Avdou Collection Suites

Avdou lies deep in the middle of the "Lagada" valley, right at the foot of the Lassithi plateau mountain range, 1 km from the lake of Aposelemi, 35 km from the city of Heraklion, with about 600 inhabitants. The earliest recorded reference to "Avdou" is in 1381, in a Venetian state document stating the area as a benefice belonging to Michel Quirino. Excavations in the area unearthed a building with mosaics, probably part of an extensive complex of an early-Christian basilica.The village is dotted with frescoed Byzantine churches.Near the Avdou settlement there are two caves, Faneromeni and Aghia Fotini, where archaeologists found artifacts dating back to the Neolithic period, in Minoan Crete when they were probably used as worship grounds. Avdou probably took its name from the prophet Havdeu whose church existed in nearby Kontaria.