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Our tour starts at the Porta Guora, also called the Great Gate, at the entrance to Antistaseos Street. The gate represents the only remaining part of the ancient fortified wall of the town of Rethymno.
Continuing down Antistaseos St., which is also known as Mikri Agora (Small Market), you will find the church of Aghios Frangiskos on your left-hand-side, and next to the church is the former Turkish Primary School. Special attention should be paid to the outer doorframe, which is in the Venetian style, whereas the inner doorframe was added later on by the Turks and is ornamented with vines. Thus the initial frame was a much narrower shape. Next to each pilaster pairs of relief work can be seen, which portray lions in the lower part and symbols of the Ottoman Empire in the upper part.
The entrance to the school, the lower part of which was built in 1796, is situated in Papamichelaki Street. Continuing along Antistaseos Street, further down you will arrive at Souliou Street, which branches to the right. The picturesque alley is worth seeing, since it boasts a large number of shops displaying traditional handicrafts.
This street leads up to Palaiologou St., where we turn right. A few metres further down, at the crossroads of Palaiologou and Arkadiou St. the Loggia is situated on the right-hand-side, today, the Ministry of Culture uses this building as a shop, where true copies of ancient artefacts are sold.
We turn back in a westerly direction on Palaiologou St. and arrive at the famous Platanos Square (Platia Petychaki), where the Rimondi Fountain, a remnant of the Venetian period, will be found. It is worthwhile having a closer look at the fountain before continuing through the square with its traditional cafes, tavernas and shops, and turning right into Bernardou St. Here, the Neratzes mosque with its towering minaret is situated.
The mosque with its impressive dome was the Church of Santa Maria during Venetian times and belonged to the Augustine monastery, which was situated in the centre of the Venetian square. Its imposing doorframe is ornamented with Corinthian capitals and an impressive lintel in the crown of the arch. The Church of Santa Maria was transformed into a mosque in 1657 and the highest minaret of the town furnished with two galleries was added in 1890.
The Folklore Museum of Rethymno is found at No. 30, Bernardou St, and is worth a visit. Further down the street you can admire one the most beautiful doorframes of Rethymno, which displays the following inscription: "VIRTUTE FULCIDA DOMUS MDCIXKAL JUNII" (Virtue makes this house shine, first days of June 1609). We continue our tour down Bernardou St. and arrive at Nikiforos Foka St., at the square of Kyria ton Aggelon (Lady of the Angels).
The Church of The Little Virgin, as the people of Rethymno call it, was built during the Venetian occupation and dedicated to Maria Magdalene of the Dominican order. During the Turkish occupation, this three-aisled church was transformed into a mosque, and a minaret was added in1680, which collapsed shortly after.
From the square of Kyria ton Aggelon we turn into Arambatzoglou St. with its magnificently ornamented facades and doorframes. A large number of wooden balconies, many more than anywhere else in the town, have been preserved in this street.
From Arabatzoglou St. we turn into Mesolongi St. and from there we turn left into Radamanthios St. The Turkish bath was housed at No. 25 during earlier times; but it is now a private building and so it cannot be visited. The bath was built in 1670 and includes two halls with semi-circular domes.
To the west at the crossroads of Radamanthios and Nikiforos Foka St. we turn right and continue down Nikiforos Foka St. We then continue down Klidis St., the first alley on our left-hand-side, which is famous for the superbly ornamented doorframe at No. 13. We continue down Klidis St. and then turn left into Renieri St. with its beautiful Venetian doorframes and wooden balconies, until we arrive at Panou Koroneou St.
In this street No.12 has an exceptionally attractive doorframe with a relief that is richly decorated with natural motifs. Walking down Koroneou St. in a westerly direction you will arrive at the intersection of Koroneou and Smyrnis St., where five fountains can be seen, two on Koroneou St. and three below the arch. Koroneou St. leads us to the square of Iroon Polytechniou, which is dominated by the neoclassical building of the Prefecture.
We return to Koroneou St. and, continuing in an easterly direction, we turn right into Mavili St. Here you will notice neatly kept houses with flowers and enclosed yards. We then turn left into Piga St., continue down Patelarou St. and arrive at Nikiforos Foka St., the famous Makry Steno (long alley) of the old town of Rethymno. The iconostasis, which is made of stone and built into the wall at this point where Nikiforos Foka St. and Papamichelaki St. meet, is worth seeing.
Continuing along Nikiforos Foka in a southerly direction, we turn left into Bouniali St., where the blacksmiths and saddlers had their workshops in earlier times. Following the road straight on we arrive at Ethnikis Antistaseos St. and, looking to the right, we can see the Great Gate (Porta Guera), the point from which we started our tour. |
The Great Gate
Nikiforos Foka St. (Makry Steno), formerly the central artery of Rethymno, is distinguished by its many doorframes decorated with bas-reliefs.
The chiselled inscription of Koroneou St. says: "This fountain was built so that the people can drink water. May he who drinks from it and quenches his thirst pray for the soul of the man who built it. 1863."
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Tours in the Town - 2nd Walk
