This view was taken from the hills above Ellinika, in eastern Crete, looking across Mirabello Bay. On the far side of the water, Agios Nikolaos spreads out behind a low, rocky headland, with the mountains of Lasithi forming the backdrop.
Mirabello Bay is the largest bay among the Greek islands and one of the largest in the Mediterranean. Its shores have been inhabited for thousands of years. On the small island of Pseira stood a Minoan seaport, active from the end of the Neolithic until the Late Minoan period. Later, Dorian settlers built the hill city of Lato on a saddle overlooking the water, and its harbour, Lato pros Kamara, occupied the same ground where Agios Nikolaos stands today. The name of the bay is usually traced to Mirabello, the Venetian fort that once stood in the port town.
Agios Nikolaos is the capital of the Lasithi regional unit and the main town on the bay. About 13,600 people live in the town itself, and a little under 28,000 in the wider municipality (2021 census). Its growth has always been tied to the port, and the prefecture’s seat was moved here from Neapoli in 1904.
At the centre of town lies Lake Voulismeni, an almost circular body of water roughly 137 metres across and about 49 metres deep. It was originally a freshwater lake. A first channel to the sea was cut in the 1860s to stop the water from stagnating, and the channel in use today, dug by French soldiers in 1907, connects it to the harbour.
Farther north, at the entrance to the Gulf of Elounda, lies the island of Spinalonga. The Venetians fortified it in the late sixteenth century, and it was the last of their positions on Crete to fall, surrendered to the Ottomans in 1715. In the early twentieth century it became a leper colony, which stayed in use until 1957. The island has been uninhabited since.
Camera: Canon EOS R7
Lens: TAMRON SP 28-75mm F/2.8 Di A09E
Capture Information:
Focal Length: 28.0 mm
Shutter Speed: 1/640
Aperture: f/8.0
ISO: 200
Photo Taken: May 15, 2026
High resolution
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