Ano Simi Climate Ierapetra's average annual temperature 1956-1997 was . Ierapetra, along with Karpathos Island, was reported to be Greece's warmest location in 1987. Ierapetra gets over 3100 hours of sunshine per year and is Greece's sunniest city. Transportation One can travel to Ierapetra by plane through domestic or charter flights to Sitia airport (59 km) or Heraklion airport (94 km). There are also frequent ferry departures from Piraeus to the Sitia and Heraklion ports. Chrysi Chrysi (Golden) or Gaidhouronisi (Donkey Island) is an uninhabited island some twelve kilometers () off the coast of the town of Ierapetra. It is long and on average one kilometre () wide. On average, the island is above sea level. Kefala, the highest point of the island, is above sea level. The island is known for its white beaches, sand dunes, and forest of pines and junipers. The western tip of the island has some remains of past settlement: a few Minoan ruins and a 13th-century Byzantine chapel dedicated to Agios Nikolaos (Saint Nicholas). The main sources of wealth in the settlement were fishing, salt export, and the export of porphyra (Tyrian purple), a scarlet dye made from shells. After the collapse of the Byzantine Empire, the island was abandoned, although it was later used as a hideout. Nowadays the island is protected as an "area of intense natural beauty". The island attracts many tourists, especially in the summer. As camping is forbidden on the island, only day trips are possible. Ferries leave the quay at Ierapetra daily at 10 A.M. and return at 5 P.M. Visitors are not allowed to roam freely over the island, but only on designated paths and some beaches close to the eastern tip of the island. There is a small tavern at the ferry landing. The rocky islet of Mikronisi (Small Island) lies to the east of Chrysi. Minoan sites Gournia, Minoan city in Mirambelo (Mirabello) Gulf Pyrgos, between Myrtos and Nea Myrtos Vasiliki, near the village of the same name Makry Gialos, Minoan site Episkopi Anatoli, Minoan site Ierapetra in popular culture In the 1964 movie Zorba the Greek, the famous scene in which Anthony Quinn dances the Sirtaki on the beach was shot on Ierapetra Beach. In the 1994 movie Legends of the Fall, Tristan Ludlow (Brad Pitt), after returning from a long journey, gifts a ring from Ierapetra to his future wife, Isabelle II. R.