Crete-Discover the Unknown Crete

with one triangular pediment and one
arched, and by an unusual brick dome with
many niches that were once frescoed.
Ierapetra, the ancient Hierapytna,
is the largest port-town on the southern
coast of Crete. It grew to be an important
centre in the Graeco-Roman era when it was
furnished with temples, baths, an
amphitheatre and two theatres, porticos
and an aqueduct, of which, however, there
remains no trace. In the thirteenth century
the Venetians built an imposing castle with
battlements and ramparts. The Turks also
embellished Ierapetra with mosques and
fountains and there are corners of the city
that retain a decidedly oriental aspect.
The Venetian and
Ottoman ruins are
the most attractive
monuments in
Ierapetra, while
nothing has
survived from the
Minoan, Greek or
Roman periods
On 26 th June 1798 the city had an
illustrious guest in the person of Napoleon
Bonaparte who, returning from the Egyptian
campaign, spent a night here in a small
house (now known as spiti tu Napoleonta or
Napoleon’s House) not far from the church
of Afendi Christou.
Ierapetra has a fine Archaeological
Museum with glass cabinets brimming with
Minoan finds, ceramics, painted sarcophagi
and statues dating from the Classical,
Hellenistic and Roman eras.
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