Sideros

Sideros
Native name:
Σίδερος
View from the northeast side of Kyriamadi. The central elevation of Sideros is visible in the background.
Sideros is located in Crete
Sideros
Sideros
EtymologyAccording 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
Coordinates35°18′46″N 26°18′27″E / 35.31282°N 26.30759°E / 35.31282; 26.30759
ArchipelagoCretan Islands
Administration
Greece
RegionCrete
Regional unitLasithi

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.