In A.D. 824 the city, which had become the seat of an Archbishop, was destroyed by the Arabs. There was a small settlement on the site of Gortyn since the late Minoan period. But Gortyn became known later during the Archaic period and reached the high point of its glory in 69 B.C. when the Romans made it the capital of the Province of Crete and Cyrenaica and built many majestic structures there, such us the Praetorium and the Odeion, next to which were found the famous Law-Code of Gortyn carved in stone blocks. Opposite the ruins of the basilica of Ayios Titos, the road left leads after 33 km. A gorgeous sand beach at Lendas is also suitable for winter swimming.
Winter is so mild that it is said the swallows spend it there.
From Lendas you can visit the remote Monastery of Koudoumas by caique. On your return you follow the coast road which goes west to the marvelous sand beach of Kales Limenes where the Apostle Paul landed. The archaeological site of Agia Triada is located 63 km south-west of Heraklio. It was named after the nearby 14th-century church and a village which was situated there until 1897, when it was destroyed by the Turks. In the early 1920s, the Italian School performed excavations in the area, which brought to light a Minoan palace of great archaeological importance.