Places
Anastassi (Resurrection) and Axion Esti (It Is Truly Meet) Convent
The Axion Esti Convent, founded in 1984 by the Metropolitan Philotheos II, is located near the city of Ierapetra. The catholicon is a three-aisled church dedicated to the Virgin Mary, the Annunciation and the Resurrection of the Lord. It is replete with murals, featuring work that is characteristic of the Cretan School, and its altar […]
Panagias (Mother Mary) Monastery at Gourni
The ruins of Panagia Monastery are located in the hard-to-reach area of Gourni. The catholicon, the only part of the monastery that has survived, is an arch-covered church dedicated to the Dormition of Mother Mary. Initially single-aisled, it was converted to two-aisled in the 16th century, with the new addition dedicated to the Ascension of […]
The church of Christ the Saviour (Sotiros Christou) (Temenia)
The church of Christ the Saviour (Soter) was created in two stages: the first stage dates back to the 13th century and the second one to the 14th century. Its murals date back to the 16th – 17th centuries.
St. John’s Cave (Spileo Agiou Ioanni) (Azogyre)
The Byzantine hamlet, where traces from the Hellenistic and Roman periods have been found, is associated with St. John the Hermit, one of the Fathers who lived like a hermit in the cave of the hamlet.
The church of St. George (Agios Georgios) (Vathi)
A one-hall church covered with arches, characterised by blind side coving. According to the inscription inside, its murals date to 1284 and are typical examples illustrating folk style art of the time.
The church of St. Athanassius (Agios Athanassios) (Kefali)
A one-hall church covered with arches; the inscription with the year 1393 found in its interior informs us that the ktetor (donor) was Anna Moskanna.
The church of the Saviour’s Transfiguration (Metamorphosis tou Sotiros) (Kefali)
This is a 14th century church, the murals of which date back to 1320, as indicated by an inscription. The particularity of the church is that, besides murals, it also bears numerous coats of arms, names and dates on all its walls.
The church of St. John the Divine (Agios Ioannis Theologos) (Elos)
At the centre of the village of Elos there is the one-hall church covered with arches, dedicated to St. John the Divine (Theologos), with important mural decoration. The paintings are attributed to Ioannis Pagomenos, a well-known painter from western Crete.
The Cave of God’s Wisdom (Spileo tis Theou Sophias) (Koutsomatado – Topolia)
The small church of St. Sophia is situated in the cave of the same name, on the west bank of Topolia Gorge, and comprises two halls on two levels.
The church of St. Photius (Agios Photios) & St. Anicetus (Agios Anikitos) (Falassarna)
Near the church of St. Ioannis Xenos, there is a cave church dedicated to St. Photius and Anikitos. This cave church, offering a wonderful vista of the area, has been altered many times and its foundation is attributed to Ioannis Xenos himself.
