Native name: Σίδερος | |
---|---|
Etymology | According to the early maps, the cape was renamed by the Venetians after San Sidero, the Venetian "Saint Isidore," as a symbol of militant Christianity in the long contention between Crusader nations and the early Ottoman Empire. |
Geography | |
Coordinates | 35°18′46″N 26°18′27″E / 35.31282°N 26.30759°E |
Archipelago | Cretan Islands |
Administration | |
Greece | |
Region | Crete |
Regional unit | Lasithi |
Sideros (Greek: Σίδερος), is the outermost of a chain of two island-like peninsulas forming, with Itanos promontory, Cape Sidero. They are all three the summits of submarine elevations connected by rocky surface cols on which a road has been constructed to Cape Sidero Lighthouse, the elevated facsimile chapel of Saint Isidore, and Port Joannis, a cove of 2 fathoms (12 ft) (about 4 m). There are ruins of an ancient temple of Athena destroyed by a tsunami and facilities of the Kyriamadi Naval Station. Kyriamadi is the other island-like peninsula in the chain. Administratively the cape lies within the Itanos municipal unit, Sitia Municipality, Lasithi regional unit, and Crete region.