Taking the bus to the Arkadi monastery
Not far from Rethymno stands the beautiful Arkadi monastery. It’s a popular destination for tourists staying in the Rethymno area. If you have a car you can make a great trip visiting the monastery and some other attractions in the area, like the pottery village of Margarites. Well… I didn’t have a car, but I made it out to Arkadi anyway. From the bus station I joined one other man on the bus towards the mountains. Arkadi was the first major stop on the route after about 40 minutes.
My bus driver was pretty grumpy this morning. He pointed out I had the wrong ticket and walked back into the station with me. He had the ticket guy print another one, but again it had the wrong destination on it. A conversation happened in Greek and I was sent back to the bus, now with two wrong tickets stapled together as if that would make it right. First the bus drove along the coast, past the many hotels and resorts. Then we suddenly went inland and slowly started climbing up the hills. I’m so impressed with how the bus drivers here manoeuvre through the tiny villages, making the tightest corners. As we climb the view gets better and better.
“The church in the center of the small courtyard immediately catches the eye”
At the monastery are already a fair few white rental cars, but by the time I leave they have doubled. For 3 euro I get to enter the premises. The church in the center of the small courtyard immediately catches the eye. The façade is beautiful and reminds me of Italy. The surroundings are peaceful because of the many flowers and plants. A priest walks around in the church and an older ladies walks up and down, presumably tidying up. Besides seeing the church, you can see an example of a monk’s quarter and there is a small museum with the regular religious items.
The place where tragedy struck
When the Ottomans conquered Crete everything changed, but for some reason the Arkadi monastery was allowed to stay and got some privileges other religious places didn’t get. Unfortunately it became the scene of a tragic battle. The resistance was regularly meeting here and when the Ottomans heard about this, they made their move. While the men were fighting in the courtyard, the women and children hid with the priest, knowing they were not going to win. They prayed and prayed until their final moment. Knowing they’d be enslaved and possibly sent to a harem, they chose death instead. The priest blew up the gunpowder magazine in which they were hiding. In the courtyard you can still find a bullet stuck in a dead tree, as a reminder of the events that went down here.
The monastery isn’t very big and even after exploring it at a slow pace I finished well before the bus to go back arrived. I was a bit sad I couldn’t explore more of the mountain area though. When I saw a sign that it was possible to hike from Arkadi to Margarites I was even more disappointed. Unfortunately I wouldn’t be able to do it anymore before the last bus back. Mind you, there were only two buses per day and I really didn’t want to get stuck in some village. I’m glad I made the trip out here though, since I really needed to see something other than another beach! The same bus driver arrived and even managed to give me a semi-enthusiastic “Yassas”. I was the only one on the bus.
A palm tree in the monastery. 
Looking through the door… 
There was a lot of shade in the monastery. 
The monastery grounds. 
This beautiful rose was one of many plants. 
Lots of green around. 
The bells of the church 
The grounds of the monastery. 
Lazy cat chilling in the corner. 
Just outside the monastery. 
Not a bad last resting place with this view!