Falassarna Beach in Crete, Greece

Falassarna, 20 km west of Kisamos, is a quiet village, with some small hotels, apartments and taverna's. It's the place of a spectaculair big sand beach, with beautiful rocks in the sea, making it look like something out of a fairy tale. It looks like a landscape of dunes, with fine sand. Falassarna is also the site of an ancient Hellenistic port, which was surrounded by walls and connected to the sea by a canal. 10 Minutes north by foot some of the walls and the defensive towers can still be seen. The port used to be at the sea, but since the earth is slowly elevating on the west side of the island of Crete (and sinking in the east) the former port has moved inland.

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A little bit more about Falassarna Beach on Crete

Falassarna Beach is located in the Bay of Livardi it is a long and approximately 3 kilometer long sandy beach. It is accessible from Kissamos, which is 16 kilometer away. The road to Falassarna is paved and good. The beach is a fine sandy beach and the water is of a beautiful color and cristal clear. Some parts of Falassarna have umbrellas and sunbeds for rent but the beach is not really super-commercial. It is long and wide, and there is always a nice quiet place where you can lie down. There is an exit "Big Beach" to the large beach and when you drive further you will come to the next beach, which is also large. At the end of the beach it is a bit rocky. This is also the place where you can lie down if you are a naturist. Further away there are some small coves where you can also lie down. The beach of Falassarna is one of the prettiest beaches of the island of Crete, and its fine and sometimes red or pink sand give the beach a tropical look.

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Ancient Falassarna

On the north side of the beach Falassarna about 2 kilometer away are the remains of "Ancient Falassarna. Falassarna was the major port of the city Polyrrinia. They are now busy with excavations (2009) and not everything is exposed yet. The old Falassarna was found not so long ago. Because the west of the island of Crete is slowly moving up, the port is now around 6 to 9 meter above sea level. Besides the remains of walls (including walls of an Acropolis) and towers, a rock carved stone throne can be seen and there are tombs, cisterns, storerooms and the ruins of houses.

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Hans Huisman, http://www.angelfire.com/super2/greece/ 2009 <XMP></body></xmp>