Messara Plain

The Messara (Greek Πεδιάδα Μεσαράς ( f sg ) ) is a plain in the south of the Greek island of Crete. It is mostly good 45 kilometers south of the city of Heraklion in the same regional district. The main towns are Mires (about 5,500 inhabitants) and the small port town Tymbaki.

In the northwest, the Ida Massif, which rises to a height of 2,456 meters lies. In the south the plain is separated by up to 1,231 meters high Asteroussia Mountains from the southern Mediterranean. In the west the plain is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea.

The plane is almost 50 kilometers long, up to eight kilometers wide and has an area of ​​about 150 sq. km. It falls from a height of 250 meters in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west, from.

Due to the fertile plain of the river Geropotamos which supplies the water for many crops, so that in this arid area intensive agriculture is possible flows.

Mainly lives the region of the olive cultivation. The irrigation of the trees is ensured by local wells. In the plane on the edge of the river are (often in greenhouses or on irrigated land) grown vegetables and other crops. The edges of the plane are fairly densely populated in comparison to other arid regions of Crete.

Here are also the historical archaeological park of Gortyn and Phaistos.

• Monastery of Panagia Kalyviani