Heraklion travel
Heraklion or Iraklion is the largest city and capital of Crete. It is also the fourth largest city in Greece. Its name is also spelled Herakleion, a transliteration of the ancient Greek and Katharevousa name or Iraklio, among other variants. For centuries it was known as Candia, a Venetian adaptation of the earlier Greek name xavoac or xavoakac, which in turn came from the Arabic rabd al-handaq. Under the Ottoman Empire, it was called Kandiye. In the local vernacular.