Refugees from Alikarnassos in Asia Minor arrived at Heraklion in Crete and established the settlement of Nea Alikarnassos. There are two churches serving the needs of the community, Agios Nikolaos and Panagia Kamariani, which was built later. The refugees founded the church of Agios Nikolaos soon after their arrival and it was originally a wooden construction where the icon of Agios Nikolaos was kept. The icon has a long history. It is said that the icon was originally from Psara and that it was transported across the sea to Alikarnassos for its protection during the Greek Revolution of 1821. A church dedicated to Agios Nikolaos was built there to house the icon.
After the population exchange, the icon reached Heraklion with refugees from Alikarnassos. However, the inhabitants of Psara laid claim to the icon, even raiding the newly established church of Nea Alikarnassos in their efforts to return the icon to Psara. As a result, the icon was sheltered in a different refugee house every night. In the mid-1950s, refugee parishioners inaugurated the church, now finally a permanent construction, where the icon of Agios Nikolaos has been kept ever since.
—
Image sources: Ο Άγιος Νικόλαος Νέας Αλικαρνασσού and Πρόσφυγες με την εικόνα του Αγίου Νικολάου μπροστά στον ημιτελή ναό στη Νέα Αλικαρνασσό.