The next settlement you come to heading east is Kalo Chorio. A village offers its visitors the opportunity to enjoy a quiet and comfortable holiday, as it has sufficient tourist infrastructure and access to the nearby beaches.
Do not forget to visit an important archaeological site at Gournia, I 8kms SE of the city, on the central road. The site is open to visitors daily from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., except Mondays and Bank Holidays.
The settlement discovered there has been named the "Pompeii of Minoan Crete" by the archaeologists, probably because of the size of the city that was excavated and the valuable findings it has contributed to the study of the Minoan period.
The place-name is attributed to the existence of small ancient troughs ('gourna' in Greek). Led by the discovery of a signet, American archaeologist Harriet Boyd started an excavation, which, within four years, brought to light an entire Minoan city from the period 1700-1450 BC. Of course the name of the ancient city remains unknown to this day. The city appears to have reached its apex in 1600 BC, i.e. in the late Minoan era, while it was completely destroyed by fire in 1450 BC, as were other Minoan cities. The city was built on a hillside, A 1.5 - 2m paved street passes sport ween the (sometimes twostoried) houses, and all the entrances look out onto it. The Palace was in the centre of the settlement, at the highest point, but it is not as magnif cent as those of Knossos, Phestos or Malia. The Agora was built in front of the Palace, facing south, and connected to the Palace with a staircase. Here there is also a large platformdais, which the ruler probably used for announcing his decrees.
On the southern side of the palace, there are remains of a cornice facing the palace courtyard, possibly part of an ancient theatre. On the north side, you will see a small room that used to house a late Minoan Sanctuary. Double axes, a figurine of a deity with its hands raised holding snakes, an earthenware altar and other ritual objects have been found inside the sanctuary. Many tools were discovered in the settlement (chisels, nails, hooks, etc.) from handcraft workshops, which bear testimony to the inhabitants' stage of development. Specifically, the workshops appear to have belonged to a smith, a carpenter and a potter.
The disaster that hit the settlement and destroyed it appears to have given some warning signs, and that is why its inhabitants had time to abandon it, leaving their belongings behind them... Near Gournia, you can visit Faneromeni Monastery (about 17 km from Agios Nikolaos), which is dedicated to the natural Mary. Its precise date of establishment is not known, but it is probably from the I 5th century, judging from the dates on the murals in its interior. The Monastery's name (Appearance) is attributed to the fact that the icon of the natural Mary "appeared" inside a cave where the church is currently built. The bad pirate Barbarossa destroyed the monastery in 1538, but it was re-built, as we learn from an inscription in Byzantine lettering on the temple's facade.