Η Δία είναι νησίδα του Κρητικού Πελάγους και βρίσκεται βόρεια του Ηρακλείου από το οποίο απέχει 7 ν.μ.. Έχει έκταση 12 Km2 μέγιστο μήκος 5χλμ. και πλάτος 3χλμ. Διοικητικά ανήκει στον δήμο Χερσονήσου.
Στην Δία υπάρχουν πολλά προστατευόμενα ενδημικά είδη ζώων , το σαλιγκάρι Albinaria retusa, η σαύρα Podarcis erchardii schiebeli , το αγριοκούνελο Oryctolagus cuniculus cnossius, αλλά και φυτών όπως το χασμόφυτο Carlina diae . Στο νησί φωλιάζει και ο μαυροπετρίτης , είδος γερακιού όπου ο πληθυσμός του παρακολουθήτε από ορνιθολόγους. Η Δία είναι ενταγμένη στο Ευρωπαϊκό Δίκτυο Φύση (Natura) 2000 και είναι ελεγχόμενη κυνηγετική περιοχή.
Το 1976 ο Ζακ-Υβ Κουστώ πραγματοποίησε υποβρύχιες έρευνες στην Δία και ανακάλυψε ίχνη από αρχαίο τεχνητό λιμάνι. Στην θαλάσσια περιοχή ανάμεσα στο Ηράκλειο και στην Δία ανεβρεθεί από τον Κουστό και το ναυάγιο του Γαλλικού πλοίου του 17ου αιώνα «La Therese» . Το πλοίο αποτελούσε μέρος Γαλλικής βοήθειας που είχε σταλεί στον Χάνδακα κατά την πολιορκία του από τους Οθωμανούς και ήταν το μόνο πλοίο που βυθίστηκε στις 24 Ιουνίου 1669. Ήταν η υποναυαρχίδα του στόλου και βυθίστηκε από έκρηξη στην πυριτιδαποθήκη του.
Πηγή : WikipediA
Ακολουθεί video από την εκπομπή “Μένουμε Ελλάδα” της ΝΕΤ.
…….. English version ……..
Dia, also pronounced locally as Ntia, is an island off the northern coast of the Greek island of Crete. The island is approximately 7 nautical miles north of Heraklion.
The islet looks like a giant lizard when viewed from the city of Heraklion. There is also a legend that a giant lizard tried to destroy the island of Crete, but Zeus turned it in to stone with a thunderbolt, thus creating the island.
The island is visible from Crete’s capital city of Heraklion, as it would have been in the time of the Minoan kingdom, from the capital of Knossos. Because of this, it was sometimes identified as the island that Theseus escaped to after killing the Minotaur.
On Dia there are a number of protected creatures including: the snail Albinaria retusa, the lizard Pdarcis erchardii schiebeli, the wild rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus cnossius, and the eagle called mavropetritis (in the Greek language). Dia is part of the European Network of Nature (Natura) 2000 and is a vetted hunting ground. There are also a number of protected plants such as Carlina diae.
In 1976, Jacques Cousteau carried out underwater exploration around Dia and found the remains of an ancient port. In the waters between Heraklion and Dia.
The shipwreck of the French vessel «La Terese» was found in 1976 during the surveys that Jacques Yves Cousteau did in the Agean in cooperation with the Greek Ministry of Culture. According to the press of the period, the shipwreck was pointed out to Cousteau by a diver coming from Heraklion, in the area between the Heraklion bay and the islet of Dia.
As soon as it was scanned, the wreck was called «the shipwreck of the skulls», due to the numerous skeletal remains found within the ship.
Systematic surveys started in 1987 and a lot of finds were pulled up: various arms, as canons with the escutcheon of the French kings, canonballs, tools used in the ship and many items of every day life. Along with parts of the ship there were pulled up the skeletal remains, shich were found to belong to more than 300 persons.
The finds of the shipwreck and the vessel itself are very interesting and important for the scholars, as they give information about the shipbuilding techniques of the period, but also about the history of the 25-years long siege of Candia, as it was the name of the actual city of Heraklion, by the Ottomans.
According to the documents of the period, the ship made part of the fleet which arrived to Heraklion, in order to help the besieged defensors of the fortified town. It was the vice-flagship of the fleet and arrived at Candia on the 19th of June of 1669. It was the only ship of the fleet that sank, during the attack of the Christian army both in sea and in land on the 24th of June of 1669; the ship sank because of an accidental explosion of the powder keg, but the accident had a fatal influence to the moral of the Christian troops, who did not realise their attack, whereas the French were forced to leave the island. Soon after, the «Megalo Kastro» («great castle» as they used to call Heraklion) passed to the Ottomans.
The ship had been built at Toulon from 1662 to 1665 and was one of the best warships of France: 900 tons displacement and armed with 58 canons.
Source : WikipediA
Here below you can follow a video as broadcasted by the natinal channel NET at “We stay in Greece” daily show.
Candia 