Agia Varvara is a very busy, long stretched, big (and not too pretty as seen from the road...) village at the beginning of the Messara Plain on the route from Iraklion south towards Mires. The distance to the capital is 30 kilometers. Agia Varvara is the main town of the municipality with the same name and it has about 2000 inhabitants. In the village is the chapel of Profitis Elias which is said to be the geographical centre of Crete. Northwest of Agia Varvara at 1 kilometer distance on a hill called Patela lie the ruins of ancient Rizinia. There is a path leading to it but not much has been excavated yet. It dates from 1500 BC and two temples from the 7th century B.C. were also found here. When travelling from north to south in Crete to the important archaeological sites of Messara or the coastal villages in the central south of Crete (like Agia Galini and Matala) you cannot avoid passing through the village of Agia Varvara.