St. Andrew's Gate: The "Gate of the Raid"

During the last years of the siege of the Venetian-occupied Khándax (Candia), the coastal wall, the weakest part of the fortification, was hardly hit by the Turks. Outside and around the St. Andrew (or Holy Spirit) Bastion, additional defensive works were carried out. It was a waste of time. The Ottomans responded by opening mine shafts (minas) and by constructing two hills opposite the Sabbionara and St. Andrew bastions. They placed heavy artillery at their top and struck the harbour, dashing any hope of the fortress to receive supplies and to communicate with the West. In January 1669, the situation had become tragic. The St. Andrew's Bastion had already been seized. It was through this side of the coastal walls that the Ottoman conquerors entered the city following the surrender of its defenders. The St. Andrew Bastion, which had been almost levelled to the ground, was rebuilt - the heart-shaped bastion (still visible today) and its strong cavalier were works by the Ottomans. Its military coastal Gate, named after the nearby church of St. Andrew (the Bastion is also named after the same church), was rightfully renamed to “Giourous Kapisi” (Gate of the Raid). In 1672, the Ottomans built here the Fethiye Mosque, which means the Conquest Mosque. In commemoration of the wooden barricades built by the Venetians, in a desperate attempt to avoid the inevitable, the area is also known as "Xilini Dambia" (Wooden Bastion). In later years, St. Andrew's Gate was "sacrificed" to create space for the seafront avenue of the modern city. However, the southern part of its arch is still visible, to remind us the existence and history of the Gate.