Church of Saint George Koumbelis
The church of Saint George (Agios Georgios) Koubelis is located in the position Sodi east of Chania city and on the western base of Akrotiri peninsula, very close to the wastewater treatment plant. It was the temple of a small seaside monastery, from which no other buildings survive.
There are no surviving references for the founding of the monastery. It is most likely that the monastery was destroyed by the raids of the Ottomans during the 17th century and has since been permanently abandoned. Today the temple belongs to the church of Prophet Elijah located at the Graves of Venizelos.
The initial architectural type is hard to clarify, as are the various phases of the temple construction. The circular planes of the ruined parts of the temple are impressive, while from the original church a small section with a high dome with a cylindrical drum is preserved above the sanctuary. The name Kumbelis comes from this impressive dome (koumbes is the dome in Turkish).
