by John Freedman
Originally published elsewhere in a slightly different version April 3, 2020
Republished on Contemplating Crete April 9, 2021
Ta Neoria, the dry docks, the dockyards, the arsenal… You can find these wonderful old structures – my sister Margie’s favorite in all of Chania – under all those names. Seventeen were built in the middle of the east side of the Venetian Port between the years 1467 and 1599. Two more were added at the far east end, not too distant, in 1607. Seven structures remain in the original position, while the other two, known as the Moro Docks, still stand at port’s end – one occupied by a maritime museum, the other by the wonderful Sailing Club Sea Lounge and Espresso Bar that serves great fruit salads and offers splendid views of the port and the Faros, the lighthouse. So were these structures dry docks or arsenals, i.e., ammunition dumps? In Chania’s rich and varied history they have been both. They were built and used as dry docks by the Venetian occupiers of the island, while later the Turkish occupiers used them for military storage. The Turks, during their years of occupation (1645-1898), tore down unneeded dry docks, eventually eliminating nine of them. According to the small but mighty booklet Discover Chania… on Foot (www.discoveronfoot.com), each dry dock was (is) 50 meters long and nine meters wide. I would go out and do a guesstimate of the height in person, but we remain in lockdown due to the coronavirus. You’ll have to check that yourself when travel restrictions are lifted and you can come here yourself. In any case, judging by the photos, each dry dock stands somewhat higher than it is wide. These days there is a wide quay the separates the buildings from the harbor slips and water. But in some old photos you can see the water coming right up to the seaside entrances. The seven main docks are essentially abandoned at present. You can peer in broken windows and see that there is storage of some sort going on in there, and people do some and go from time to time. But all of the main seven docks long ago ceased to have a public life. Kallergon Street in the far north of the Splantzia area runs along the backside of the docks. The west side of the far dock still has marks of former glory – we can see where Venetian doorways and plaques and arches were located. Texts and photos Copyright © 2020 John Freedman. Copyright renewed © 2021.
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