Chania - Chryssopighi monastery -
Mournies - Therissos -
return: Chania - Akrotiri - Aghia Triada
monastery - Gouvemetto monastery.

We start off from Chania and drive south-
eastwards towards Souda. At the third
kilometre, we meet a detour to the right
leading to the Monastery of Chryssopighi or Zoodochos Pighi.

This monastery was founded by the
Chartofylakas family of Chania, around
1600. On the gate is an inscription and
under it the coat of arms of the founder's family, with the date 1863, at which time it was probably renovated.

The monastery is surrounded by a wall.
In the centre of the precinct stands the
church, with three conchae and three
domes, dedicated to the Life-giving Fountain, "Zoodochos Pighi". Important documents are kept in the monastery.

Nearby, there is a small church dedicated to the Prophet Elijah, with a decoration in relief and inscriptions dating from 1578. Another road, almost parallel to the Moumies road, also starts from Chania and leads southwards. It passes through the village of Perivolia and ends up in the heroic village of Therissos (16 kms. south of Chania).

Part of the route passes through the 6
km. long Therissos gorge or Venizelos
gorge, as it is also called.

The inhabitants of the village took part
in the struggle for independence against the Turkish occupation. However, the most important event in its history is more recent. It was from this small village that, in 1905, Eleftherios Venizelos issued his call for a revolution against the regime of Prince George of Greece, who had been set up as High Commissioner of the autonomous "Cretan Republic" by the European Powers.
This uprising, which has gone down in
history as the Revolution of Therissos,
was quashed by the Great Powers, but
as a result of it, Prince George resigned,
a year later.

In the village, we can still see the building which served as Venizelos' headquarters.

Two and a half kilometres north of The-
rissos is situated the cave of-Kato Sara-
kina or Elliniko. The potsherds found
here testify to this cave having been a
place of worship.

We now return to Chania, from where
our next tour, to the Akrotiri peninsula,
starts.
We take the road leading to the airport,
in an easterly direction. After four and
a half kilometres, we turn left and ascend the hill of Profitis Ilias, where there is a simple memorial and the tombs of Eleftherios Venizelos and his son, Sophocles. From this hill we can enjoy a superb panoramic view ofChania and its vast expanse of beach.

The road continues eastwards towards
Korakies and Aroni, picturesque villages with houses in traditional local style.
Just beyond Aroni there is a detour to
the north (while the road to the airport
continues eastwards) which leads to the
Aghia Triada ton Tzangarolon Monastery (15.5 kms. from Chania), near the village ofKoumares, in a beautiful natural setting. In the middle of the monastery precint stands the church of Aghia Triada

- the Holy Trinity. This is a cruciform, domed church with two side chapels, one of which is dedicated to the Zoodochos Pighi and the other to Saint John the Theologian. The facade of the church is impressive. There are two large Doric-style columns and one smaller, Corinthian-style column on either side of the main entrance. The facade also bears an inscription in Greek and the date 1631.
Above the monastery's cellar door
there is an older date - 1613. The belfry was built much later, in 1864. This monastery played an important part in
the insurrections against the Turks
and,when it was destroyed, it was rebuilt again by the monks. It was very wealthy. In 1833, a boarding school was
established here while, in 1892, a seminary was set up, which numbered
among its teachers many eminent
scholars.

The monastery also has a library with
rare books and old codices, as well as
icons worthy of mention, painted by
Mercurius of Santorini, a well-known
religious painter of his time.
Four kilometres to the north (half of the
road is a dirt road), we find the Gouver-
netto Monastery, surrounded by a for-
tress—like enclosure in the shape of a
quadrangle, with four square towers at
its corners.

There are fifty cells, some of which are
vaulted. In the centre of the enclosure
stands the church of the Presentation of
the Holy Virgin, also known as Lady of
the Angels.

Its facade shows a strong Italianate in-
fluence in its sculptured decoration,
columns etc.

There are two side chapels, one of which
is dedicated to Saint John the Hermit or
the Stranger (Aghios loannis o Xenos),
and the other to the Aghioi Deka.

Close by, to the north of the Gouver-
netto monastery, in a wild ravine - the
Aviaki ravine - we find the Monastery of Saint John the Hermit or the Stranger, better known as the Katholikon.
The little church is entirely cut out of the rock and only its western side is built. Around the courtyard are the cells. To the left of the church is the entrance to the cave where the founder of the monastery, Saint John the Hermit, lived and died. It is the bed of an old underground river. Its length is 135 metres, its entire area approximately 1500 sq. metres, and it has a rich decoration of stalactites and stalagmites.
Near the entrance to the cave there is a
basin with water which the faithful believe to be holy water.

On the western coast of the Akrotiri peninsula is the seaside settlement of Kalathas with its beautiful beach and tourist accommodations.