Arkadi Monastery

In our usual unplanned way, we stumble upon the Arkadi Monastery... beautiful.

This is regarded as the most historic monastery in Crete.  Its has become the symbol of Cretan freedom.   The monastery  was founded in 12th Century, and  As you can read here... It's history is one of war and resistance.  

During the Cretan revolt of 1866. 943 Greeks, mostly women and children, sought refuge in the monastery. After three days of battle and under orders from the abbott of the monastery, the Cretans blew up barrels of gunpowder, choosing to sacrifice themselves rather than surrender.  The few that survived were beheaded the next day.

Strange how so often religion and war go hand in hand.  

We chose a time when there weren't many tourists and so we could enjoy if not the stories, the setting of this place.

And so... back down the mountains to our wonderful Terrasse.