Souda is an important ferry and naval port of Chania. Is 6.5 Km to the east of the city. The Turks knew the area as ‘Tuzla’, their
name for salt‐beds. In the 1870s, they began to build a new settlement here which grew as the port expanded. Souda Bay is one
of the deepest natural harbours in the Mediterranean and is easy to defend. Now Souda is the arrival point for ferries from
Piraeus. There is also a NATO naval base located in Souda and across the bay, with military accommodation and hospital in the
town. Souda bay is about 15 km long and only two to four km wide, and a deep natural harbour. It is formed between the
Akrotiri peninsula and Cape Drapano, and runs west to east.
The bay is overlooked on both sides by hills, with a relatively low and narrow isthmus in the west near Chania. Near the mouth of Souda bay, between the Akrotiri and the town of Kalives, there is a group ofsmall islands with Venetian fortifications. The largest island is Souda Island, giving its name to the bay.
There have been port facilities on the bay since ancient times. In 1571 an Ottoman military force landed at Souda and caused major
destruction in the Chania area. The Venetians fortified Souda Island between 1570 and 1573, in order to protect the area from Ottoman raiders and pirates. However, Souda Bay remained a pirate infested area during the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries.
The Venetians managed to hold on to the strategic islands within Souda Bay until 1715, over thirty years after the fall of Crete to the Ottomans.
In 1822 an Egyptian army of approximately 10,000 under Hassan Pasha landed at Souda to defeat the Cretan Revolution of
1821. After the Cretan Revolution of 1866–1869 the Ottomans built fortresses at Aptera and Kalami, barracks, a military
hospital and a naval base. They also built the town of Souda at the head of the bay, as the new port of the nearby city of Chania.
The naval base was officially inaugurated in 1872, in the presence of Sultan Abdul Aziz.
In the period of the semi-independent Cretan State the area attracted international interest, as it offered port facilities to
foreign naval vessels enforcing the Cretan autonomy. On February 1 the metallic Ottoman flag, the last symbol of Ottoman rule,
was removed and replaced by the Greek flag on May 1.
During World War II British and Commonwealth troops withdrew from mainland Greece in April 1941 and 25,000 men, mainly
from New Zealand and Australia, disembarked at Souda Bay. In May 1941, during the German attack named “Operation
Merkur”, Allied troops retreated from the Souda area to Sfakia in the south of the island. The Germans occupied the area until
1945. The principal Allied War Cemetery of the island, designed by architect Louis de Soissons, is located at Souda. There are
1,527 graves, mostly British with 447 New Zealanders and 197 Australians.
WHAT TO TAKE WITH YOU
• High Sun protection.
• Sunglasses and sunhat.
• Long‐sleeved shirt for those who have very sensitive skin.