Monastery of Arkadi
Just 25 kms from the historic town of
Rethymnon you can take a local bus or you can book a tour of the
most important site in the area of Rethymnon - Arkadi Monestry,
a living monastry with an heroic history.
Map
of area Old map of area
Pictures
from Pikris
Immaculately
situated in the foothills of Psiloritis
Mountain (Mount Idi), Arkadi is
something of a national shrine.
During the 1866 rebellion, the
monastery served as a Cretan stronghold
in which hundreds of Cretan guerrilla
fighters and their families took
refuge as the Turks advanced and
had the upper hand in the proceedings,
it was here that they were surrounded
by the Turkish army that lay siege
for two days, finally the defenses
were breached on November 9th,
1866.
Read
more about
the holocaust of Arkadi
As
the attackers poured in, the
ammunition stores in the monastery
were exploded deliberately on the
orders of the Abbot. Hundreds were
killed in the internal blast,
Cretans and Turks alike, this
enraged the assailants that they
put most of the surviving
defenders to death. There are
celebrations annually on the
anniversary of the 7-9 November
blast.
Arkadi
nowadays
There are still monks and a couple
of nuns living at the monastery;
they take care of the church and
the surrounding buildings as well
as the small museum where relics
from the monastery and the church
are kept. In the museum you can
also buy very good copies icons
made in the traditional way and
other religious items.
Outside
the grounds of the monastery there
is a cafeteria and a souvenir
shop. Here they sell local handcrafts,
honey, Raki, komboloi's of a very
good quality (the traditional
string of beads that many men
play with), and many other
souvenirs
and of course postcards.
A
popular walk from Arkadi to the village of Pikris.
Privatly you can book a walk from Arkadi to the village of
Pikris,The
walk starts with a tour around the monastery of Arkadi and the small
museum there.
After that we start descending to the village of Pikris, some 6 kms from
Arkadi. The walk will take you from the monastery down the
mountainside through meadows and fields.
The villagers here have always been very closely connected
with the monastery, and therefore have their own route.
The
guide is a direct descendent of one the heroes of the battle of
Arkadi and is also the owner of the only taverna in Pikris.
A late lunch can be provided at the village taverna after the
walk. Evening meals by prior arrangement with Kostas, Dina his
wife prepares home made mouth-watering dishes and some of the best
chips in Crete.
Book
now
Ask
for a quote
|
