Topanas in Chania

Topanas district in Chania

The Topanas district behind Firkas is definitely worth a visit. Theotokopoulou is the main street in this area. The name Topanas is derived from the Turkish “top”, meaning a cannon, because this was where the cannons were kept in Chania during the Turkish period.

Today there are no cannon, but the narrow streets of the Topanas district still boast Venetian mansions, often with the obligatory modifications carried out during the Ottoman period.

During the last years of Turkish rule, Topanas was the Christian aristocrats’ quarter. Turks rarely set foot here, as they lived in the Splantzia on the other side of Chania town.