Monastery of St George Sellinari, church Keragoniotissa in Latsida, Monastery of Aghios Georgios Vrachasiotis and the mountain route to Akilakes forest over Malia.
Sellinari
Monastery of St George Sellinari and gorge.
The holy monastery of Saint George at Sellinari is for monks and is located in the middle of the gorge Sellinari, on the way from Malia to Neapoli.
Directly in front of the monastery runs the new highway and also the old national road, which leads from Heraklion to Aghios Nikolaos.
For this reason, the monastery can receive many visitors every day, since in the past, the abundance has made sure that anyone who crosses the gorge and does not stop at Sellinari monastery is haunted by bad luck. This is why, since the Middle Ages, the travelers with their animals had stopped here to take a rest.
The gorge, which runs along the slope of Mount Selena, is the natural gate from the region of Lasithi to the north coast to Heraklion.
The Sellinari Gorge has a dense vegetation and is home to many bird species and birds of prey. Also, there was the rare Cretan wild goat Kri-Kri, but nowadays it is unfortunately not more found in the area.
According to legend, a monk from Rhodes named Nikolaos was led by God to the Gorge of Sellinari, where he found an icon of St George and built a church here.
Nikolaos lived in Sellinari until his death, and was buried in a small cave which he himself had struck at the top of Mount Anavlohos.
A few years after his death a ship from Rhodes arrived in front of the coast of Crete, and the sailors were said to have been led by a brilliant star to the tomb of Nikolaos.
The sailors interpreted this as divine evidence to bring back the mortal remains of Nikolaos to Rhodes.
The Anavlohos cave is located on the east side of the gorge, directly opposite the monastery. The exact spot can be recognized at the edge of the gorge by a large cross and the cave is also accessible, but over the steep path this is not easy.
During the Ottoman rule over Crete, the Turks were said to have attacked the monastery, which is to be proved by three bullets in the ancient icon of Saint George. Since the monastery was not destroyed in this event, this has been one more miracle since then.
A stop at the beautiful monastery and in the magnificent gorge of Sellinari is recommended. The monks are considered friendly and willing to explain the history of the monastery.
The churches and buildings have been gradually built since the 20th century, while the chapel of St George dates back to the 13th century. This was originally built by Nikolaos, but now also has later made wall paintings.
In addition to a natural science museum, a modern nursing home is also operated, which was constructed on the ruins of the ancient cells of the monks.
Directions to Monastery of Sellinari
Link to map with directions:
Click here: Directions Sellinari.
Church Keragoniotissa
The Church of Virgin Mary ‘Keragoniotissa’ at Latsida.
Small church close to Neapoli and beautiful enclosed by oak trees they may have been here for hundreds of years.
The church of the Virgin Mary ‘Keragoniotissa’ can be found close to the village of Latsida in the vicinity of Neapoli which is beautiful enclosed by oak trees they may have been here for hundreds of years. The church is devoted to the Dormition of the Virgin Mary, a feast that is famous on August 15th each year.
A short while ago, within a restoration work, numerous tombs were discovered outside and inside the church.
It is a tiny, barrel-vaulted, single-naved church. It features a stone carved door frame having a lintel along with a projecting door crown as well as an independent semicircular relieving arch.
The church was filled with mural paintings (frescoes) nevertheless today, just fragments are visible in the arch of the altar.
The church is dated from the Fourteenth century and has now been recovered, at least two times, due to the breakdown of a major section of it.
Within the demographics of the Orthodox churches and monasteries in 1635, the hieromonk Gabriel registers the monastery of the Virgin Mary as well as its church.
Directions to Church Keragoniotissa
Link to map with directions:
Click here: Directions Church Keragoniotissa.
Monastery of Aghios Georgios Vrachasiotis
The old monastery of Aghios Georgios Vrachasiotis is located in a really wonderful and forest location, Four kilometers beyond Vrahassi as well as five kilometers within the national highway Heraklion – Aghios Nikolaos, shortly after the popular and well-known Sellinari monastery. However, the asphalt road works remain awaiting, the off-road route is usually in a very excellent condition as well as the way is perfect for wandering.
On the subsequent mountain route where you could march on foot or drive by jeep or quad bike, you can reach the Akilakes Forest with amazing views above Malia and the sea.
In 1540, the north section of today’s Aghios Georgios church was constructed by Gedeon, the superior of the priests, over the remains of the earlier destroyed church (section of which can be identified these days). The southern section of Aghios Dimitrios church was constructed in 1558. From that time on, monks settled down and the monastery began to grow.
A couple of centuries later, through the times of the Turkish occupation, a number of dramatic incidents occur in the monastery. As usually took place in the time of the Daskalogiannis revolution (1770), around Campi, further up from the monastery some Turkish messengers raped the sister of Gabriel, who was the superior of the monastery at that time. Subsequently, on that day, caused by heavy rainstorms these people chosen to commit overnight at the monastery. Superior Gabriel, who knew in the meantime of his sister’s sexual assault, initially greeted the visitors and lead them to the cheese basements to punish them. Generally based on folklore, the superior, in an effort to take revenge for his sister’s rape, caught them along with the support of other monks and boiled all of them in hot cheese.
Afterwards, in his effort to fade any indications of his activities and get rid of the bodies, he threw them in a large carafe on Kolokyntha mountain.
Superior Gabriel, becoming responsible revealed his failure to the superior of Aghios Georgios Epanosifis monastery, which belonged to Aghios Georgios Vrachasiotis monastery. The Turks were seeking the perpetrator and while examining the disappearance of their messengers they mistreated and tortured the superior of Epanosifis monastery, who was finally pushed to talk out the actual facts.
Several Turkish soldiers surrounded the monastery of Aghios Georgios Vrachasiotis in an effort to charge superior Gabriel resulting in a deadly battle. In that fight, the stone section that was designed into the belfry, showing St George killing the lion, received a shot. The hole left by the round is visible nowadays on the image.
The Turks were able to capture superior Gabriel and transferred him to Maydani in Heraklion, to send him hanged. Reported by Mr. Kiriakakis, prior to Gabriel’s execution, the hangman questioned the superior the number of Turks he had murdered. Faking he didn’t notice precisely, Gabriel was able to get the hangman to get closer to him and by focus his attention he strikes and killed him, answering them: ‘I‘ve killed 99 Turks so far and after this 100’.
Superior Gabriel wasn’t able to escape from his execution and was finally hanged on the well-known oak tree of the great castle. Soon after, the Turks demolished all the components of the monastery, besides the church, seized all the plots of land around it and offered them to public auction.
During the subsequent revolutions, the ruins served repeatedly as a place of refuge for freedom fighters and in 1820 another siege took place, when 18 monks were killed.
After the Cretan Revolution the monastery most of his land ownership was returned. The monastery closed permanently in 1909.
Presently there has been a wonderful attempt these days to recover and rebuild the cells of the monastery. This work has provided being successful since there are festivities on St George’s and St Dimitrios’ Day by the Vrahassi parish to which the church belongs, even though other events for example weddings or christenings be held occasionally inside the church.
Mountain route from the monastery to Akilakes forest
Direct behind the monastery of Aghios Georgios Vrachasiotis is a small pass from where you can reach by walking or moving with a suitable vehicle (jeep, quad bike, mountain bike) a beautiful mountain route to the Akilakes forest with great views above Malia and the sea.
About halfway up the trail, another path turns to the left (south on the map below) even higher up the mountains to the east, which runs to a sheep paddock and beyond, and from where there is a magnificent view over Vrahassi to the sea.
The end of the path through the Akilakes forest is one kilometer to the west. Shortly before the end, the path becomes too narrow to drive on with a vehicle. There the trail E25 – coming from the valley below at Krasi and continuing up to the Selena Mountain Top at Lasithi Plateau – crosses and unites both routes for a short distance. At the end of the path you have a beautiful view over Hersonisos to the island of Dia off Heraklion.
Not far to the southwest of here is Krasi, with the largest plane tree in Europe, and further up the Lassithi plateau is one of Crete’s most revered and visited monasteries, the Monastery of Panayia Kardhiotissa (Lady of the Heart).
Drone flight from Akilakes forest to Krasi
Drone flight over Krasi with its two thousand years old and the largest plane tree in Europe. Views to Lasithi plateau and Malia on Crete.
Directions to Monastery A G Vrachasiotis
Link to map with directions:
Click here: Directions Monastery A G Vrachasiotis.
