Messara Bay

Messara Bay opens westward from the southern coast of Crete onto the Libyan Sea. Behind it stretches the Mesara, the island's largest plain, bounded by Mount Ida to the north and the Asterousia Mountains to the south. The Ieropotamos flows west across the plain towards the bay. Near the shore stood ancient Kommos, while Phaistos and Gortyn lay farther inland, among the great settlements of the plain.