Four Centuries of the Chania Lighthouse

#400Years_Chania_Lighthouse

Today i am on the Island of Crete (Greece) and walking along the Old Venetian Harbor towards one of the oldest surviving lighthouses in the world

History
It was originally constructed by the Venetians (1595-1601)
 Then the Ottoman Turkish forces seized the area (1645) with the lighthouse ceasing to operate and fell into ruins for almost two hundred years.
 In 1830 Crete was assigned to the Viceroy of Egypt, which then their troops completely rebuilt the tower on top of the old base giving it an Islamic influence to mimic a minaret of a mosque, hence why its known as The Egyptian Lighthouse
Finally it was officially linked to the Greek National Network in 1915 and after sustaining severe damage from earthquakes plus the Second World War German bombardments, it had a huge restoration project in 2006 in what we see today

Interesting Facts
A) Harbor Gate; in the 16th century soldiers would hook a massive iron chain from the base of the  lighthouse across the water span to the Firas Fortress.
 This physically could lock the port against the Ottoman enemy
ships and attacking pirates
B) Hidden Underpass; during the Ottoman and Egyptian eras, underground pipelines were built through the base to ease the water pressure from the sea and to allow the water to safely flow
 under its structure
C) No Guardhouse Needed; unlike other remote island beacons, it did not require a permanent keeper residence because the town was so close

Old Venetian Harbor
Was built between 1320 -1356 as a naval base to protect its merchant ships from pirate attacks
As the steamships became larger by the late 19th century, the bay became too shallow to
accommodate these vessels
Thus its usefulness waned and the maritime operations shifted to the nearby Souda port

Freebooter Protection
The long curved sea walls were to protect against aggressive raids from Pirates plus the violent storms of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea
The architectural harbor homes are of a pastel colored mash-up of Venetian and Ottoman styles with its wooden balconies plus enclosed overhang upper floors

Kucuk Hasan Mosque 

Built in the 1600s it is known as the Mosque of the Sea
In the beginnings it was surrounded by palm trees and a courtyard which was a gravesite for several Ottoman rulers plus Pashas (Governors / Military Commanders)
It has transitioned from a place of worship, into an archaeological museum, folklore center
 plus exhibition space

White Mountains
Named for its gleaming limestone (June-October) and the snowscape that happens for the
rest of the year
 It has fifty peaks over 2,000 meters (6,500 feet) which features a very unique "high desert" moonscape  of sinkholes plus funnel shaped depressions
Why it happens is all the rain and snow during the winter months is absorbed by the fissured limestone, which leads to a bone dry and vegetation-free area
  So its technically classified as an Alpine Desert

The Greek God Mythology
A) Zeus; grew tired of the arguing on Mount Olympus, so he returned to his throne here and would race his chariot across the mountain plains
B) Titan; the 16km (10 mile) long Samaria Gorge was created when he slashed the area
with his giant knife 

Old Town
With all the different empires who occupied this area (Roman, Byzantine, Venetian and Ottoman) you get this overlapping of architectural style which just adds to the 5,600 year old history
Chania did not become part of the modern Greek State until 1913

Topanas and Splantzia
With some of the historic houses from these areas and highlighting their courtyard floors, 
which are made entirely from sea pebbles

KeyTip
While you might think it would be a good idea to gather up the pebbles and shells from the Greek beaches for your own version of this type of floor, its illegal
Why; to protect from beach erosion and to save the local marine habitats
It comes with a heavy fine of between 400 to 1,000 Euros ($450-$1140 USD)
So you have been warned

Restaurant Stop

Started off with a
 Dakos; barley rusks, grated tomatoes, feta cheese, local olive oil and herbs
Tzatziki; Greek yogurt cucumber dip with lemon juice, garlic and olive oil for my pita bread 
 Boureki; thinly sliced zucchini and potato with a layers of cheese, all baked until tender

Now Things get Interesting 😀
Raki; a local brandy with some honey and cinnamon
Its customary to have just one after the meal, but after a few ( hahaha) i ask our knowledgeable waiter about any old rumors of the area with this much history
I said there must be some "dark secrets" 

This led me to the next few paragraphs 

Clandestine Fraternities
Chania has always had a connection to secret hidden religious societies for many centuries, from mystery cults to revolutionary networks with some that were hidden in plain sight
 These buildings were used as meeting grounds for the various undercover groups and due to the many years of frustration from all of the foreign occupation
during the history of this area

Personally i am looking for the Dionysian location, as this sect was dedicated to Dionysus
who was the God of Wine and Theater
They used intoxicants, music and dancing to remove any of your inhibitions, sounds about right 😄

Something nefarious going on here underwater, maybe the entrance to one of those famous caves of Crete from folklore 
 Dikteon; is probably the most famous grotto, as in Greek mythology it was the
 birthplace of Zeus
Or
Thessalonike; she was the half sister of Alexander the Great, who transformed into an immortal mermaid out of grief following his death and has protected these waters for centuries.
 So maybe her front door

I will let you decide 😉

My point of reference marker for the return journey
Thank You Chania, for revealing some of your hidden truths to me