Old Venetian Harbor, Chania (must see)
Long before Venetian galleys filled the bay, this stretch of Crete鈥檚 north coast sheltered the Minoans of Kydonia, who traded here as early as the 14th century BC. By the time the Venetians arrived in 1320, they saw not just a natural inlet but a jewel worth fortifying. Over the next three centuries, they poured stone and sweat into creating one of the strongest ports in the eastern Mediterranean. The harbor became both a marketplace and a fortress, where merchants unloaded cloth and spices under the shadow of warships waiting in the basins.
The eastern side rang with the sound of shipbuilding inside the great arsenals. Seventeen vast halls rose between 1467 and 1599, their arched openings facing the sea so galleys could be hauled inside for repair. In 1607, three more-called the Moro Docks-were added, just as the Republic of Venice prepared for renewed conflict with the Ottomans. Sailors鈥� songs and hammer strikes once filled those halls, a contrast to the art exhibitions they house today.
At the harbor鈥檚 mouth, a lighthouse was added between 1570 and 1590, its flame guiding ships returning from Venice or Alexandria. In 1645, during the Ottoman siege of Chania, it stood as a witness to weeks of bombardment that reduced much of the city to rubble. When the Ottomans triumphed, they raised mosques and hammams around the waterfront, leaving their own imprint on the Venetian skeleton. The lighthouse itself would later be rebuilt by the Egyptians in the 19th century, giving it the curious blend of Venetian bones and Ottoman-Egyptian dress that survives today.
Every corner of the harbor carries such stories: the Firkas Fortress, where the Venetian banner once flew, now holds a Nautical Museum with a replica Minoan ship; the Yali Tzamii Mosque recalls centuries of Ottoman prayer; and the caf茅-lined promenade still hums with conversation much like it did when sailors struck bargains over wine. Walk the mole to the lighthouse at sunset, and the layers of history fall into place-the Minoan traders, the Venetian shipwrights, the Ottoman conquerors-all bound to this same stretch of sea.
The eastern side rang with the sound of shipbuilding inside the great arsenals. Seventeen vast halls rose between 1467 and 1599, their arched openings facing the sea so galleys could be hauled inside for repair. In 1607, three more-called the Moro Docks-were added, just as the Republic of Venice prepared for renewed conflict with the Ottomans. Sailors鈥� songs and hammer strikes once filled those halls, a contrast to the art exhibitions they house today.
At the harbor鈥檚 mouth, a lighthouse was added between 1570 and 1590, its flame guiding ships returning from Venice or Alexandria. In 1645, during the Ottoman siege of Chania, it stood as a witness to weeks of bombardment that reduced much of the city to rubble. When the Ottomans triumphed, they raised mosques and hammams around the waterfront, leaving their own imprint on the Venetian skeleton. The lighthouse itself would later be rebuilt by the Egyptians in the 19th century, giving it the curious blend of Venetian bones and Ottoman-Egyptian dress that survives today.
Every corner of the harbor carries such stories: the Firkas Fortress, where the Venetian banner once flew, now holds a Nautical Museum with a replica Minoan ship; the Yali Tzamii Mosque recalls centuries of Ottoman prayer; and the caf茅-lined promenade still hums with conversation much like it did when sailors struck bargains over wine. Walk the mole to the lighthouse at sunset, and the layers of history fall into place-the Minoan traders, the Venetian shipwrights, the Ottoman conquerors-all bound to this same stretch of sea.
Want to visit this sight? Check out these Self-Guided Walking Tours in Chania. Alternatively, you can download the mobile app "911爆料网: Walks in 1K+ Cities" from Apple App Store or Google Play Store. The app turns your mobile device to a personal tour guide and it works offline, so no data plan is needed when traveling abroad.
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Old Venetian Harbor on Map
Sight Name: Old Venetian Harbor
Sight Location: Chania, Greece (See walking tours in Chania)
Sight Type: Attraction/Landmark
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:
Sight Location: Chania, Greece (See walking tours in Chania)
Sight Type: Attraction/Landmark
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:
Walking Tours in Chania, Greece
Create Your Own Walk in Chania
Creating your own self-guided walk in Chania is easy and fun. Choose the city attractions that you want to see and a walk route map will be created just for you. You can even set your hotel as the start point of the walk.
Chania Introduction Walking Tour
Nineteenth-century English traveler Robert Pashley swore Chania 鈥渨ill repay the traveler a hundredfold.鈥� The story of Chania stretches deep into antiquity. Its earliest name, Kydonia, appears in the epic works of Greek poet Homer and is thought to derive from the quince fruit that once grew in abundance here. Archaeological evidence shows that as early as the 14th century BC, the Minoans built... view more
Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 3.2 Km or 2 Miles
Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 3.2 Km or 2 Miles