From the top you can see in the West of the St. Thomas, across the eastern side of Psiloritis and Prinias, Asites, Krousonas on his feet, the Agios Miron in the West along with the Petrokefalo, the Stavrakia, the Monastery, the Stroympoyla and the Rodia northwest, in the plain of Heraklion and the entire North Beach, the sacred mountain, Agios Syllas, Vathipetro to the East,the 'Partheni', the hill above the Epanosifi, the Karkadiotissa, the Roukani Galeni, Kiparissi, in the South. So you understand why the veteran General Nicephorus Phocas chose to erect here over the Byzantine capital of the island, the Shrine from where he took the name throughout the province.
Eye catcher the view from the top of the Rocket. It is easy to be forgotten and to follow the footsteps of history and legend. As you look towards the East, you understand why the Rocket is great and lively way.
Behind the sacred mountain under Vathipetro accentuated pedestrians and horsemen in the Minoan era, and after they had uploaded the merchandise of them from the port of Amnissos, and having passed from the Palace of Knossos. After the coloured Palace of Archanes, return behind the sacred mountain, descended from the stream, then going uphill in front of the fountain of St. Anne, estriban and arrived in great Lykasto, where today is the Bitsila. Pass underneath the Rocket went down to the River, in Hats, between Kiparisi and Galeni and met another Minoan settlement and the Mesara apogernan to reach the Palace of Phaistos and Aghia Triada or the port maritime of komos Libyan.
In 1953 until 1956 Professor Spyros Marinatos excavations at Bitsila and found objects and buildings that bear witness to an important city in his later Minoan period which remained alive and syta Homeric and archaic years. In the Trojan expedition ships with lads from lycastos arrive to fight the Trojans along with the rest of Greeks. Those years, especially as the end of the Minoan civilization and all sorts of echtroi threatened the island, residents found refuge in Lykastoy's rocket, having built their Citadel safely on steep cliffs of.
This place picked the Nikiforos Fokas Arabomachos when the 961 wanted to divert people away from the coast, with fear, lest the Arabs who once defeated turn around and mess up the Christian population. A large Castle was built on the orders of the victorious in the Rocket. Having arrived here, sat in the Horseman Thrones of fournou and saw the rocket over the fertile valleys around, the wealth of the Earth. He realized that it would be so invincible a place, so I took the decision to build the most big Byzantine fortress of Crete on the Rocket. Cliffs and steep rocks bridged with powerful walls. The mechanics of the victorious built towers and watchtowers impregnable, closed with a second set of walls the highest peak there today saying the Palace fortifying its seat Governor of Crete, founding the castle of Temenos. Within the walls of Rokas numerous buildings (now derelict), meant to house the population of Candia and the surrounding area. The Arab Candia had leveled and had xethemeliwsei homes, thus destroying the most dangerous nest of Saracen Pirates that plagued for 136 years around the Aegean Sea, the coasts of Asia minor and the Greek coast.
Over the years the population safe anymore, he dwells upon outside the fortresses built the Approach to the sea and Chandakas inhabited again to become the largest state of Crete during the Venetian years.
The Venetians preserved and used the castle of Temenos especially when it began to appear the risk of Turks from the 15th century and afterwards.
In the years of Ottoman domination whenever the Kastelianoi wanted to lift the head against the Turks, in the time of revolutions, from the great tower of the pottery of Rokas the vardianoi guarded despite the sudden coming of his enemies.
Today, the Rocket casts a shadow of the Prophet Elijah and the format of the victorious looms like a memory, not forgotten how efficient Byzantine nobleman, General, and one Emperor fought and won the battle of dignity towards the enslavement, freedom against subjection, of the price against the arpachtiki behavior of pirates.
The story of Rokas, history of the area and history of Crete is in need to be on the lips of the elderly to become conscious and memory for generations to come.
