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"Crete's mystery is extremely deep. Whoever sets foot on this island senses a mysterious force branching warmly and beneficiently through his veins, senses his soul begin to grow."
Crete lies at the point where the continents of Europe, Asia and Africa meet. It is the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean with an area of 8,335 square kilometers.
The climate of Crete is probably the mildest in Europe. The strong northwesterly wind, the meltemi, moderates even the hottest months of July and August. Rainfall is rare during the summer months. Autumn is Crete's mildest season, when temperatures are often higher than in spring.
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Chania is the capital city of the Municipality of Chania, with 60.000 inhabitants. They are built at the site of the ancient town of Kydonia, one of the oldest inhabited areas on the island.
Its modern times name was given by the Arabs. In 1252, under the Venetian occupation, the town begun its fortification projects, which were finished in 1590. Chania was the first town in Crete occupied by the Turks, in 1654, until it was freed in 1898, when it also became the capital of the by then autonomous island.
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Rethymnon is a town of 25.000 inhabitants situated on the north coast of Crete. During the summer its population doubles because of the tourist activity .
The main attractions of the area are, the mild weather conditions prevailing during most of the year, the long sandy beaches and the old town with its typical Crete-venetian and Ottoman buildings. The name of the city is of ancient Greek origin and at the local archaeological museum one can see exhibits from the Minoan times onwards.
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The city was regained by the Byzantine Empire in 961 A.D. after many unsuccessful attempts. After the Crusaders occupied Constantinople in 1204, they gave Crete to Boniface of Monferrat who sold the island to Venice for one thousand pieces of silver. Under Venetian rule the arts flourished and Candia, as the Venetians renamed it, became a centre of learning.
Many scholars and artists took refuge in Candia after the fall of Constantinople in 1453. The Venetians began construction of the city walls in 1462, which were completed more than a century later.
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The prefecture of Lasithi occupies the far eastern part of the island and it is divided into 8 municipalities: Agios Nikolaos, Ierapetra, Sitia, Neapoli, Makri Gialos, Lefki, Oropedio (Lasithi Plateau) and Itanos. It is embraced by three seas: the Cretan Sea in the north, the Libyan Sea in the south, the Carpathian Sea in the east, whilst in the west, the mountain range of Dikti prevails imposingly, spreading its verdant mountainsides down to the plains of Mirabello and those of Ierapetra, in a picturesque contrast.
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