Chania town. The old Venetian Walls. Η πόλη των Χανίων. Τα παλιά Ενετικά Τείχη.

The history of Crete is long and complicated. It starts some long before the Minoan years and still goes on. During that long period many conquerors have occupied the island, either for short or longer periods.
One of the many people who stayed on the island, are the Venetians who occupied the island when the European crusaders occupied the Byzantine Empire after 1204 A.D. and divided the Empire between them.
The Venetians were mainly merchants had a large merchant fleet, and they wanted to merchandise in the products of the island like olives, olive oil, grapes, raisins and wine. They used great administrators and studied the climate of the island, organized the agriculture and decided which areas were more suited to be used for producing wine and where to plant olive trees. They were not too harsh on the Cretans and when the Turks came, the locals fought on their side against them. At some point, after long fighting, the island fell to the Turks and the Rule of the Venetians ended. A few of the Venetians fortifications are still visible around the old port of Chania. parts of the old walls and the dam surrounding the town are now visible in good condition, others are used as parking spaces or as open air theaters. Some are ruined or built upon.. as the town expanded outside the walls.
Go to WikiMapia to see more of Cania Old Town.
Απομεινάρια των παλιών Βενετσιάνικων τειχών, της τάφρου  και των οχυρωμάτων που περιέβαλλαν τα Χανιά. Μεγάλα κομμάτια διατηρούνται ακόμη σε καλή κατάσταση, άλλα χρησιμοποιούνται σαν χώροι στάθμευσης και άλλα έχουν καταστραφεί ή χτίστηκαν καινούρια κτίρια από πάνω, όταν άρχισε να επεκτείνεται η πόλη έξω από τα τείχη.
Πηγαίνετε στο WikiMapia για να δείτε περισσότερα από την Παλιά πόλη των Χανίων.