General
Heraklion is the largest city and capital of Crete. It is also the fourth largest city in Greece. Heraklion is the capital of Heraklion prefecture with 200,000 people live in Heraklion Municipality. There is an international airport named after the writer Nikos Kazantzakis. The ruins of Knossos, which were excavated and restored by Arthur Evans, are nearby. Heraklion is close to the ruins of the palace of Knossos, which in Minoan times was the largest centre of population on Crete. Though there is no archaeological evidence of it, Knossos may well have had a port at the site of Heraklion as long ago as 2000 BC.
Heraklion has two major hospitals (the University Hospital and the Venizeleio Hospital). It is also the home of the University of Crete Schools of Sciences and Health Sciences (8,000 students). It is also the seat of the Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas (ITE-FORTH), one of the largest research centres in the country, and the Technological Educational Institute of Crete (6,500 students). There are 8 University Schools and 11 Technical Schools (TEI) in total.
Heraklion is an important shipping port and ferry dock. Travellers can take ferries and boats from Heraklion to a multitude of destinations including Santorini, Ios Island, Paros, Mykonos, and Rhodes. There are also several daily ferries to Piraeus, the port of Athens on mainland Greece.
Heraklion International Airport, or Nikos Kazantzakis Airport is located about 5 km east of the city. The airport is named after Herkalion native Nikos Kazantzakis, a Greek writer and philosopher. It is the second busiest airport of Greece, mostly due to the fact that Crete is a major destination for tourists during summer. There are regular domestic flights to and from Athens, Thessaloniki and Rhodes. During the summer period, traffic is intense and the flight destinations are from all over Europe.
Heraklion has been the home town of some of Greece's most significant spirits, including the novelist Nikos Kazantzakis, the poet and Nobel Prize winner Odysseas Elytis and the world-famous Greek painter Domenicos Theotokopoulos (El Greco).
