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Vori
Vori is a beautiful, traditional village of the county of Pirgiotissas in the Messara Valley. It is located 60 km south of Iraklion and in the western part of the Messara Valley. The village stretches in a slope, by the side of a small river. The archaeological site of Phaistos is 2 km to the south and the coast of Messara 4 km to the west.

The village covers an area of 700 acres and it consists of two sections, the Lower village (Katohori) that is the traditional part of the village, and the upper village (Panohori) that is continuously growing since the beginning of the century. Today the village has approximately 750 inhabitants.
The cultural inheritance of the village of Vori is very important and there are many sights and monuments worth visiting. Due to its unique beauty and historical importance, it was characterized by the Ministry of Culture of Greece a traditional protected village in 1978.

According to the tradition, the name of the village is derived from the name of the son of the king of Phaistos Radamantis, Voros.
Another explanation for the name Vori is its location (its located north of Phaistos ,"voras" meaning north in Greek) .
The village was populated continuously from the First-Minoan period (1800 BC) till today and this is certified by the numerous pottery that was found in the district of the village (Minoan, Hellenistic, Roman, Medieval, Renaissance).

Vori is the capital of the county of Pirgiotissas since the 17th century. In all the great Cretan revolutions, Vori participated actively.
In 1995, during a ceremony, Vori became a fraternized community with the communities of Camblanes and Meynac in France.