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56-572: The story was made into a 1957 film with the same title starring Dirk Bogarde by the British writer-director-producer team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger . The book recounts Moss's service, alongside Patrick Leigh Fermor , as an agent of Special Operations Executive (SOE), including their kidnapping of Heinrich Kreipe , commander of 22. Luftlande-Division (22nd Air Landing Division) on German-occupied Crete , and Kreipe's removal to Cairo for intelligence and propaganda purposes. While

112-530: A beach near Rodakino , possibly Peristeres beach, on the southern side of the island. They were transported to safety, landing at Mersa Matruh in Egypt. After the war, a member of Kreipe’s staff reported how, on hearing the news of the kidnapping, an uneasy silence in the officers' mess in Heraklion was followed by, “Well gentlemen, I think this calls for champagne all round.” Post War correspondence explains that Kreipe

168-628: A fortress in the harbour. Chandax was renamed Candia and became the seat of the Duke of Candia , and the Venetian administrative district of Crete became known as "Regno di Candia" ( Kingdom of Candia ). The city retained the name of Candia for centuries and the same name was often used to refer to the whole island of Crete as well. To secure their rule, the Venetians began in 1212 to settle families from Venice on Crete. The coexistence of two different cultures and

224-729: A major tourist destination from the 1980s onwards. The oldest monument of architecture is the palace in Knossos on the outskirts of the city. Two largest medieval churches in the city were the Dominican church of St. Peter (built between 1248 and 1253) and the San Salvatore, belonging to the Augustinian Friars . The latter one stood in Kornaros Square, but was demolished in 1970. Other monuments of architecture from Venetian times include

280-523: A measurable amount on the ground occurring in February 2004. Heraklion falls in 11a hardiness zone . NOAA (precipitation days - dew point 1961-1990) The Cultural and Conference Center of Heraklion is a centre for the performing arts. The city is home to several sports clubs. Most notably, Heraklion hosts OFI and Ergotelis , two football clubs with earlier presence in the Greek Superleague ,

336-584: A modest and most engaging manner". The book was reprinted twice in both February and March 1950 and again in June that year. The book was chosen to lead the BBC radio series Now it can be told of 1950. It has been republished many times since and remains in print. The book has been translated into Spanish, Italian and Greek. The title is a quotation from Shakespeare 's A Midsummer Night's Dream (Act 2, Scene 1, Line 60). Moss's second book, A War of Shadows , describes

392-517: A railway line in Crete, linking Chania, Rethymno, and Heraklion. No official plans exist for implementing this idea. Heraklion has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate ( Csa in the Köppen climate classification ). Summers are warm to hot and dry with clear skies. Dry hot days are often relieved by seasonal breezes. Winters are mild with moderate rain. Because Heraklion is further south than Athens , it has

448-460: A secluded cove on the far side of the island where they are to be picked up by the Royal Navy, the group finds the area occupied by German troops. Kreipe offers Niko, a young boy travelling with the group, a gold coin, telling him that if he goes down to the beach, he will get a pair of German jackboots. The British officers ask the child to deliver a message to local partisans. Niko seems to fall for

504-466: A warmer climate during winter but cooler during summer because of the Aegean Sea . The maximum temperature during the summer period is usually not more than 28 - 30 °C (Athens normal maximum temperature is about 5 °C higher). The minimum temperature record is -0.8 °C in the airport while in the port it has never dropped below 0 °C. Snowfalls are rare with the last significant snowfall with

560-613: Is also home to the ancient Knossos Palace, a major center of the Minoan civilization dating back to approximately 2000-1350 BCE, often considered Europe's oldest city. The palace is one of the most significant archaeological sites in Greece, second only to the Parthenon in terms of visitor numbers. Heraklion was Europe's fastest growing tourism destination for 2017, according to Euromonitor, with an 11.2% growth in international arrivals. According to

616-771: Is an account of events during the author's service on Crete during World War II as an agent of the Special Operations Executive (SOE). The title is a quotation from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream , and the book features the young agents' capture and evacuation of the German general Heinrich Kreipe . During World War II , the Greek island of Crete is occupied by the Nazis . British officers Major Patrick Leigh Fermor DSO and Captain Bill Stanley Moss MC of

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672-505: Is eleven minutes shorter than the British release), is a film by the British writer-director-producer team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger , and the last movie they made together through their production company "The Archers" . The film, which stars Dirk Bogarde and features Marius Goring , David Oxley , and Cyril Cusack , is based on the 1950 book Ill Met by Moonlight: The Abduction of General Kreipe by W. Stanley Moss , which

728-527: Is the largest city and the administrative capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in Greece with a municipal population of 179,302 (2021) and 211,370 in its wider metropolitan area, according to the 2011 census. The greater area of Heraklion has been continuously inhabited since at least 7000 BCE, making it one of the oldest inhabited regions in Europe. It

784-629: The Alpes-Maritimes in France and Italy, and on the Côte d'Azur in France. Both Patrick Leigh Fermor and Xan Fielding were present on the location shots in Alpes-Maritime as advisors. The movie's score by Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis , who had been raised on the island of Crete, was his first for motion pictures. Watching the movie again years later, Powell complained that he "was surprised by how bad

840-589: The Republic of Venice as part of a complicated political deal which involved, among other things, the Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade restoring the deposed Eastern Roman Emperor Isaac II Angelus to his throne. The Venetians improved on the ditch of the city by building enormous fortifications, most of which are still in place, including a giant wall, in places up to 40 metres (130 ft) thick, with seven bastions, and

896-569: The Saint Mark's Basilica and the Renaissance loggia next to Lions Square (1626–28). Around the historic city center of Heraklion there are also a series of defensive walls, bastions and other fortifications which were built earlier in the Middle Ages, but were completely rebuilt by the Republic of Venice . The fortifications managed to withstand the longest siege in history for 21 years, before

952-575: The Second Council of Nicaea . The name was revived in the 19th century and was in use by locals as early as 1867. 1. In antiquity : The area that would later become the city of Heraklion served as the port for the ancient city of Knossos , one of the centers of the Minoan civilization. This strategic location facilitated trade and communication across the Mediterranean. Over time, as Knossos declined,

1008-519: The Special Operations Executive (SOE) land on the island and meet with other British agents and members of the Cretan resistance . In April 1944, they kidnap General Kreipe, the German commander of the island's occupying forces and, in disguise, drive his car through a number of German checkpoints until they abandon it and set off on foot with the General. Travelling mainly by night across mountainous territory,

1064-643: The aftermath of Ill Met by Moonlight , a subsequent raid on Crete and operations in mainland Greece and Thailand (against Japanese forces). In May 1941, German forces attacked and occupied Crete. Allied forces were driven back and evacuated to North Africa by June. The Special Operations Executive (SOE) inserted agents on Crete in order to work with the local resistance in harrying German occupying forces. On 4 February 1944, Major Patrick Leigh Fermor and Captain William Stanley Moss and two Cretan SOE agents left Egypt by plane for Crete. Their intention

1120-474: The 59th busiest in Europe, because of Crete being a major holiday destination with 8,066,000 passengers in 2022 ( List of the busiest airports in Europe ). The airfield is shared with the 126th Combat Group of the Hellenic Air Force . European route E75 runs through the city and connects Heraklion with the three other major cities of Crete: Agios Nikolaos , Chania , and Rethymno . Urban buses serve

1176-501: The Aegean. In 960, Byzantine forces under the command of Nikephoros Phokas , later to become Emperor, landed in Crete and attacked the city. After a prolonged siege , the city fell in March 961. The Saracen inhabitants were slaughtered, the city looted and burned to the ground. Soon rebuilt, the town remained under Byzantine control for the next 243 years. In 1204, the city was bought by

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1232-482: The Cretan Resistance, once disdained by the General, to the "birds" who take the breadcrumbs in the story. Kreipe compliments them on the professionalism of their mission. On deck, Niko sings “Filedem” while proudly polishing his new German jackboots. Cast notes: Emeric Pressburger had read and bought the rights to W. Stanley Moss's book in 1950, but production would not begin for another six years. Following

1288-573: The Eastern Roman Empire. They built a moat around the city for protection, and named the city rabḍ al-ḫandaq (ربض الخندق, "Castle of the Moat", hellenized as Χάνδαξ, Chandax ). It became the capital of the Emirate of Crete ( c.  827 –961). The Saracens allowed the port to be used as a safe haven for pirates who operated against Imperial (Byzantine) shipping and raided Imperial territory around

1344-549: The Ottoman period, the harbour silted up, so most shipping shifted to Chania in the west of the island. An earthquake located off the northern coast of Crete on October 12, 1856, destroyed most of the over 3,600 homes in the city. Only 18 homes were left intact. The disaster claimed 538 victims in Heraklion. In 1898, the autonomous Cretan State was created, under Ottoman suzerainty , with Prince George of Greece as its High Commissioner and under international supervision. During

1400-642: The Yeni Cami ("New Mosque"), and the Agios Minas Cathedral (1862–95). An example of modern architecture in Heraklion is the Heraklion Archaeological Museum built between 1937 and 1940 by architect Patroklos Karantinos. Several sculptures, statues and busts commemorating significant events and figures of the city's and island's history, like El Greco , Vitsentzos Kornaros , Nikos Kazantzakis and Eleftherios Venizelos can be found around

1456-510: The actions of the General, they finalized the details of the abduction. The plan was for the two British officers, dressed as corporals in the Feldgendarmerie (German military police), to stop the general's car on his way home at what was supposed to be a routine check point. On the night of 26 April 1944, the two British officers stopped the General's car before the Villa Ariadne. When

1512-507: The area. Only with the arrival of the Romans did some construction in the area begin, yet especially early into Byzantine times the area abounded with pirates and bandits. Heraklion was chosen as capital in 824, with fortifications starting being built the following year, by the Arabs under Abu Hafs Umar who had been expelled from Al-Andalus by Emir Al-Hakam I and had taken over the island from

1568-487: The beach and are joined by the partisans. The general removes the sling. On board the British ship that is to transport them to Cairo , the Middle East headquarters of British forces, Fermor and Moss return the gold coin he gave Niko, who is going to safety with them. They also return the items that the General planted during their trek, comparing them to the "breadcrumbs" left by Hansel in the story of Hansel and Gretel and

1624-527: The book. Kreipe secured an injunction preventing publication of the book in Germany on the grounds that the statement in the book was untrue. Leigh Fermor's report after the operation and the publication of his account of the abduction published in 2015 both corroborated Moss's version of events. Notes Ill Met by Moonlight (film) Ill Met by Moonlight (1957), released in the USA as Night Ambush (which

1680-491: The car stopped, Leigh Fermor took care of Kreipe and Moss knocked the driver out with his cosh. Moss drove the team and the General in the General's car for an hour and a half through 22 controlled road blocks in Heraklion before leaving Leigh Fermor to abandon the car. When Leigh Fermor left the car, he also left documents revealing that the kidnapping had been done by British Commandos so that no reprisals should be taken against

1736-689: The city fell to the Ottomans in 1669. The Koules Fortress ( Castello a Mare ), the ramparts and the arsenal dominate the port area. Many fountains of the Venetian era are preserved, such as the Bembo fountain, the Priuli fountain, Palmeti fountain, Sagredo fountain and Morosini fountain in Lions Square (1628). Architecture from the 19th century is represented by the St Titus Cathedral , built in 1869 as

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1792-497: The city was Kandiye . 5. Megalo Kastro (Μεγάλο Κάστρο): After the Byzantine reconquest of Crete , the city was locally known as Megalo Kastro ( Μεγάλο Κάστρο , 'Big Castle' in Greek ) and its inhabitants were called Kastrinoi (Καστρινοί, "castle-dwellers"). Heraklion is home to the ruins of the palace of Knossos , located in the southern periphery of the city and part of the Heraklion municipality. In Minoan times, Knossos

1848-478: The city's Christian defenders perished. The Ottoman army under an Albanian grand vizier , Köprülü Fazıl Ahmed Pasha conquered the city in 1669. Under the Ottomans, Kandiye ( Ottoman Turkish قنديه) was the capital of Crete ( Girit Eyâleti ) until 1849, when Chania ( Hanya ) became the capital, and Kandiye became a sancak . In Greek, it was commonly called Megalo Castro (Μεγάλο Κάστρο 'Big Castle'). During

1904-514: The city, with 39 different routes. Intercity buses connect Heraklion to many major destinations in Crete. From 1922 to 1937, a working industrial railway connected the Koules in Heraklion to Xiropotamos for the construction of the harbor. In the summer of 2007, at the Congress of Cretan emigrants held in Heraklion, two engineers, George Nathenas and Vassilis Economopoulos, recommended the development of

1960-612: The city. The municipality Heraklion was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 5 former municipalities, that became municipal units: The municipality has an area of 244.613 km , the municipal unit 109.026 km . Heraklion is an important shipping port and ferry dock. Travellers can take ferries and boats from Heraklion to destinations including Santorini , Ios Island , Paros , Mykonos , and Rhodes . There are direct ferries to Naxos , Karpathos , Kasos , Sitia , Anafi , Chalki and Diafani . There are also several daily ferries to Piraeus ,

2016-446: The film was," happy or at least content with the setting and music but especially disappointed in the performances of the lead actors and his own direction, which "concentrated so much on creating a Greek atmosphere that [Powell] had no time, or invention for anything else." Although Powell was especially unhappy with Bogarde's performance, Patrick Leigh Fermor expressed great satisfaction with Bogarde's representation of him. The film

2072-574: The film's financial success. Part of his unhappiness is attributed to Pressburger's screenplay, but he also describes conflicts with Rank's studio bosses over casting, film format, and locations. Dirk Bogarde was eventually cast as Fermor, despite Powell's misgivings, and the filming was done in VistaVision but in black-and-white. Cyprus was experiencing armed insurgency at the time, so filming took place at Pinewood Studios in England, with location shooting in

2128-410: The group has to evade surveillance by German search parties looking for the General, but is given assistance by townspeople and other resistance partisans . Along the way, Kreipe seems to be resigned to having to cooperate, but he leaves personal tokens at several stops as clues for searchers to follow. He also feigns an injury to his shoulder to slow down the group's progress. After a final push to reach

2184-403: The hero Heracles (Hercules). In antiquity, it was located about 20 stadia (approximately 3.7 kilometers) from Knossos. Strabo also confirms the connection between the two. The site of the ancient port falls within the boundaries of the modern city, near today’s port area. Although ecclesiastical records do not list it as a bishopric, a bishop named Theodoros of Heracleopolis is mentioned at

2240-463: The local population. With his Cretan escorts, Moss set off with the General across country to a rendezvous where they would be joined by Leigh Fermor. Hunted by German patrols, the group moved across the mountains to reach the southern side of the island, where a British motor launch (ML 842 commanded by Brian Coleman) was to pick them up. On 14 May 1944, the SOE team and the general were finally picked up from

2296-515: The manuscript was completed in early 1945, its publication was initially blocked by the head of SOE, Major-General Sir Colin Gubbins , an instruction relayed by Colin Mackenzie (BB100), commander of Force 136 . It was first published in 1950, when it was selected by W. Somerset Maugham as one of the best three books of that year: "more thrilling than any detective story I can remember, and written in

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2352-455: The other two arrived by Motor Launch ML 842 on 4 April 1944. They were met on the beach by Leigh Fermor and another SOE agent, Sandy Rendel . Their target General Müller was replaced by General Kreipe just before they arrived. The team decided to proceed with the plan to abduct the German commanding officer. The SOE team included a number of Cretans; 'Anthony' (Antonis Papaleonidas), 'Micky' (Michalis Akoumianakis) and Grigorios Chnarakis. Micky

2408-740: The period of direct occupation of the island by the Great Powers (1898–1908), Candia was part of the British zone. At this time the ancient name of "Heraklion" was revived. In 1913, with the rest of Crete , Heraklion was incorporated into the Kingdom of Greece . Heraklion was severely damaged in the bombing campaign in May 1941 during the German invasion in the Battle of Crete . The city remained under German rule until 1945. Heraklion again became capital of Crete in 1971, replacing Chania. The city, and Crete generally, became

2464-416: The port area grew in significance, eventually becoming a prominent urban center. 2. Rabḍ al-ḫandaq (ربض الخندق): In 824 CE, Arab exiles from al-Andalus (Iberia) who conquered Crete and founded the Emirate of Crete moved the island's capital from Gortyna to a new castle they called rabḍ al-ḫandaq ("Castle of the Moat"). 3. Chándax (Χάνδαξ) / Chándakas (Χάνδακας): The Arabic name rabḍ al-ḫandaq

2520-448: The port of Athens in mainland Greece. The port of Heraklion was built by Sir Robert McAlpine and completed in 1928. Heraklion International Airport , or Nikos Kazantzakis Airport is located about 5 kilometres (3 miles) east of the city. The airport is named after Heraklion native Nikos Kazantzakis , a writer and a philosopher. It is the second busiest airport of Greece after Athens International Airport , first in charter flights and

2576-421: The ranking, Heraklion was ranked as the 20th most visited region in Europe, as the 66th area on the planet and as the 2nd in Greece for the year 2017, with 3.2 million visitors and the 19th in Europe for 2018, with 3.4 million visitors. The name Herakleion (Ηράκλειον) is derived from an ancient port of Heracleium that served as the harbour for Knossos . The port, bearing the same name, was named in honour of

2632-489: The ruse. The group watches the shore from above and sees him go into the German camp. Kreipe, exulting, tells the British they are foolish for trusting Cretan “barbarians.” He tells them he bribed the boy. But instead of heading up the hills to engage with the British and retrieve the General, the Germans march off. Fermor tells Kreipe that they are heading into a partisan ambush. The British and Cretans, along with Kreipe arrive at

2688-646: The stimulus of the Italian Renaissance led to a flourishing of letters and the arts in Candia and Crete in general, that is today known as the Cretan Renaissance . During the Cretan War (1645–1669) , the Ottomans besieged the city for 21 years, from 1648 to 1669, the longest siege in history up until that time. In its final phase, which lasted for 22 months, 70,000 Turks, 38,000 Cretans and slaves and 29,088 of

2744-686: The success of The Battle of the River Plate (1956, American title: Pursuit of the Graf Spee ), The Archers agreed to a one-film contract with the Rank Organisation , but disagreements between Powell and Pressburger over that contract and aspects of the film production contributed to the final breakup of The Archers as a production company. In Million Dollar Movie (1992), the second volume of Michael Powell's memoirs, he describes Ill Met by Moonlight as one of The Archers' "greatest failures," despite

2800-541: The top tier of the Greek football league system . Furthermore, the city is the headquarters of the Heraklion Football Clubs Association , which administers football in the entire region . Other notable sport clubs include Iraklio B.C. ( basketball ), Atsalenios (football) and Irodotos (football) in the suburbs of Atsalenio and Nea Alikarnassos respectively. Heraklion has been the home town of some of Greece's most significant people, including

2856-653: Was Hellenized to Χάνδαξ ( Chándax ) or Χάνδακας ( Chándakas ). 4. Candia : This name, derived from Chándax, was Latinized as Candia and adopted into other European languages: in Italian and Latin as Candia , in Spanish as Candía , in French as Candie , and in English as Candy . These names could refer to the island of Crete as a whole as well as to the city alone; the Ottoman name for

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2912-596: Was disliked by his soldiers because, amongst other things, he objected to the stopping of his own vehicle for checking in compliance with his commands concerning approved travel orders. This tension between the General and his troops, in part, explains the caution of sentries in considering stopping the General’s car as Moss drove it through Heraklion. The book was due to be published in Germany in 1950. Kreipe alleged that he had never given his parole not to shout or to try to escape to Moss and Leigh Fermor as described by Moss in

2968-482: Was especially welcome as his house was opposite Kreipe's residence, the Villa Ariadne , in the village of Knossos . The team reconnoitred the area and planned the abduction. Dressed as a Cretan shepherd, Leigh Fermor travelled on the local bus to check Knossos and the area around the German headquarters. He decided that the German headquarters would be too difficult to penetrate. After a few days of alternately observing

3024-516: Was the largest centre of population on Crete and is considered by many to be the oldest city in Europe. Knossos itself had a port at the site of Heraklion (in the modern area of Poros-Katsambas neighborhood) from the beginning of the Early Minoan period (3500 to 2100 BC). After the fall of the Minoans, Heraklion, as well as the rest of Crete in general, fared poorly, with very little development in

3080-510: Was the seventh most popular movie at the British box office in 1957. According to Kinematograph Weekly the film was "in the money" at the British box office in 1957. The story was affectionately parodied by Spike Milligan in the 1957 Goon Show episode, "Ill Met by Goonlight" . Heraklion Heraklion or Herakleion ( / h ɪ ˈ r æ k l i ə n / hih- RAK -lee-ən ; Greek : Ηράκλειο , Irákleio , pronounced [iˈrakli.o] ), sometimes Iraklion ,

3136-427: Was to parachute into Crete but after arriving at the drop zone , only Leigh Fermor was able to parachute successfully. The others had to abandon the attempt due to bad weather and were returned to Egypt. On landing Leigh Fermor was met by a group from the Cretan resistance , with whom he remained until the arrival of the rest of the SOE team. After three more attempts at a parachute jump over a two-month period, Moss and

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