the Greek and The Last Temptation of Christ. Here, too, is one of the best views to the south. Mount Iouktas appears in profile as the head of a man -- some say the head of the buried god Zeus. A dedicated visit here requires a solid hour from the center of the city, especially if you want to examine the nearby Kainouryia Gate and a segment of the wall.

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