Agios Nikolaos, Greece

Agios Nikolaos dates back to the Bronze Age, when occupants of Dorian Lato, a settlement on the hills, decided for the strategic importance of having a harbour. The new settlement was known as Latos Pro Kamara, or simply Kamara, and outlasted the one on the hills well into the Roman period.
In the 13th century, the Genoese pirate Enrico Pescatore built a fortress named Mirabello, for the wonderful views of the bay it offered. He didn't enjoy his new fortress much as it was soon conquered by the Venetians. It was twice destroyed, in 1303 by an earthquake and in 1537 by pirates but was always rebuilt. It was finally destroyed by the Ottomans when they conquered the island and during this period Agios Nikolaos was abandoned.
It was only after the 1866 Rising that people started to come back to Agios Nikolaos and named it after a small church on the hills.

How to go: from Heraklion you can take the KTEL bus; it takes about one hour. The bus station in Agios Nikolaos is off the city centre, near the hospital; it takes about 10 min. to walk to the city centre.










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