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The different districts of Chania city

Evraiki Zucceda district Chania
quiet picturesque streets of Evraiki district

Evraiki district

Also called the “zudecca” in the Venetian period, or Jewish ghetto (evraiki meaning Hebrew). Main curiosity of the district: the synagogue Etz-Hayyim, the street Kondilaki, which remains the only Jewish place of worship on the island, the only witness of the presence of this community in Crete since almost 25 centuries. More touristic is the street Halidon, with its numerous workshops. It is nevertheless in this very tourist street that is situated a real small museum of the traditional life: the Cretan house ” Kritiko spiti “, a place which reconstitutes the inside of a Cretan house during the 19th century, with its small handicrafts. In Halidon street is alsolocated the Basilica San Francesco (XIVth century), the biggest of the Venetian churches of the island, which shelters today the archaeological museum of Chania.

Chania district Kastelli
Kastelli district, overhanging the old harbor of Chania

Kastelli district

The oldest district of Chania, built inside the first Byzantine than Venetian walls, and situated on a small hill overhanging the old harbor. It is the district remained quiet, traditional, but that strongly suffered German bombardments during the battle of Crete, during the Second World War. Few tourist businesses in the area, but a curiosity, in the bend of the street Canevaro: the ruins of 4 villas of the old minoan city of Kydonia, whose major discoveries are exposed to the archaeological museum (street Halidon) and the tracks of one Acropolis.

Ovriaki district leather Chania
Ovriaki district and its leather shops. But more and more touristic

Ovriaki district

South district of Chania, where is situated the famous ” odos Skridlof “, the “leather street” because of its ancestral activity of tanned leather and keather trades. There are still some tanners in service, but the major part of shops became more tourist. It is nevertheless a place always appreciated for its purchases of leatherwork.

Chania district of Sintrivvani and old harbour
Sintrivani district. Its picturesque hold harbour and mosque of the Janissaries

Syntrivani district

This district name come from Turkish fountain which is there still.  The Venetian old harbor of Chania is doubtless the most romantic place, but also representative of Chania. A view in 300 degrees on the port harbour, ended with the old lighthouse which makes the enjoyment of all the tourists amateurish photographers. The harbour was built by the Venetian in 1320, to guarantee their ascendancy on the mediterranean sea because Crete offered a strategic position. The construction lasted 35 years and allowed the anchorage of about forty big ships. To protect the city against the attacks of the pirates, the Venetian built the bastion of Overdraft charges Nikolaos and, in the entrance of the harbour, the fortress of Firkas. It did not prevent the famous pirate Barbarossa, of Turkish origin, from plundering the city in 1537. Chania kept the charm of the various cultures which conquered her (Venetian and Turkish mainly). In this district is also the Turkish mosque Yiali Tzami (or Giali Tzami, or  mosque of Janissaires). It is very easy to spot. Situated by the sea, its dome is made up of four arcs, decorated with six small dome and dominates the architecture of the place although the mosque arranges no more its minaret, destroyed at the beginning of the 20th century. The name of the mosque comes from its geographical position: in Turk, “Yali Tzamissi” means the mosque by the sea. It was built in 1649, on the location of a former church, for the first governor of Chania, Küçük Hassan Pasha. The building, which was a place of cult until 1923, then sheltered the tourist information office of the city and gave way, since a few years, to a gallery of permanent exhibitions of art.

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