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| AGIOS NIKOLAOS |
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The town of Agios Nikolaos was named after the Byzantine chapel built on "Nissi" during the 7th AD century and it's history begins in ancient times when it was the port for Lato, a powerful city during Hellenistic times. The harbor was still used during Roman times and the first Byzantine period.After that and till 1206 when the Genoas built the chapel of "Mirabelo" nothing important happened. During the Turks' rule the town was uninhabited,but its harbour still continued to be used, and was known as Mandraki, and only after 1870 did people move here, mainly
to escape from Turkish persecution. During the later years of Turkish occupation, a small settlement grew up around the port, which took the name of Agios Nikolaos from the old domed church with a single nave, dedicated to Saint Nicholas, which stood on the small peninsula in the harbor.The lake of Agios Nikolaos is the most beautiful ornament of the town. Legend has it that Athena and Artemis Vritomartis were washing their hair at the deep blue waters of the lake. The Christian commissioner Costas Adossidis Passa connected the lake to the sea in 1867 and its stagnant waters became clear. |
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