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The Venetian Harbor of Heraklion
The port's history begins in the Minoan era (Poros-Katsambas) and was founded as Rabdh el Khandaq by Arabs in 824 CE as a pirate base. Following Byzantine rule, Venetians developed it as Candia, their realm's capital. They constructed the massive Rocca a Mare (Koules Fortress, 1523-1540), a two-story fort with prisons and cannon ramparts, and the extensive Venetian Shipyards (Neoria) for galley repair. Ottomans added the Little Koules, later demolished in 1936 along with the Gate of the Mole and most Neoria during 20th-century modernization.