Rethymnon Prefecture Continued Page Seven

Built during the 16th century, the Venetian Loggia was used for official meetings and also for social gatherings and gambling. It has remained very intact, with its three arches on each of its sides, one for the entrance, and the others windows, and inside are pillars with Ionic capitals used to hold up the roof. Under the Ottomans it was a mosque, and later it housed the Archaeological Museum before it moved to its present location, where there is now a shop with reproductions of Classical art.

There are five mosques in Rethymnon, the most famous of them, the Nerandzes (left) , which is also the best preserved. When converted to a mosque in the 17th century, it was given three domes, and a minaret was added in 1890.

It once housed a music school and later a concert hall. There is also an old Turkish School and a Hamam (Turkish Bath). Ayios Frangiskos (St. Francis) ( above left) is a large church with sculpture on the frames of the doors and a wooden-beamed basilica. There are three large churches besides this one: Syria ton Angelon, Ayhios Andonios, and the Cathedral.

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