The village of Voila is 1km away from the village of Handras. It is a medieval deserted village protected by the
Archaeological Offices of Eastern Crete.
Passing through the village's alleys you can still see the ruins
of old houses and their rooms, their venetian features and
through this sacred silence of the place you have the impression
that you hear the Byzantine king, the medieval knight
or the Turk fighter gallop away.
The name of the village probably comes from the Byzantine word
VOILAS or VOLIAS meaning the nobleman, the land owner.
In a census carried out by Kastrofilaka in 1583, the village of Voila had a population of 301.
Many elements show that the village belonged to the venetian
family of Zenos which during the Turkish occupation adopted the
Ottoman religion and was renamed.
At the south of the castle there is a ruined church
known as the church of Ginali.
Other attraction at the area is the old painted church of
St. George dated back to the 15th century. From the inscription it is
obvious that there is a family tomb of Salamons.
At the top of the hill overlooking the village there is a fortress dated
back to the Venetian occupation of the island of Crete.
