⭐ 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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Church of Jesus Christ our Savior at Kato Mera (Ierapetra)

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The double aisled temple of Jesus Christ our Savior (Afendis Christos) and Saint Charalambos is located in the district of Kato Mera, near the port of Ierapetra and very close to the fortress of Kales. It is the oldest temple in the city, which has taken its present form as a result of successive interventions.

Saint George church at Xylomacheri

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The church of Saint George (Agios Georgios) in position Xylomacheri is located east of the Preveli Monastery, very close to the imposing Kourtaliotis Gorge and at the exit of the Fratiano Gorge. It is a small one-room arched-vaulted church dating from the mid-13th century, which was later expanded to the west.

Church of Saint George in Kouneni (Vathi)

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The church of Saint George (Agios Georgios) is located in the village Kouneni (current formal name of the village is Vathi) and belongs to the architectural type of the single-nave arched roofed temple. The side antennas are adorned with blind arches, while the semicircular arch has been collapsed and rebuilt.

Christ Savior monastery in Psathi

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On the main road that leads from Koutsounari to the village of Agios Ioannis in the province of Ierapetra we meet a sign to the Monastery of the Transfiguration of the Savior in Psathi. From there, a bad dirt road leads us to the position Psathi where this small monastery, also known as Pelekkissia, was built

Panagia Church at Kalo Nero

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The settlement of Kalo Nero at province Sitia belongs to the village Pervolakia and was originally developed around the monastery of Panagia, dedicated to Zoodochos Pigi (Life Giving Spring). The monastery probably functioned for the first time in the 15th century next to the important spring of water in the area and functioned possibly as the religious center for the hermits who lived in the many caves around.

Church of Saint Anna at Thripti

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The Byzantine church of Saint Anne (Agia Anna) is located a few meters west of the settlement of Thripti and just above the beginning of the stream that forms the imposing canyon Ha.

Panagia church at Sklavopoula

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The church of Panagia in Sklavopoula, region of Selino, belongs to the architectural type of the one-storey arched-roofed and is dedicated to the Dormition of Theotokos. Inside it bears frescoes dating from the first half of the 14th century and attributed to a very capable hagiographer who introduced to Crete the developments of the Paleologic style.

Agia Paraskevi Church at Trahiniakos

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The Church of Agia Paraskevi in the settlement Trachiniakos near Kandanos is one of the three frescoed temples of the small settlement, which highlights its great religious tradition. The other two temples are Saint John and Prophet Elias.

Asceticism

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