| Heraklion walls are more than four and a half kilometers in length, and everywhere wide and strongly built in a triangular shape. |
| Around the walls, a deep ditch was formed, which transformed the city into an impregnable fortress. The walls of Candia served the latest fortification art of the time, ensuring complete protection of the city. |
| Gates |
| The castle had four main gates in four points: |
| 1. On the north side, at the end of today’s August 25 Street, was the gate of Molos, which connected the town with the port. |
| 2. In eastern side, near today’s statue of Eleftherios Venizelos, was the gate of St. George or Lazaretto, which connected Candia with Eastern Crete and with the quarantine hospital (lazaretto). |
| 3. On the south side of the walls, in 1587, the Venetians built the gate of Jesus or New Gate (Kenourgia Porta). The roads starting from here led to the southern provinces of the county. Today's Kenourgia Porta bears no resemblance to the gate of that season. |
| 4. On the west side, at the end of the square Strata (Strata Larga - today’s Kalokairinou Street) was built the Gate of Pantokratoras (Panigra). Through this gate, the town communicated with Western Crete. |
| The three land gates of St. George, Jesus and Pantokratoras closed internally and externally, with very heavy and solid doors. The closing hours were at sunset and the opening at dawn. Those who stayed outside the walls slept in special domed buildings for this purpose. |
| Besides the four main gates, there were still three more for military purposes. |
| Bastions |
| The walls were protected by seven bastions / ramparts. The bastion was a solid platform, which protruded from the walls, in order to protect a larger area and to support effectively the adjacent parts of the walls. The seven bastions of the walls of Heraklion are the following: |
| 1. On the northeast corner, opposite the present hotel Atlantis, was the bastion of Sand (Sabionera), with the rampart Zane. |
| 2. The southeastern corner (today Kapetanakio School) hosts the bastion Virouri with the homonym rampart. |
| 3. The Gate of Jesus (now Kenourgia Porta) was built on the homonym bastion. |
| 4. At the top of the triangular wall enclosure was the Martinengo Bastion (where the tomb of Nikos Kazantzakis is located). Martinengo is the largest bastion of Heraklion. |
| 5. Opposite the hospital of Pananio, there is the bastion of Bethlehem. |
| 6. Next to the Gate of Pantokratoras (Chanioporta) was the homonym bastion. |
| 7. Lastly, the northwest corner of the walls hosted the bastion of St. Andrew, the weakest of Candia. |
| The Walls of Iraklion were constructed during the Venetian period. The construction started in 1462 and it was completed in the middle of the 16th century. They are characterized as the top fortifications of Europe. The circuit of the Walls was about 5 kilometers and they were surrounded by a deep dike full of water. In the past, in order to enter the city, people had to pass through one of the four gates: the Gate of St. George, the Gate of Jesus, the Gate of Pantocratoras or the Gate of Bethlehem. The Gates were protected by the bastions: the Bastion of Martinengo, where lies the tomb of Nikos Kazantzakis, the Bastion of Bethlehem, the Bastion of Pantocratoras, the Bastion of Jesus, the Bastion of St. Andrew, the Vitturi Bastion and the Bastion "Sabbionara" (of the sand). |