Rissakis Manolis & Giorgia -"STOP" Rent a Car and Accommodation was established in Crete in 1980 by Manolis Rissakis. It started as a family company and over the years it has grown in to a large Anonymous Association (S.A). Over the years we have taken pride in being able to offer our customers the lowest rates, the newest car models,high quallity of accommodation in all over the island of Crete (Heraklion-Chania-Rethimnon-Agios Nikolaos-Agia Pelagia-Agia Galini-Hersonissos - Malia - Stalis - Matala - etc.)

We guarantee competitive prices and professional services all over Crete. Punctuality, reliability, and responsible service will meet your needs anywhere, anytime.

Having professional and committed multi - lingual staff, we are always eager to provide assistance, information and material that will help make your vacations in Crete a pleasant experience.

Our main office is located in Agia Pelagia, one of the most famous holiday resorts in Crete.

It is only 20 Km far from the airport of Heraklion "Nikos Kazantzakis".

We have branch offices all over Crete.

About Crete

Crete general information:

Crete is the largest of the Greek islands (8,336 km²) and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean. Crete is about 260 km long and 60 km wide, with a population of approximately 600,000. To the north it broaches the Sea of Crete and to the south the Libyan sea.

Crete consists of four prefectures: Chania, Rethimnon, Heraklion and Lasithi.

Crete is extremely mountainous, and its character is defined by a high mountain range crossing from West to East ( Lefka Ori, Psiloritis, Dikti mountains, Kedros, Thripti).These mountains gifted Crete with fertile plateaus, such as Lasithi, Omalos and Nidha ; caves, such as Diktaion and Idaion ; and gorges such as the famous Samaria. Crete is the home of the wild goat Kri-Kri and a refuge for the vulture Lammergeier.

Crete is a location of significant ancient history and a popular tourist destination; its attractions include the Minoan sites of Knossos and Phaistos, the classical site of Gortys, the Venetian castle at Rethymnon, and the Samaria Gorge, as well as many other natural sites. Crete was the centre of the Minoan civilization (2600-1400 BC).

If there was a beauty contest for Greek islands, Crete would surely be among the favorites.

Tourism

Crete is one of the most popular holiday destinations in Greece; 15% of all arrivals in Greece come through the city of Heraklion (port and airport).

Overall, more than two million tourists visited Crete last year.

Today, the island's tourism infrastructure caters to all tastes, including a very wide range of accommodation; big hotels but also smaller family-owned apartments.

Visitors reach the island via two international airports in Heraklion and Chania, or by boat to the main ports of Heraklion, Chania, Rethimnon and Agios Nikolaos.

It is very convenient and easy to visit Crete with a rental car.

Crete has a warm Mediterranean climate. Summers in the lowlands, are hot and dry with clear skies. Dry hot days are often relieved by a system of seasonal breezes. The mountain areas are much cooler, with considerable rain. Winters are mild in the lowlands with rare frost and snow.

Crete History:

The first human settlements on the island, dating to the aceramic Neolithic, were growing cereals and had cattle. Ancient Knossos was the site of one of these major Neolithic (then later Minoan) sites .Crete has been the center of Europe´s most ancient civilization; the Minoan. Little is known about the rise of ancient Cretan society. This contrasts with the superb houses, palaces, roads, paintings and sculptures that do remain. Early Cretan history is replete with legends such as those of King Minos, Theseus, Minotaur, Daedalus and Icarus passed on orally via poets such as Homer.

Crete initially repelled an attack by Rome in 71 BC but was finally conquered in 69 BC, earning the title "Creticus". Gortyn was made capital of the island and Crete became a Roman province.

Crete was under Byzantine empire´s control when it fell into the hands of Iberian who established an emirate on the island. In 960 Nicephorus Phocas reconquered the island and held it under Byzantine control. Then, in 1204, it fell into the hands of the Venetians at the time of the Fourth Crusade. During Venice's rule, Renaissance swept through the island as one can see from the plethora of artistic works dating to that period. The most notable fruits of the Cretan renaissance were El Greco and Vitsentzos Kornaros.

In 1669 after a 21-year siege Candia fell to the Ottoman empire.Cretan participation in the Greek War of Independance was extensive. Uprising by Christians were met with fierce response from the Ottoman authorities. Between 1821 and 1828, the island was the scene of repeated hostilities. Crete eventually was left out to the modern Greek state by the London Protocol of 1830, and soon it was yielded to Egypt by the Ottoman sultan. But sovereignty was returned to the Ottoman Empire by the Treaty of London in 1840.

Eventually, in 1898, Crete became a complex autonomus state under Ottoman suzerainty and with a Greek High Commissioner. During these years Cretan volunteers played an important role in the Greek struggle for Macedonia. Finally, Crete joined Greece on 1st December 1913. Muslim presence in the island started with the Arab but was cemented by the Ottoman conquest. Many natives, being initially Christians and sharing a Greek culture, converted to Islam, thus regarded by the rest as Turks. On the eve of the Greek War of Independence many among them converted back to Christianity.

During World War II, the island of Crete was the scene of the famous Battle of Crete where in May 1941, German paratroopers met fierce resistance by the locals and the British Commonwealth force, subsequently forcing Hitler to forbade further large scale airborne operations during the war.

Heraklion is the largest city and capital of Crete. It is also the fourth largest city in Greece.

For centuries it was known as Candia, a Venetian adaptation of the earlier Greek name.

Heraklion is the capital of Heraklion Prefecture, with an international airport named after the writer Nikos Kazantzakis. The ruins of Knossos, which were excavated and restored by Arthur Evans, are nearby.

Chania is the second largest city of Crete and the capital of the Chania Prefecture. It lies along the north coast of the island, about 70 km west of Rethymnon and 145 km west of Heraklion.

With 4,248.1 inhabitants/km², the municipality is the most densely populated outside the Athens and Thessaloniki metropolitan areas. The city of Chania can be divided in two parts: the old town and the modern city which is the larger one. The old town is situated next to the old harbour and is the matrix around which the whole urban area was developed. It used to be surrounded by the old Venetian fortifications that started to be built in 1538; of them the eastern and western parts have survived. From the south, the old town is continuous with the new, and from the north the physical border is the sea. The centre of the modern city is the area extending next to the old town and especially towards the south.

Agios Nikolaos (or Aghios Nikolaos, Greek: Άγιος Νικόλαος) is a coastal town on the Greek island of Crete, lying east of the island's capital Heraklion, north of the town of Ierapetra and west of the town of Sitia. In the year 2000, the Municipality of Agios Nikolaos, which takes in part of the surrounding villages, claimed around 19,000 inhabitants. The town is the capital of the nomos (province) of Lasithi, and sits partially upon the ruins of the ancient city of Lato pros Kamara.

Rethymno (Greek: Ρέθυμνο, pronounced [ˈreθimno], also Rethimno, Rethymnon, Réthymnon, and Rhíthymnos), a city of approximately 40,000 people, is the capital of Rethymno Prefecture in the island of Crete. It was built in antiquity (ancient Rhithymna and Arsinoe), even though it has never been a competitive Minoan center. It was, however, strong enough to mint its own coins and maintain a mild urban growth. One of these coins is today depicted as the crest of the town with two dolphins in a circle.

Rethymno started growing again when the Venetian conquerors of the island wanted to have an intermediate commercial station between Heraklion and Chania acquiring its own bishop and nobility. Today's old town (palia poli) is almost entirely built by Venetians. It is one of the best preserved old towns in Crete.

The town still maintains its old aristocratic appearance, with its buildings dating from the 16th century, arched doorways, stone staircases, Byzantine and Hellenic-Roman remains, small Venetian harbor and narrow streets. The Venetian Loggia today houses the information office of the ministry of culture. The big municipal gardens are ideal for those in search of shade and tranquility. Throughout the year various activities are organized which draw a large crowd. The Wine Festival is held there annually at the beginning of July. Another festival is held on 7-8th of November, in memory of the destruction of Arkadi Monastery.

The old Venetian port.

It has a Venetian castle called the Fortetza which is the one of the biggest and best standing castles in Crete. Other monuments include the Neratze mosque (St. Katherine's Catholic Church), the Great Gate (megali porta, Porta Guerra), the Piazza Rimondi (Rimmondi square), the Venetian Loggia etc. Today its main income is tourism, with large Facilities that have been built the past 20 years and Agriculture especially, for its olive oil and Mediterranean products. It is also the base of the Philosophical School and the University Library of the University of Crete and the School of Social and Political Sciences having 8,000 students every year on its University Campus at "Galos" and where the Academic Institute of Mediterranean Studies is situated.

Lasithi (Greek: Λασίθι) is the easternmost prefecture on the island of Crete, to the east of the prefecture of Heraklion. Its capital is Agios Nikolaos, the other major towns being Ierapetra, Sitia and Neapoli. The mountains include the Dikte to the west and the Sitia Mountains to the east. The Sea of Crete lies to the north and the Libyan Sea to the south.

To the east of the village of Elounda lies the island of Spinalonga, formerly a Venetian fortress and a leper colony. On the foot of Mount Dikti lies the Lasithi Plateau, famous for its windmills. Vai is well-known for its datepalm forest.

Thanks to stunning beaches and its mild climate year-long, Lasithi attracts many tourists. Mass tourism is served by places like Vai, Agios Nikolaos and the island of Chrissi. More off-beat tourism can be found in villages on the south coast like Myrtos, Makrys Gialos or Makrigialos, Xerokambos and Koutsouras.

The prefecture is home to a number of ancient remains. Vasiliki, Fournu Korfi, Pyrgos, Zakros and Gournia are ruins of Minoan date, Lato and Itanos were Doric towns.