Siteia - Aghia Fotia - Toplou monastery
- Vai (Palm tree grove) - Itanos -
Palaikastro - Kato Zakros.

From Siteia we drive eastwards, and
4.5 kms. along the road, we come to a
detour to the right, leading in a southerly
direction towards Roussa Ekklesia,
Kryoneri and Mitato.

At the sixth kilometre on the main road
lies Aghia Fotia. Near the village an entire
necropolis was discovered, with many
chamber and pit tombs of the Early
Minoan period. Among the rich finds in
the graves were blades, stone and
bronze artifacts and a great number of
pots in a variety of shapes and sizes
(Archaeological Museum of Aghios
Nikolaos and of Siteia).

Nine kilometres east of Aghia Fotia, a
detour to the left, leading north, takes
us, after 3.5 kms., to the historical
fortress-monastery of Toplou (also called
Panaghia Akrotiriani), one of the richest
and most important monasteries in
Crete.

It is believed that the monastery was
built in the 15th century. It was destroyed
by an earthquake in 1612 and rebuilt,
then parts of it crumbled and were
restored by the monks with funds
provided by the faithful.

It is square-shaped and surrounded by
a strong wall, 10 metres in height. It
was provided with cannon with which
to repulse pirate raids. The main building
covers an area of about 800 sq. m. and is
three storeys high. The entrance is
through the Wheel Gate, which was
so called because its great weight made
it necessary for it to be pulled open and

shut by means of a wheel. Set in, on the
inside lintel, is a marble plaque in relief,
showing a carved cross borne by two
dolphins. The Italianate belfry stands
separate from the church, which has
two naves. The northern and older nave
is dedicated to the Birthday of the Holy
Virgin, and the southern one to Saint
John the Divine.

The walls are adorned with well-
preserved 14th century murals. Only
very few of the monastery's precious re-
lics still survive today, as the monastery was repeatedly plundered by the Turks. There are several interesting icons, among which a most important one painted by loannis Kornaros in 1770, entitled "Great art Thou, o Lord".
An inscribed plaque of the 2nd century
BC, built in on the face of the church, is
of great archaeological value. It was
discovered among the ruins of ancient
Itanos and brought here. During the
Turkish occupation, the monastery
functioned as a school for the Greek
children of the region, while the monks
themselves actively took part in the
struggle against the Turks, or offered
refuge to freedom fighters who were
being hunted.

In 1870, a school was founded, which
operated until fairly recently while, in
the difficult years of the German occupation, the monks once again were in
the forefront of the resistance, setting
up a radio transmitter to serve the
needs of the movement.

We continue on our route towards the
northeast and come to Vai after 7 kilometres. Not very far (1.5 kms) to the east, we find the famous Palm Forest. The
crystal-clear sea, the magnificent golden sand, lend this beach, which is unique in Greece, a special enchantment which attracts thousands of visitors. The greatest part of the palm tree grove is fenced in and is only open to visitors from sunrise to sunset, while free camping and overnight stays are strictly forbidden.

After the short detour to the Palm Forest, the road continues northwards for another 1.5 kilometres, and comes to
the site where Ancient Itanos was situated, and which today is known as Erimoupolis "the deserted city").
To the east is the islet ofElassa.
Itanos was inhabited since Minoan times
and until the 15th century, when the
town was destroyed by pirates and its
inhabitants fled inland for safety.

During the period of its prosperity, it
was an important harbour and a com-
mercial centre for the transportation of
goods from Crete to the East. On the
site were found inscribed tombstones of
the Pre-Christian period, the most important of which is the one encased in
the wall of the Toplou monastery.

From Itanos we descend southwards by
the same road to Vai and, shortly afterwards, we take a left fork which leads us, 6 kilometres further on, to Palaikastro (19 kms. from Siteia). The ruins in the area indicate that, near Palaikastro, there used to be a town which was inhabited from the Mycenean to the Hellenistic period.

To the southeast of the village, at Rous-
solakkos, excavations carried out in the
early years of our century by the British School of Archaeology, uncovered an entire Minoan settlement traversed
by a main street, with smaller streets
running perpendicularly to it, and separating the settlement into neighbourhoods. Almost the entire area is covered, today, for protection, so that only a small part is visible. On the same spot, ruins were discovered, which were believed to have belonged to the Sanc-
tuary of the Dictaean Zeus.

Further south, on the top ofPetsofa hill,
an outdoor peak sanctuary of the Middle Minoan period was discovered. Here were found very interesting male and female clay figurines, measuring 10—17 cm. in height, and with their arms held in a position of prayer. The figurines were votive offerings to some deity - probably
a female one - which was worshipped in this sanctuary.

Clay figurines of wild and domestic animals were also discovered here.

From Palaikastro we continue south-wards, to Langada, Kamara, Hochlakies, Azokeramo, where the road takes a westerly direction toward Kellaria and then turns south again for Adravastoi and Zakros (39 kms. from Siteia).
At a distance of 8 kms. southeast, in a
little sheltered bay on the easternmost
point of the island, lies Kato Zakros, where the ruins of Ancient Zakros were
uncovered.

Visit of Kato Zakros

In the western corner of a small valley,
the fourth largest Minoan palace was
discovered. The study of the area and of
the numerous finds proves the existence here of a populous Minoan city, which, because of its geographical position, served as a commercial harbour and as a transit station for the ships travelling to the African or Asian coasts.
It is believed that this was where the
goods coming from the Asian ports and
Egypt were unloaded, to be conveyed
thereafter to their destinations, the
large Minoan centres ofKnossos, Phaestos and Mallia. As the excavations show, the wider region, to the north and west of the palace, had been inhabited since prehistoric times and up to Roman times. Ruins of Roman houses, at Kali Strata, confirm the existence of a small Roman settlement. Also, at the sites known as Farangas ton Nekron and Traostalos, prehistoric cemeteries were found.

In 1901, the British archaeologist, D.G.
Hogarth, excavated the flank of a hill to
the northeast of the palace, and discovered about ten houses of the Late Minoan period, and important artifacts
of the Mycenean period.

Sixty years later, N. Platon began systematic excavations on the site, which
are still in progress today.

Initially, he discovered two building
complexes which were believed to have
constituted a manor-farmhouse. Then,
led by various potsherds which local
peasants had found in their fields, he
came upon the ruins of the palace.

The size of the structure, its careful con-
struction, the variety of shapes and the
richness of decoration of the pottery
found here, the spacious rooms, the
quantity of storerooms, the colonnades,
the labyrinthine disposition of the vari-
ous areas, the workshops, all testified to
this being a palace. The kings ofZacros
prospered, as a result of their commerce
with the lands of the Asian and African
coasts, from which they obtained precious raw materials such as ivory and gold. These were then used, together with local materials, by the palace craftsmen, to produce various vessels or decorative objects, a large number of which came to light in the excavations.

Entrance to the palace is effected through the northeastern side, from which a flagstone-paved road led to the
harbour.

The central court is surrounded by four
wings of apartments, each having a different function. In the western wing is
the ceremonial hall, the roof of which
was held up by polychrome columns,
with an interior polythyron and lightwell. Only the bases of the columns, and a few fragments of the frescoes which adorned the walls have survived.

In this room, many religious objects were found, among which a rhyton with
the depiction of a peak sanctuary, and
another in the shape of a bull's head
(Archaeological Museum of Hera-
kleion).

Through the western side of the
ceremonial hall, we come to the sanctuary proper which comprises eleven rooms: the priests' rooms, the room where the religious vessels were kept, the archives room - where tablets in Linear A script were found - the central sanctuary, the depository, the lustral basin - here a veined marble amphora was discovered
- the treasury, containing a great number of ritual vessels and sacred symbols made of various precious materials.
The storerooms are in the northern
section of the west wing. These contained various vessels of excellent quality and many pithoi (large jars).
To the west of the sanctuary are the
workshops.

The east wing housed the sumptuous
royal apartments. The queen's chamber communicates through a corridor with the room called the bath.
To the east of the royal quarters there is
a large square room with a circular cistern, which is believed to have been encircled by a colonnade.
On the south side of the basin is a spring
and further south another spring and a
well. In the south wing were the craftsmen's workshops.

In the north wing were the servants
quarters and a large room with
columns, called the kitchen because of
the cooking utensils found in it.
On the hill to the north of the palace,
the houses which were discovered are
believed to have belonged to the nobility and officials of the royal court.
The archaeological site of Kato Zakros
is situated in the crook of a small bay
with a marvellous beach and a lovely,
clear sea.