Discovering Crete - Part 3, The Monastery of Odigítrias I
Greetings Steemians!
Today's destination of my Crete-Tour is the monastery of Odigítrias. The solitary cloister can be reached after a 10 km drive starting off from the small village of Lístaros.
Predestined by its isolated location, the monastery was originally built as a fortified complex. As mentioned in my last post, the region had suffered from pirate raids during medieval times. Such a fortress was thus vital at that time, not only for the monks, but also for the ordinary inhabitants of the region.
There is still an old escape tower where the monks were able to retreat and defend themselves in an attack.
The monastery is still inhabited by a few monks. One of them was present and kind enough to explain me the way inside the complex.
So let's have a look!
The entrance to the monastery leads through an archway, behind it the front garden of the complex.
The sunlit courtyard.
In the lower panel a miniature chapel. These so-called iconostases can be found in many places on Crete. This one hides a finely carved miniature.
On the way up inside the escape tower one can have a look at former living and working rooms. In one of the rooms stands an old weaving loom.
A marvelous panoramic view from the top of the tower.
Back in the courtyard I came across another group of residents. Aren't they lovely?
In the next episode I will show you more interior views of the monastery, including the opulently equipped central church.
Until then and thanks for watching!
Have a great day on Steemit!
Shaka
All photos were recorded by myself with an EOS 7D / Tamron 18-270 mm in May, 2018. All rights reserved.
Discovering Crete - All previous posts:
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| Part 1, Agiofárango, the Gorge of Saints I | Part 2, Agiofárango, the Gorge of Saints II |
First of all i want to appreciate your composite work in first picture and that composition is so amazing to watch. And this monastery is really peaceful for exploration and also good to know the history of it, and yes in my opinion the monk is kind that's why he helped you to explore this place more effectively and also he narrated all aspects of this place. Literally speaking in this world we can see some places which literally reflecting as cut offed from the real materialistic world and it's really great to imagine this kind of life where we get the peaceful essence or spiritual essence all the time.
And you shared the complete view of this place and in my opinion it's reflecting as World In Mountains, literally reflecting as this place is covered by these tiny mountains and that is giving an epic essence to this place.
Thanks for sharing this post with us and wishing you an great day. Stay blessed. 🙂
Thanks a lot for your thoughtful comment!
Welcome. 🙂
I've never been there, yet. Although I have traveled a lot, there are a few places I have not visited. Crete is one of them.
The monastery has the usual atmosphere of an orthodox monastery, calm quiet and somehow still. I kind of envy them, as they have the time to really think things through, once, they were the real thinkers of the world. Solitude can clear your mind and a simple lifestyle focuses the mind for ways to improve the character.
Monks are very different to priests in my country too. Different lifestyles and different ways to connect to their inner beliefs.
The heat should be bearable but I guess it's too hot anyway. I would try to visit earlier in April or May.
Vote is for the kittens :D
Cheers!
Thank you for your comment @alexdory.
Indeed, deep thinking requires being undisturbed and not just for a day but for a long time. An impossibility in today's hectic life. There are many things that we withhold from ourselves through our lifestyle. Sad but true.
At least visiting places like this monastery can give us a sense for what we are missing.
And yes, I knew the kittens would be irresistible :D
Cheers!
Du hast wieder saubere Arbeit mit Deiner EOS 7D abgeliefert.
Der Artikel ist zudem wie gewohnt sehr schön aufgemacht.
Nach einem ausgiebige Bad in der wunderschönen Bucht kann man den Besuch in dem befestigten Kloster sicher richtig genießen. Wahrscheinlich ist das dortige Klima aber wohl trocken-heiß, was es meiner Meinung nach angenehmer macht als schwül-warme Luft.
Die niedlichen Katzen gefallen mir auch sehr. Wir haben auch einen Stubentiger zu Hause, und ich fühle mich schon seit meiner Kindheit zu Katzen hingezogen...
(ich hatte diese Antwort doch tatsächlich aus Versehen erst unter den Vorgängerbeitrag gepostet; ich wollte nämlich nochmal gucken, wie der Name der schönen Bucht war...)
Leider habe ich seit meiner Jugend eine ausgeprägte Katzenallergie. Daher muss ich zu diesen faszinierenden Tieren immer einen gewissen Abstand wahren. Wir hatten früher eine eigene Katze, als diese dann geworfen hatte ging es plötzlich mit der Allergie los. Ich bedaure das sehr, sonst hätte ich mir längst wieder eine ins Haus geholt.
Grüsse!
Ohje, das ist aber schade zu hören ... :-(
Aber ein Bild von unserem Wilson kann ich Dir trotzdem zeigen, da ja so die Allergene zum Glück nicht wirken können...
Ein wirklich schönes Exemplar. Ich habe ja den Verdacht, dass ich nur auf Europäisch-Kurzhaar allergisch reagiere. Zumindest ist das nicht der Fall bei Siam-Katzen.
Hey @Shaka. Your third article on Crete again did not disappoint. Thank you for a well-put-together article. Your pictures are stunning and it’s such a treat to share in a snippet of your journey. The interior of that room is beautiful. The wooden beams, wooden floor and furniture, thick walls, oil lamp and ornate chandelier reminds me of our old, stately farm houses here in South Africa. Nothing says ‘home’ and ‘decades of lives lived, and stories told’ like one of these old buildings with their original wooden floors and ceilings. Can you imagine the stories those walls would tell if they could talk? Thank you for sharing your beautiful pictures with us, we love each and every one (especially the kitten!) :)
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Ein sehr friedlicher Ort ... an dem ich auch gerne kontemplieren würde. Hast du mit den wenigen verbliebenen Mönchen noch ein paar Worte mehr wechseln können? Gibt es dort noch Andachten oder Zeremonien, die sie abhalten und bewirtschaften sie das alles selbst? Werden sie von den Bewohnern besucht? Würde mich interessieren.
Solche Orte der Stille sind wirklich etwas Besonderes.
Ich geniesse das auch sehr, an solchen stillen Orten zu verweilen. Vielleicht gelingt es mir mal, mich 2 Wochen in ein Kloster einzuquartieren. Es gibt ja verschiedene, die so etwas anbieten.
Ich hatte vor Ort nur einen Mönch angetroffen. Dessen Englisch war allerdings so, dass ich kein rechtes Gespräch führen konnte.
Der Innenraum der Zentralkirche hat mir aber durchaus den Eindruck gemacht, dass dort regelmässig Messen abgehalten werden.
Das hatte ich auch schon mal überlegt. Einige Recherchen später war ich erstaunt, dass das schon ein recht ausgereiftes Business-Modell ist, zumindest in Deutschland...
Schön, dass dort, wo du warst, noch Messen abgehalten werden und der Ort nicht allein ein Museum ist.
Beim Anschauen deiner Bilder kam mir der Gedanke, ob du neben den Aufnahmen, die etwas Schönes und Erhabenes zeigen, als Kontrast etwas fotografierst, was verlottert, unaufgeräumt oder schäbig aussieht. Es würde die Schönheit eines Ortes noch hervorheben, wenn man das weniger Schöne daneben setzt.
Beautiful photos once again @shaka !
The landscape might seem a little wild but it is the uniqueness of the place that makes it so beautiful
Another great reportage. Just a few monks, you say; are most of the buildings still in use, or is it mainly a museum now? Maybe I could rent a room 8-).
Thank you for commenting at this beautiful footage by @shaka!
(Dear Shaka, I hope you dont mind my replying)
The place is still operating and its history is rather impressive (I have replied earlier, referencing to this link for more historical information!)
I am not sure if guests can stay inhouse, but in case you would be interested let me know; I could find out for you.
There is another monastery located at a unique place (southern Crete) where you could search for accommodation, they offer a few rooms for their visitors at Koudoumas Monastery
as always a wonderful article. I particularly like these gentle hills in which these villages or this chapel is embedded
on the one hand you can feel the wild and barren landscape and on the other the special life that exists here away from the mass tourism.
Thanx
What kind of logos are there on the top of the gate?
Do they symbolise anything?
Hopr your journey was awesome and hope you have enjoyed a lot.
Those are typical orthodox symbols. If you open the picture in a new tab to see it bigger you will see a depiction of Mary and the baby Jesus and the Christian cross.Now I don't know Cyrillic, but I know how to read some or most of the letters, it is the name of the monastery "Iera Moni Panagias" signifying that it is a monastery and the last name is Odigitrias, the actual name.
Probably @katerinaramm or @ruth-girl, our local Greek girls can explain better :D
Thank you for the mention @alexdory!
These are Greek letters and they mean 'Holy Temple of Virgin Mother the Odigitria' which means Virgin Mary the Leader (probably deriving from a very old Icon)
This monastery was first built during the 14th century.
You can read more about its history here and @shaka thank you again for sharing your beautiful memories and photos of my island!
Hey @alexdory and @katerinaramm, thank you both for joining in with these great additions! That's what I love about Steemit :)
Cheers!
Thanks for explaining this orthodox church symbols, @alexdory!
Richtig nice, muss es auch mal unbedingt nach Griechenland schaffen. War letztes Jahr auf Sardiniern, kann ich auch nur empfehlen...
Ja, Sardinien ist auch sehr schön.