Program
Day 1 Wednesday 19/4: Larnaca – Heraklion – Rethymno
Meeting at Larnaca airport and departure by direct flight to Heraklion. Arrival, boarding the buses and transfer to Rethymnon. Arrival at the hotel, settling in the rooms.
Dinner at the "OTHELLO" restaurant of the hotel.
Day 2 Thursday 20/4: Rethymnon (city tour) – Chania – Lake Kournas
07.30-09.30 am: Breakfast and walking tour of the picturesque town of Rethymno. Visit of the coastal road, the Venetian port, the old town (which was designated a Historic Preserved Monument in 1967, and a Traditional Settlement in 1985), the Venetian fortress of Fortezza and the Holy Metropolis of Rethymnon. Then we arrive at the square of the Lady of the Angels where the church of the Little Virgin is located which was built during the years of the Venetian occupation and was dedicated to Saint Mary Magdalene of the Dominican Order. It is a three-aisled church that was converted into a mosque during the Turkish occupation and in 1680 a minaret was added which soon collapsed. Our tour ends at the church of the Holy Four Martyrs. The Holy Four Martyrs George, Angelis, Manuel and Nikolaos were all married, virtuous in life and Crypto-Christians. This hidden but well-guarded Christian faith of theirs, like all crypto-Christians, they sought an opportunity to reveal according to the command of the Lord. That is why in 1821, when the Greeks and Cretans took up arms against the Turks, the Four Martyrs also took part "fighting bravely for faith and country". In 1824, as is well known, the revolution in Crete was suppressed. Then the Turks also arrested the Holy 4 Martyrs and led them to Mehmet, Turkish Pasha of Rethymno, who tried with promises to persuade them to return to Mohammedanism. But the answer of the Saints was brave and firm "We were born Christians and we will die Christians". Horrible imprisonment and torture until their final sentence to death by beheading was what followed.
Then we depart for western Crete and the city of Chania. We will visit the Municipal Market, the leather goods market, the small Venetian harbor and the historical fortress "Firka" which the Venetians used as a prison for Greeks who were sentenced to death. It was there that the Greek flag was raised before Venizelos and King Constantine in 1913, as a seal of union with Greece. Free time. In the afternoon return to Rethymno with a stopover (time permitting) at Lake Kourna, the only natural lake on an island in the Mediterranean.
19.30 pm: Meeting at the hotel and offer of welcome drink with various snacks.
20.00 pm: Dinner at the "OTHELLO" restaurant of the hotel.
Day 3 Friday 21/4: I.M. Panagias Keras – Tzermiado – Dikteo Andros – Gonies – Heraklion
07.15-08.00 am: Breakfast at the hotel and departure for Eastern Crete. First stop for a pilgrimage to the Holy Monastery of Keras, located in a verdant area. The foundation and history of the monastery, whose first mention goes back to 1333, is inextricably linked with the miraculous icon of Panagia Kardiotissa, which according to tradition was painted by Saint Lazarus, a monk and hagiographer who lived during the period of Iconoclasm. The icon during the Venetian rule was stolen and transferred to the church of Saint Alphonsus in Rome, while the newer icon that replaced it from 1735 is considered equally miraculous. From the original monastery, today only the catholicon is preserved, which has been architecturally shaped after successive interventions in the original one-room church. Of particular interest are the facades on the narthes, which are shaped according to the standards of Byzantine architecture with blind arches made of bricks and ceramic decoration. Going up to the idyllic Lasithi plateau we reach Tzermiado, the administrative capital of the region. It is located in a calm and very fertile area surrounded by the wild high mountains of Diktis and several smaller plateaus. The altitude of the plain ranges from 800m to 850m, which makes it one of the few island inhabited areas in the Mediterranean at such a high altitude. Nowadays, what made the Plateau famous are the famous windmills with white sails, a trademark of the Plateau. These are mainly light metal windmills, most of them built at the end of the 19th century, with the purpose of irrigating the Lassithiot plain. Unfortunately, however, today young farmers have abandoned the traditional way of irrigation, as the state does not provide incentives, and very few windmills are still in operation. In recent years, an attempt has been made to restore old mills, although unfortunately even they do not work for pumping water, but are restored for aesthetic reasons. Another attraction of the Plateau is the lines (in Latin "lines"), i.e. the large linear drainage works that the Venetians built to transport water across the plain and managed to turn the area into the most important granary of Crete, which even today supplies all of Crete with excellent quality horticulture and vegetables. During the Turkish occupation, the Plateau was an important area of resistance against the conquerors, with the consequence that it also experienced their cruelty. The highlight is the Battle of Lasithi, which took place in May 1867. After the holocaust of the Arkadiou Monastery, the rebels fled to Lasithi. Thus, the Turkish-Egyptian army with 25,000 soldiers and leader Omer Pasha, came up from the Kastelli side. The small number of Greek gunners was not able to keep the Turks at bay, and as a result they managed to enter the Plateau. The rebels took refuge in the mountains and the inhabitants of Oropedi were massacred, their villages being completely destroyed for ten days, until the rebels regrouped on the small plateau of Limnakaros. Omer Pasha, who learned of their whereabouts, headed there, but the rebels managed to maneuver down into the plain. Thus, when the exhausted Turks came back down to the Plateau, they clashed with the rebels and were soundly defeated. The ten-day giant battle of Lasithi, combined with the other revolutions on the island, was a forerunner for the liberation of the island. We continue our route to Dikteon ΄Antro, for which the myth says that Zeus was born. We will visit the Theme Park of Greek Mythology. For the first time in the world, well-known and famous monsters of Greek Mythology are presented in three-dimensional sculpture form with imposing dimensions. Then we arrive at Gonies, a green village, with dense vegetation, surrounded by walnut trees, oak trees, aromatic and healing herbs and with many natural beauties such as gorges, caves, ravines and springs with running water almost all year round. We end up in Heraklion, the largest urban and economic center of the island and capital of the Region of Crete. We will see the Loggia, the Morozini Fountain (Lions), the Church of Agia Catherine with the museum of Byzantine icons, Agios Minas (Metropolitan Church of Heraklion), Agios Titos and the imposing fortress of "Koule" at the entrance of the old Venetian port. Free time. Return in the late afternoon to Rethymno.
20.00 pm: Dinner at the "OTHELLO" restaurant of the hotel
21.30 pm: Possibility of organizing a tombola at the hotel.
Day 4 Saturday 22/4: Matala – Holy Monastery of Panagia Kaliviani – Zaros – Spili
07.30-08.15 am: Breakfast and departure for South Crete and the Libyan Sea. Our first stop at the coastal village of Matala where hippies from all over the world arrived in the 1960s to live in the famous caves of Matala next to the beach. Then we head to the Mesara plain, to the women's I.M. Panagia Kalivianis. It was founded in the 14th century and was abandoned immediately after the Turkish occupation. In the old chapel, which is dedicated to Panagia Kalyviani, the visitor can admire the hagiographies dating from the 14th century. The Monastery today houses charitable institutions (orphanage, nursing home, etc.) and folk art workshops. Then we will visit Zaros, a village better known for the bottled water of the same name. Due to the abundant water sources, olive oil, raisin and citrus crops thrive. There is also the source of Votomos, an area overgrown with plane trees, a trout farm and an artificial lake. In the afternoon, return to Rethymnon with a visit to the traditional Cretan village of Spili, with its crystal clear waters gushing from the fountains in the central square.
19.30 pm: Meeting at the hotel and offering a farewell drink with various snacks
20.00 pm: Dinner at the hotel's "OTHELLO" restaurant with live music.
Day 5 Sunday 23/4: I.M. Vossakou – Axos – Anogeia – “Nikos Kazantzakis” Airport – Larnaca
07.30-08.30 am: Breakfast and departure for the hinterland of the Prefecture of Rethymnon. Our first stop is the Vosakou Monastery located in the Thalia mountains. The monastery complex is arranged in three wings around the central church, located on the eastern side of the central courtyard. According to various historical sources, the monastery was in continuous use from the beginning of the 17th century until 1960, when the last of its monks died. In April 1676 Vosakos became a Patriarchal Monastery. The monastery strongly contributed to the Greek Revolution of 1821 and the Cretan Revolution of 1866. This participation resulted in the monastery being partially destroyed by the Turks. Later, in the 19th century, the Monastery was rebuilt with significant construction activities. The current main church was built in 1855, replacing an earlier one dating from the 14th and 15th centuries. The church is dedicated to the Holy Cross. Climbing Psiloritis we reach Axos. We will visit the Museum of woodcarvers which includes a collection of 20 years of works by the sculptor Georgios Koutandos. The space functions as both a museum and a laboratory. The dimensions of the sculptures are life-size, while some of them are presented in larger dimensions. Visitors have the opportunity to tour the museum and the workshop and learn about the aesthetics and artistic talent of traditional elements (manners and customs of the inhabitants of Crete), folklore elements (for example, the marking of animals), sociological data ( the structure of the family, the position of man and woman), historical evidence. Nearby we will find Anogeia, famous throughout Greece for its contribution to culture. Browse through the narrow streets of the village and get to know its welcoming people up close. Great Cretan lyre players and singers come from Anogeia, with the leading "nightingale of Crete", the legendary Nikos Xylouris, whose house is in the Perachori neighborhood. In the afternoon boarding the bus to the "Nikos Kazantzakis" airport of Heraklion and the return trip to Cyprus, leaving with the best impressions from our five-day stay on the big island of Crete.