Ierapetra

The monastery of Panagia Karydiani is an unknown, but historic monastery located 6km west of Mythi village, on the southern slopes of Lasithi Mountains. The monastery is situated in an elevated area (at an altitude of 750m) with incredible views to sea and mountain. It belongs to the monastery of Faneromeni.

At the centre of Ierapetra plain we meet the village of Episkopi (i.e. diocese). Its name is due to the fact that during the Byzantine period it was the seat of a bishop. Almost in the center of the village we find the impressive church of Agios Georgios and Agios Charalambos. 

Within walking distance from Vrondas ancient site, there is the old monastery of Aghia Paraskevi, where one of the few arcosolium (domed tombs) of Crete survives.

At the neighborhood Ligaras of the historic village Kavoussi we meet the impressive Byzantine church of the Holy Apostles . Ligaras gets its name after the hydrophylic plant ligaria as there is a spring (kavousi) that waters the village. Ligaras is the oldest neighborhood of Kavousi, which over the centuries developed around this spring.

Saint Anthony is the central temple of Myrtos. The temple is small, single-nave and dedicated to St. Anthony and the Ascension of Christ. We don’t know the exact date of its foundation, but it is surely mentioned on a map of the early 15th century and is believed to have been built before 1200.

The temple of Agios Georgios at Assaris belongs to a small monastery, now a dependency of Panagia Faneromeni monastery. This is a single-aisled vaulted church and bears frescoes of the 14th and 15th century with the iconographic program based on the Christological cycle and the cycle of Saint George.

Before reaching the wild and impressive gorge of Kamara we meet the picturesque chapel of Panagia Kamariani. It is one of the three churches dedicated to Panagia (Virgin Mary) that are called Kamariani. Two more are located at Gerani (Rethymnon) and at Nea Alikarnassos, by Heraklion city.

At position Kato Prina between the villages Prina and Meseleri we meet the church of St. George, nicknamed the “secret school”. The Byzantine church of Saint George is very well hidden in a hillside surrounded by very dense vegetation of shrubs, trees and gardens.