CRETE TRAVEL GUIDE

Crete Travel Guide
Gortys
Practical information
• Map J5
• 1 km (half a mile) from Agioi Deka
• 28920 31144
• 8am–7pm daily
• Adm €2.00
Top tips
• To combine your visit to Gortys with an afternoon
swim or an overnight stop, drive to Matala, 30 km
(20 miles) east of Gortys, which has a fine sandy
beach.
• Instead of using the rather spartan onsite
cafeteria at Gortys, head for the nearby village of
Agioi Deka, where there are several pleasant
tavernas and a historic church.
Byzantine Gortys
After the Roman conquest of 65 BC, Gortys
became capital of the Roman province of Crete
and Cyrene (modern Libya). It continued to flourish
as an important Byzantine provincial hub until, with
the weakening of the Byzantine empire, it was
sacked by Saracen invaders in the late 7th century
AD. It was finally abandoned by its inhabitants in
824.
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