Ενετικό Φρούριο Καλές - Kastell Kalés

Located right by the old harbor of Ierapetra - the southernmost town in Europe - stands the Kales Fortress (also known as Koules), a proud landmark of the town.

Anyone strolling through this tranquil place in southeastern Crete can hardly miss the compact, stone-built fortress. If stones could whisper, the walls of the Kales Fortress would tell of a time when the Mediterranean was a highly volatile powder keg.

Legend has it that the foundation stone of this fortress was laid in 1212, not by statesmen, but by a man who inspired terror: the notorious Genoese privateer Enrico Pescatore. Seeking a secure base for his raids across the eastern Mediterranean, he simply seized control of the strategically vital harbor.

Shortly thereafter, the Venetians drove the pirate away; recognizing the immense value of the site, they expanded it into a massive fortress. From then on, heavily armed guards patrolled the battlements, protecting the town against the ruthless incursions of North African corsairs.

Yet, the fortress’s most brutal enemy was not human. In 1508, the earth beneath Ierapetra shook with such violence that large sections of the fortress collapsed. For years, the ruins lay neglected, exposed to the salty winds - the Republic of Venice simply lacked the funds for costly repairs at such a remote outpost.

It was only when the Ottoman threat grew increasingly dire that Venice dispatched Admiral Francesco Morosini in 1626. In a last-ditch effort, he had the defenses hastily patched up and modernized.

It was to no avail. Just 21 years later, in 1647, the wave of Ottoman conquest swept across the southern coast of Crete. The fortress fell. The new rulers remodeled the structure to suit their own needs, repaired the breaches, and gave it the name it bears to this day: derived from the Turkish word *kule* - meaning "tower" - it became affectionately known in the Cretan dialect as "Kalés."

Today, anyone who passes through the stone arched gateway walks upon ground steeped in history. The fortress is no grand, ostentatious edifice; rather, it is a resilient survivor that has endured pirates, earthquakes, cannon fire, and the rise and fall of empires.Read more