⭐ Travel Guide for Island Crete ⛵, Greece❗

The arrival of Saint John the Hermit in Crete of the Early Christian Times was the beginning of a great ascetic tradition that continues to the present day. Hundreds of hermits secluded in the most remote parts of the island, forming ascetic communities that later evolved to thriving monasteries. Hundreds of countryside monasteries, most of which don't operate today, are dispersed throughout the island.

A special sample of hermitage is the Monastery Katholiko at Akrotiri Cape in the caves of which hermits lived their monastic life away, from worldly pleasures. Equally important were the religious sites of the secluded peninsulas Gramvousa and Rodopos, where several small monasteries developed.

The greatest hermitage of all was the naturally isolated, and impassable range of Asterousia in southern Heraklion. Hundreds of caves from Saint Nikitas to Cape Lithino still host hermits. Relations between them were so limited that in Agiofarago and Martsalo they gathered only once a year, in cave Goumenospilio and counted how many of them survived each year.

In eastern Crete, the north province of Mirabello is the largest field of asceticism with dozens of small monastic establishments. Here hermits built small monasteries, where they usually lived alone.

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Panagia Vithanos church at Krotos

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The cave church of Panagia at Vithanos is located in a panoramic position of the Loutra Gorge, near the village of Krotos. It is dedicated to Zoodochos Pigi (Life Giving Spring) and one can still see the date 20-5-1765 above the entrance.

Church of Saint Anthony at Meleses

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Very close to Castel di Beto by the village Meleses we meet the Byzantine church of St. Anthony. The temple bears frescoes (traces) in bad condition.

Church of Panagia at Skouloufia

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Near the primary school of the village Skouloufia there is the ruined church of Panagia (Virgin Mary). The roof of the temple has collapsed and the church dates back from 1410. There are no frescoes surviving, but a very beautiful window survives.

Zoodohos Pigi church at Tylissos

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Just outside and south of village Tylissos we meet the small cavernous temple of the Life Giving Spring (Zoodohos Pigi) at location Loutra. The name Loutra is met in various parts of Crete and means the place where there is water. Indeed, behind the picturesque chapel there is one spring that waters the area of Tylisos.

Church of Saint George Tragopiastis

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On the side of the national road connecting Agios Nikolaos to Pahia Ammos, above the wetland Almyros, we meet a small chapel with panoramic sea views, called Saint George Tragopiastis. While it gives the impression of a new church, it dates back from the Venetian Era and its interior was adorned by frescoes, covered by plaster.

Saint John Church at Trahiniakos

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It is a small, single-aisled chapel with humble performance, but its inside is very rich with frescoes covering all its walls. The eyes of the Saints are missing by the Turks, but also byn the Christians that thought that these were therapeutic for illnesses. The walls were frescoed in 1328-1329, although the temple is older.

Saint George Church at Argoulides

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The church of Saint George (Agios Georgios) in Argoulides is built in the 14th century, like the nearby temple of Saints Artemios and Paraskevi. The church bears frescoes from the 14th century and, together with the temples of Michael Archangel and the Annunciation in Vothonas plateau, they are the only churches of Akrotiri area that preserve frescoes.

Saint Nicholas Church at Platania

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The church of Agios Nikolaos in Platania, Amari province, is located west of the village, below the road leading to Vistagi. It is a small single-naved arch-roofed temple that bears frescoes dating back from the 14th century in moderate condition.

Asceticism

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