Visit the Mirabello Gulf

In the ancient times, on the shore of the Mirabello Gulf was one of the most important copper mining centers in the Late Minoan period around 3000 BC., and the developed civilization here was even at that time.

Once upon a time, on the shores of the Mirabello Gulf, there was Olous, an independent city-state that minted its coins with images of deities worshiped by its inhabitants. There was here a sanctuary of Artemis with a wooden statue of the goddess. Rich burials are discovered in Olous. Its finds are exhibited in the Archaeological Museum of Agios Nikolaos.

To date, we know enough about the life in Olous many millennia ago. It was one of the largest export centers which supplied goods to ports of eastern cities. For a long time Olous prospered and expanded: according to various sources, in the period 1000 – 900 years BC. the population of the city was about 30 thousand people, which at that time was akin to a modern megapolis.

According to scientists, the city plunged into the water due to a local shift of the earth’s crust, and almost completely went under the water after an earthquake in the 2nd century AD. “Attractive invisibility” – so, perhaps, it’s possible to call the sunken city of Olous located in the eastern part of Elounda.

Perhaps, the island of Spinalonga is the only sad place of the beautiful Mirabello Gulf. The island is notorious for its history. In the Middle Ages, the Venetians erected here a fortress, which in time became a powerful military bulwark. After liberation from Turkish rule, the Greeks began to bring here lepers to live their days in seclusion. Now here is a museum. The view of the island from the shore is very beautiful.

The benchmark of the Mirabello Gulf is the town of Elounda, lying on its shores. Back in the day, it was only a small fishing village, where the metropolitan nobility arranged its suburban residences. Today, Elounda is a reserve of glamorous tourism: the most pompous hotels of Crete are concentrated here, which have berths for private yachts, their own islands for fishing and jet planes for the services of eternally occupied guests. Here rested many of the powerful of this world, and continue to rest.

In addition to the beautiful views that the gulf coast gives, the location of hotels offers another advantage. In the closed gulf, there are almost never waves, and no algae. It formed its own microclimate, and the season traditionally begins here a little earlier than in the rest of Crete.

If for some reason you do not want to rest in expensive hotels, there are a lot of more economical options on the shores of the gulf, for example, in Agios Nikolaos, in this beautiful city, or next to it in various small towns scattered along the coast such as Plaka or Istro.

You would hate to leave this place. The time spent here flies by unnoticed. As in any part of Greece, you will hear here a lot of legends associated with the ancient Greek heroes and their adventures in the Gulf of Mirabello, giving color to these places.