Discovering Crete, Part 2 - Agiofárango, the Gorge of Saints II
Greetings Steemians!
Welcome to the continuation of my walk through Agiofárango, the Gorge of Saints. In case you missed it, you can check out the first part -> here.
After about two thirds of the track one comes across the church of Aghios Andonios, once the region’s religious center.
At the very beginning the church was still located inside a cave, but with the increasing number of pilgrims it was gradually expanded and relocated to the open air. The church received its present appearance in the 14th or 15th century. The exact time of the final construction phase does not seem to be known.
As I had mentioned in my previous post, a large number of ascetic monks lived in the gorge's caves for centuries. Probably around 300 at peak times. It is said that the monks gathered once or twice a year, each of them taking seat on an assigned stone. A stone that was left free witnessed a death in the community.
The proximity to the sea finally became the fate of the ascetics' community, as pirate raids increasingly took place. Finally, the monks had to leave the gorge. It is said that four of them founded the monastery of Aghios Andonios, in safe distance from the sea.
Just a few more bends through the oleander...
...and there it is, the church Aghios Andonios. Nicely framed by rocks and blooming oleander.
A monumental olive tree. Some of these can live to be over 1000 years old.
Outside the church there is a well, for a long time the only source of water in the region.
Finally, the sea!
Some made it here befor me.
Time to go for a swim.
A natural jumping platform.
Back to Kuna Muta. The hammock came just right to rest my tired legs.
I hope you enjoyed following me on my hike through Agiofárango. In the next post I will show you the fortified monastery of Odigitria!
And there will be kittens, tiny little ones, so don't miss it! :)
Thanks for watching and 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.
Wow dieser alte Olivenbaum sieht cool aus! Er sieht aus wie ein Zauberbaum aus irgendwelchen Fantasy Geschichten/Filmen :)
Wieder ein sehr schöner Bericht und tolle Bilder!
A big thank you for promoting my country @shaka is not enough.
Your photos are very beautiful and you make a really nice presentation!
Thanks, glad to read that!
You are most welcome!
another beautiful set of pics!
#til that olive trees can actually live that long
interesting church location
is it still being used by the locals or just for the show now like some of the ones here?
beautiful sea!!!
I long for a dive!
thanks for taking us there!
I like this adventure in crete I saw your first part and I was excited because in addition you came back I had days without seeing you
I did not imagine that in that place there is a beach at first I thought it was like a kind of desert but now I see that he has everything
Agios Andonios church a very nice place I like how those rocks stand out, this was done by the monks themselves?
There is a lot of history here the olive tree something old incredible the shape of its roots and I think it makes it a better place is the proximity to the sea I like this place I hope to see the next part and I also hope some contest are exciting besides you learn a lot
Happy day @shaka
Wow what a fantastic walk that must have been. That olive tree looks absolutely ancient. So your post motivated me to do some checking. I found a photo of a similar olive tree in Crete and it has this note:
Nature is just amazing :-)
Source:
https://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/wilderness-resources/photos/the-worlds-10-oldest-living-trees/olive-tree-of-vouves
I was absolutely amazed by this, too. Before I didn't know that these trees can literally reach biblical age.
Wow @shaka! These pictures are breathtakingly beautiful! Thank you so much for sharing this journey with us. I can only imagine the surreal feeling of walking past that well, past the ancient olive tree, and in the church. Thinking of 300 monks in caves all around. Imagining the history embedded there, must be overwhelming. I always find that places such as this, makes me feel nostalgic about memories that aren't mine and lives lived that I had no part in. Thank you for giving us the privilege of sharing a glimpse of your experience. I am looking forward to the monastery of Odigitria, can't wait!
Thank you for you comment. I feel in a similar way when visiting such historic places and try to imagine how life once played out there.
Another amazing photo series..!
Good to see u posting the second part of ur Gorge of Saints trip... I've never been to Greece but I'm sure this country have a lot to offer to the tourists..!!
Btw, u r welcomed to Catania, Italy... We have amazing sea beaches too.. And the mighty Mt Etna is here too..!!
Good day..!
~ Christina
Thank you! In fact I would love to visit Mt Etna. Maybe I can make it there on day :)
Cheers!
First of all i want to appreciate your work because you shared this soulful historical Architecture and whoever visit this kind of place possibly they will not expect this kind of soulful architecture here and i really liked the interior of this Church and literally it have very ancient essence and in my opinion watching it live and experiencing this soulful essence live will be great. And great to watch the mountain and seas and i strongly believe that sea view and beach is really amazing for an vacation and we can enjoy the vacation and we can explore the beauty of nature and the greatest thing is nature's art of sunrise and in my opinion sunrise from Seaview always reflects magic and if we get an chance to explore it then that would be great and i hope that you really enjoyed this sea view and environment.
And one more thing i liked here and that is the tree which literally reflecting as so old and we can also call it as an ancient tree and it have unique formations and design.
Thanks for sharing this post with us and wishing you an great day. Stay blessed. 🙂
Thanks a lot!
Welcome. 🙂
Sagenhafte Fotos einer einmaligen Natur, die Du uns da vermittelst. Vorallem diesen Baum finde ich gewaltig:
Er erinnert mich an Bäume die ich damals in Süditalien, vorallem in Sizilien gesehen habe. Einfach fantastisch dieses Wurzelspiel.
Das mit der Hängematte ist natürlich gelungen. Man ahnt welchen Genuss dir diese Reise gegeben hat.
Super cooler Bericht
Vielen Dank! Der Baum war tatsächlich sehr beeindruckend.
A 1000 year old tree must have been through a whole lot. Its appearance even says it all. The beach is really awesome @shaka, and the view is spectacular. It reminds me of those obtainable in the Cape of South Africa.
The monks must have been really industrious, to have come up with such a solid structure. The building looks like it is over a century old too. Thanks for sharing your travel experience.....again you showcased your skillful photographic talents with the photo shots....great piece.
Thank you!