The traditional guesthouse Nakli is located in the centre of the old
town of Rethymnon, in a picturesque pedestrianised street, in a small distance
from the beach and from the most popular tourist town sights.
Recently the building has been renovated with respect to its historical value
and by using the same traditional materials (stones and wood) and techniques
that had been used for its initial construction.The building has been converted
to a traditional guesthouse that has three independent luxurious apartments with
equipment and furniture that follow the total aesthetics of the building. On the
second floor, the terrace has been retained so as to provide an excellent view
to the Venetian town castle Fortezza.
HistoryNakli in the Cretan Turkish dialect means the oral narration, the
fairy tales for adults.
The narration took place every evening with a new story in the wide loft of
the port café, where the Turks use to hang out and it was always followed by
a certain ritual. Late in the evening, when everybody will come to the café
and take their sit, the story teller will arrive and tell the nakli, that is
the evening's fairy tale.
Imagination and the elaborate lie is in the heart of nakli. All know that
they listen to lies, however lies are magical, nobody talks about them, or
interrupts them or doubts about them.
The old town of Rethymnon is one of the best-preserved towns of the
Renaissance. Lying in the heart of modern Rethymnon, it combines the oriental
features of the Turkish period with Renaissance-style Venetian architecture.
After the Venetian conquest of Crete (1204), the town of Rethymnon was built
according to the rules of Venetian architecture. The original craftsmen were
Venetians, but these later were replaced by Cretan murari, Venetian-trained
master builders.
The layout of Rethymnon is directly linked to the sea, with the main Venetian
street, the Ruga Maistra (today’s coastal Venizelou Avenue) running parallel to
the sea.
Today the old town of Rethymnon is a living museum of monuments of past
centuries. Despite the damage sustained in the Second World War, many Venetian
and Turkish monuments still stand, especially as the town has not been struck by
major earthquakes.