Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and Corsica. Crete is located about 100 km (62 mi) south of the Peloponnese, and about 300 km (190 mi) southwest of Anatolia. Crete has an area of 8,450 km2 (3,260 sq mi) and a coastline of 1,046 km (650 mi). It bounds the southern border of the Aegean Sea, with the Sea of Crete to the north and the Libyan Sea to the south. Crete covers 260 km from west to east but is narrow from north to south, spanning three longitudes but only half a latitude.
The Samariá Gorge is a National Park of Greece since 1962 on the island of Crete – a major tourist attraction of the island – and a World's Biosphere Reserve.
Sfakiá is a mountainous area in the southwestern part of the island of Crete, in the Chania regional unit. It is considered to be one of the few places in Greece that have never been fully occupied by foreign powers. With a 2021 census population of 2,002 inhabitants living on a land area of 467.589 km2 (180.537 sq mi), Sfakia is one of the largest and least densely populated municipalities on the island of Crete. The etymology of its name is disputed. According to the prevailing theory, it relates to its rugged terrain, deriving from the ancient Greek word σφαξ, meaning land chasm or gorge.
The provinces of Greece were sub-divisions of some the country's prefectures. From 1887, the provinces were abolished as actual administrative units, but were retained for some state services, especially financial and educational services, as well as for electoral purposes. Before the Second World War, there were 139 provinces, and after the war, with the addition of the Dodecanese Islands, their number grew to 147. According to the Article 7 of the Code of Prefectural Self-Government, the provinces constituted a "particular administrative district" within the wider "administrative district" of the prefectures. The provinces were finally abolished after the 2006 local elections, in line with Law 2539/1997, as part of the wide-ranging administrative reform known as the "Kapodistrias Project", and replaced by enlarged municipalities (demoi).
Hóra Sfakíon or Sfakia is a town on the south coast of Crete, Greece. It is the capital of the remote and mountainous region of Sfakiá, and is a small town of just 322 inhabitants. It lies on the south coast near the end of the Imbros Gorge, 74 km south of Chania. It has two small harbours, where the ferry boats from Agia Roumeli dock, which in the summer bring the hikers from the Samaria Gorge to take buses back to the northern coast. From Hóra Sfakíon ferries also go to the nearby coastal town of Loutro and the island Gavdos.
Palaiochora is a small town in Chania regional unit, Greece. It is located 70 km south of Chania, on the southwest coast of Crete and occupies a small peninsula 400 m wide and 700 m long. The town is set along 11 km of coastline bordering the Libyan Sea. It is the seat of the municipality of Kantanos–Selino and its population was 2,181 in the 2021 census.
Apokoronas is a municipality and a former province (επαρχία) in the Chania regional unit, north-west Crete, Greece. It is situated on the north coast of Crete, to the east of Chania itself. The seat of the municipality is the village Vryses. The municipality has an area of 315.478 km2 (121.807 sq mi).
Vamos is a small town and former municipality in the Chania regional unit, Crete, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform "Kallikratis" it is a municipal unit, part of the municipality of Apokoronas, serving as its historical capital. It is situated on a small hill at an altitude of 190 metres above sea level, about 25 kilometres from Chania. In Vamos, one can find several restaurants, snack bars and shops in the village, as well as many public services, such as a fully equipped health center, schools, police station and the regional court for the regions of Apokoronas and Sfakia.
Georgioupoli is a resort village and former municipality in the Chania regional unit, Crete, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Apokoronas, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 53.498 km2 (20.656 sq mi). It is located 39 kilometres east of Chania, about 23 km (14 mi) west of Rethymno and about 100 km (62 mi) west of Heraklio. It was named after Prince George of Greece, high commissioner of the island in the last years of Ottoman occupation.
Platanias is a village and municipality on the Greek island of Crete. It is located about 10 km (6.2 mi) west from the city of Chania and east of Kissamos, on Chania Bay. The seat of the municipality is the village Gerani. Platanias is a popular tourism village with beaches, several hotels, restaurants, bars, nightclubs and souvenir shops. The area is especially popular with Scandinavian tourists with the season running from April to October. Not far from the coast is the island of Agioi Theodoroi.
Selino is a historical region and a former province of Crete. It is located in the remote southwestern corner of the island, in the Chania regional unit. It is a rugged and remote area in the foothills of the Lefka Ori and also includes Gavdos, an island to the south of Crete considered the southernmost point in Europe. Selino's historical capital is Kandanos, but its largest village is Palaiochora. Sougia is a small but growing resort. The region's name derives from the Venetian castle at Palaiochora, 'Kastello Selino'.
Kissamos is a town and a municipality in the west of the island of Crete, Greece. It is part of the Chania regional unit and of the former Kissamos Province which covers the northwest corner of the island. The town of Kissamos is also known as Kastelli Kissamou and often known simply as Kastelli after the Venetian castle that was there. It is now a port and fishing harbour, with a regular ferry from the Peloponnese via Kythira. A town museum is located in the old Venetian governor's palace and there have been important archaeological finds in the town, including fine mosaics, dating from the Roman city of Kisamos. The head town of the municipality is Kastelli-Kissamos itself.
Mousouroi is a former municipality in the Chania regional unit, Crete, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Platanias, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 191.744 km2 (74.033 sq mi). It was part of the former Kydonia Province. The municipal unit extends from the hinterland of the town of Chania to the mountains of south Crete. Many tourists pass through Mousouroi on their way to Omalos and the start of the Samaria Gorge walk, which is in Mousouroi. Mousouroi is bordered by Voukolies in the southwest, Platanias in the northwest, Theriso to the east and East Selino in the southwest with Sfakia in the southeast.
Kolymvari, also known as Kolymbari, is a coastal town at the southeastern end of the Rodopou peninsula on the Gulf of Chania. Kolymvari was formerly a municipality in the Chania regional unit, Crete, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it has been a municipal unit of the municipality Platanias. It was also formerly part of the Kissamos province, which covered the northwest of Chania Prefecture. The municipal unit has an area of 149.99 km2 (57.91 sq mi), including the mostly uninhabited and barren Rodopou peninsula to the west and some villages to the south: Rodopou, Afrata, Vasilopoulo, Spilia, Kares, Episkopi, Vouves, Glossa, Panethimos, Nochia, Deliana, Drakona, Ravdouchas, Kalidonia, and Kamisiana.
Voukolies is a town and former municipality in the Chania regional unit, Crete, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Platanias, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 75.110 km2 (29.000 sq mi). It was part of the former Kissamos province which covered the northwestern part of Chania Prefecture. Voukoulies is a large village with an important Saturday morning market. The municipal unit of Voukoulies extends from Tavronitis on the north coast to the foothills of the White Mountains. The seat of the municipality was Voukolies itself. The municipal unit also includes Tavronitis, Neriana, Kakopetros, Polemarchi, Neo Chorio, Anoskeli and Palea Roumata.
Lefka Ori or Madares is a mountain range located in Western Crete, in the Chania prefecture. The White Mountains or Lefka Ori occupy a large part of the centre of West Crete and are the main feature of the region. They consist mainly of limestone, from light grey to bluish or black color. The White Mountains have taken their name from the perpetual white or off-white color of their peaks as the off white of limestone during the summer and fall interchanges with the snow that covers the peaks until late in spring.
Kantanos-Selino is a municipality in Chania regional unit, Crete, Greece. It is numbered 4 on the map of the Chania region. The seat of the municipality is the village of Palaiochora. The municipality has an area of 376.254 km2 (145.272 sq mi). A significant number of fresco's painted by Ioannis Pagomenos are located in Selino.
The Church of Crete is an Eastern Orthodox church, comprising the island of Crete in Greece. The Church of Crete is semi-autonomous (self-governing) under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. The current archbishop of Crete is Eugenios II.
Omalos is a small village in western Crete, in the Mousouroi unit of the Chania region. The Greek word Ομαλός means even, plain, regular, or smooth, referring to the plateau.
