Monasteries

Round-trip distance is 136 kilometers

Arkadi Monastery, Near Rethymno. Akispro, CC BY-SA 4.0 Wikimedia Commons- Monasteries of Crete | A Day Trip
Arkadi Monastery, Near Rethymno. Akispro, CC BY-SA 4.0 Wikimedia Commons
Arkadi Monastery, Near Rethymno. Akispro, CC BY-SA 4.0 Wikimedia Commons- Monasteries of Crete | A Day Trip
Arkadi Monastery, Near Rethymno. Akispro, CC BY-SA 4.0 Wikimedia Commons
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Greece is home to over 600 monasteries, and you can see several important ones on a day trip from Gavalochori. Although the monasteries may follow similar core religious teachings, most are independent religious communities that realize their commitment to their mission in different ways. Some are largely closed to the public and focused on contemplative activities, and, on the other end of the spectrum, some are highly entrepreneurial with gift shops and websites that sell goods around the world. Following are three monasteries that you can visit in an easy day trip.

 

Saint George Monastery

Start out close to Gavalochori (6 kilometers or 4 miles away) and visit the Saint George Monastery near the village of Vamos (Βάμος). Founded in 1600, the monastery has had a challenging history—it was nearly destroyed on several occasions, it was turned into a mosque, and it endured a long period of disuse. At its height, the facility had a very large olive-oil-processing operation, the ruins of which can still be seen. The compound also includes a church containing frescoes and a piece of a bone from Saint George. Restored in 1996, the monastery is once again an active religious institution. More information can be found here.

 

Arkadi Monastery

Leaving Vamos, a drive of 39 kilometers (24 miles) will bring you to the Arkadi Monastery south of Rethymno (Ρέθυμνο). This monastery is famous for its role in the resistance of Crete to rule by the Turks. It is especially noteworthy for the self-destruction of the 300 resistance fighters and 700 women and children who fled to the monastery to avoid the fighting in Rethymno in 1866. The Cretan rebels held out for two days against the Turks and then, in perhaps the first suicide bombing in history, a monk ignited the large store of gunpowder and munitions in the monastery and blew the fighters, most of the women and children, and many of the attacking Turks sky high. The motivation might have been that the women and children were promised to two Turkish harems if the Cretans lost. Following the mass suicide, many prominent figures in Europe, including Victor Hugo, rallied to support the Cretan cause. There is much to see at the monastery, including the church that contains an array of religious art, the cellar where poor people were offered food and shelter, a gallery that displays relics from the founding of the monastery to the present, the refectory where the monks used to dine, the room where the self-induced massacre occurred, a museum that details the Cretan resistance to the Turks, and an ossuary on the site of a former windmill that preserves the skulls of  the fighters of the 1866 battle. You can find more information here.

 

Holy Trinity Tzagaroli Monastery

If you’d like to see one more monastery, head from Rethymno to Chania, a distance of about 77 kilometers (48 miles). Located on the Akrotiri Peninsula (Χερσόνησος Ακρωτηρίου) near the Chania airport, this monastery has long been one of the most impressive and wealthiest of the Cretan monasteries. In this monastery, you can visit the large church with its numerous works of art, see the rooms where monks worked and prayed, visit a small museum, enjoy the lovely grounds, and browse in a shop where wine and olive oil produced by the monastery are sold. The monastery was constructed in the early 1600s by brothers and Venetian nobles Jeremiah Tzagarolo and Lawrence Tzagarolo on the site of an earlier small church. You can find more information here.

 

If you have time, two other monasteries are located nearby. One is the Gouverneto Monastery, a monastery from 1537 that resembles a Venetian fortress with gargoyles carved in stone at the entrance. It is 3 kilometers (2 miles) from the Holy Trinity Tzagaroli Monastery, and to reach it, take the road that heads west out of the parking area of the Holy Trinity Tzagaroli Monastery and then winds north. The Gouverneto Monastery is only open on certain days and at certain times, so be sure you plan your excursion on an appropriate day. For more details, visit this site.

 

Beyond the Gouverneto Monastery lie the ruins of the Katholiko Monastery, and you can hike to the ruins even if the Gouverneto Monastery is closed. The Katholiko monastery is said to be the oldest monastery on Crete, dating to the early 1600s. The monastery was founded on the site of a cave in which Saint John the Hermit lived. He left his home in Egypt to lead an ascetic life on Crete with a group of 99 other monks. He chose to live alone in the cave that can be seen at the ruins of the monastery. Saint John was accidentally killed by a hunter with a bow and arrow. The hunter mistook him for a wild animal when he crawled out of his cave to pick the wild herbs that sustained him.

 

The hike to the Katholiko Monastery requires one to two hours, depending on how fast you walk. The often-steep path is made of rocks and has many deep and uneven steps, so wear appropriate shoes and make the journey when the weather is cool. About 15 or 20 minutes from the start of the trail, you can stop in the Bear Cave, where you can see a stalagmite that looks like a bear. If you are so inclined, you can hike another 2½ kilometers (1½ miles) past the Katholiko Monastery to the beach, but there isn’t much of a trail, and the route is challenging. More information is available here.

Greece is home to over 600 monasteries, and you can see several important ones on a day trip from Gavalochori. Although the monasteries may follow similar core religious teachings, most are independent religious communities that realize their commitment to their mission in different ways. Some are largely closed to the public and focused on contemplative activities, and, on the other end of the spectrum, some are highly entrepreneurial with gift shops and websites that sell goods around the world. Following are three monasteries that you can visit in an easy day trip.

 

Saint George Monastery

Start out close to Gavalochori (6 kilometers or 4 miles away) and visit the Saint George Monastery near the village of Vamos (Βάμος). Founded in 1600, the monastery has had a challenging history—it was nearly destroyed on several occasions, it was turned into a mosque, and it endured a long period of disuse. At its height, the facility had a very large olive-oil-processing operation, the ruins of which can still be seen. The compound also includes a church containing frescoes and a piece of a bone from Saint George. Restored in 1996, the monastery is once again an active religious institution. More information can be found here.

 

Arkadi Monastery

Leaving Vamos, a drive of 39 kilometers (24 miles) will bring you to the Arkadi Monastery south of Rethymno (Ρέθυμνο). This monastery is famous for its role in the resistance of Crete to rule by the Turks. It is especially noteworthy for the self-destruction of the 300 resistance fighters and 700 women and children who fled to the monastery to avoid the fighting in Rethymno in 1866. The Cretan rebels held out for two days against the Turks and then, in perhaps the first suicide bombing in history, a monk ignited the large store of gunpowder and munitions in the monastery and blew the fighters, most of the women and children, and many of the attacking Turks sky high. The motivation might have been that the women and children were promised to two Turkish harems if the Cretans lost. Following the mass suicide, many prominent figures in Europe, including Victor Hugo, rallied to support the Cretan cause. There is much to see at the monastery, including the church that contains an array of religious art, the cellar where poor people were offered food and shelter, a gallery that displays relics from the founding of the monastery to the present, the refectory where the monks used to dine, the room where the self-induced massacre occurred, a museum that details the Cretan resistance to the Turks, and an ossuary on the site of a former windmill that preserves the skulls of  the fighters of the 1866 battle. You can find more information here.

 

Holy Trinity Tzagaroli Monastery

If you’d like to see one more monastery, head from Rethymno to Chania, a distance of about 77 kilometers (48 miles). Located on the Akrotiri Peninsula (Χερσόνησος Ακρωτηρίου) near the Chania airport, this monastery has long been one of the most impressive and wealthiest of the Cretan monasteries. In this monastery, you can visit the large church with its numerous works of art, see the rooms where monks worked and prayed, visit a small museum, enjoy the lovely grounds, and browse in a shop where wine and olive oil produced by the monastery are sold. The monastery was constructed in the early 1600s by brothers and Venetian nobles Jeremiah Tzagarolo and Lawrence Tzagarolo on the site of an earlier small church. You can find more information here.

 

If you have time, two other monasteries are located nearby. One is the Gouverneto Monastery, a monastery from 1537 that resembles a Venetian fortress with gargoyles carved in stone at the entrance. It is 3 kilometers (2 miles) from the Holy Trinity Tzagaroli Monastery, and to reach it, take the road that heads west out of the parking area of the Holy Trinity Tzagaroli Monastery and then winds north. The Gouverneto Monastery is only open on certain days and at certain times, so be sure you plan your excursion on an appropriate day. For more details, visit this site.

 

Beyond the Gouverneto Monastery lie the ruins of the Katholiko Monastery, and you can hike to the ruins even if the Gouverneto Monastery is closed. The Katholiko monastery is said to be the oldest monastery on Crete, dating to the early 1600s. The monastery was founded on the site of a cave in which Saint John the Hermit lived. He left his home in Egypt to lead an ascetic life on Crete with a group of 99 other monks. He chose to live alone in the cave that can be seen at the ruins of the monastery. Saint John was accidentally killed by a hunter with a bow and arrow. The hunter mistook him for a wild animal when he crawled out of his cave to pick the wild herbs that sustained him.

 

The hike to the Katholiko Monastery requires one to two hours, depending on how fast you walk. The often-steep path is made of rocks and has many deep and uneven steps, so wear appropriate shoes and make the journey when the weather is cool. About 15 or 20 minutes from the start of the trail, you can stop in the Bear Cave, where you can see a stalagmite that looks like a bear. If you are so inclined, you can hike another 2½ kilometers (1½ miles) past the Katholiko Monastery to the beach, but there isn’t much of a trail, and the route is challenging. More information is available here.

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