Spinalonga Island & Agios Nikolaos

This once-in-a-lifetime experience brings you to the sparkling sea of the Mirabello Bay in
East Crete!

After a short cruise across the clear blue waters we reach the tiny island of Spinalonga. With its amazing rich history, Spinalonga truly is a most impressive place representing a devastating story which should never be forgotten. Due to its strategic location at the entrance to Elounda Bay, the Venetians created a fortified stronghold on Spinalonga in the 16th Century AD. This fort protected East Crete from invasion by pirates and its extremely strong walls, even after so many cannon ball strikes, stand proud to this day. In the middle of the 17th century Spinalonga was attacked and conquered by the Turkish Ottoman Empire and remained a Turkish stronghold until the liberation of Crete in 1821. In 1903, historical circumstances gave Spinalonga another role, that of Leper colony. For more than half a century the unfortunate patients were taken to live out their lives in an isolated community upon Spinalonga. The village with its tiny houses, shops, church, workshops and sanitarium still stands today.

After our visit to Spinalonga, we take time for a stop at the picturesque town of Agios Nikolaos where you may take a stroll around the ‘bottomless’ lake, the pretty harbor and cosmopolitan shops and tree-lined avenues. Enjoy a relaxing coffee in any of the lakeside cafes and sit back and watch the world go by in this beautiful setting.

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