Spinalonga

Spinalonga remained Venetian for half a century after the Turkish conquest of Crete and became a refuge for Christians fleeing from the Turks. Finally, in 1715, the Venetians handed over the island to the Turks by a special treaty. In 1903, the Cretan Republic made Spinalonga a colony for the lepers of Crete that subsequently closed in 1957. Going back in time, evidence shows that the island of Crete was connected with the peninsula of Spinalonga by a piece of land, on which was built the old town of Olounda. Its ruins are still visible at the bottom of the sea if the water is calm.