Asceticism

On the hillside just before the palm grove of Vai, province Sitia, we meet the picturesque chapel of St. John the Theologian. Saint John is a typical temple of east Crete; it is single aisled and quite old. It belongs to the neighbouring monastery of Toplou. From the temple, the view to the palm grove and the wider valley is very nice. The church is very old but the interior does bear any frescoes.

Just a short distance from the the historic Da Molin Tower ruins in Alikianos, we meet the cruciform Byzantine church of St. George. The church dates back to the 14th-15th century and bears frescoes by Pavlos Provatas (1430). This temple was used in the novel of Spiridon Zambelios "Cretan Weddings" for placing the wedding of the heroes.

At Meskla, province Kydonia, we meet two temples dedicated to Virgin Mary, being the patron of the village. The original old church dedicated to the Conception of Mary was built on the ruins of an ancient temple of goddess Demeter. It was the main church of the village until 1972, when the largest church was built a few meters away, also dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

Asfendiles of Selino province is a small mountainous hamlet, one of the remotest in Crete. It is the cemeterial temple of the village and is located between the two neighborhoods of Asfendiles. The white church is aisleless, like most temples in the province and quite simple (outside). Only its elevated bell tower protrudes.

On November 3rd, every year, Cretans celebrate St. George Methystis (i.e. St George that makes people drunk). On that day they first open the barrels and taste the new wine made of the grapes that were collected two months ago. Normally Saint George is celebrated on April 23 every year, but because he was always put in a special place in the hearts of the Greeks they gave him the advantage to be honored twice a year.

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.

In the center of the historic village Vouvas at Province Sfakia, just on the main street, we meet the centuries-old church of Agia Paraskevi. It is the oldest church of Vouvas and it was adorned by exceptional frescoes. Today only a small part of these frescoes survives. What makes this church unique in Sfakia is that it is the only one where we meet frescoes with sinners at the time of their punishment in hell.

The Early Christian Basilica of Vizari, known locally as Rimokklisa (deserted Church) was excavated in 1956 by K. Kalokyris. It was a three-aisled basilica with dimensions 34mx17m. The temple was floored with clay plates and was built in the 6th century, rebuilt in the 7th-8th century and eventually destroyed in 824 by the Arabs.