EASTERN CRETE

C H A P T E R 5
Travelling towards the
“deserted city”
From Sitia the road continues along the
coast towards the easternmost point of
Crete in a harsh, bare landscape, its few trees
bent by the wind which blows angrily here.
In the midst of this wild nature there rises
the fortress-like monastery of Toplou, which
takes its name from the Turkish word top,
cannon, because the Venetians had
equipped the complex with a powerful
artillery. Dedicated to the Panayia Akrotiriani
("the Virgin of the ridge"), the monastery was
founded in the fourteenth century by the
noble Venetian Cornaro family, but thanks
to armed conflicts and earthquakes, Toplou
Monastery has been damaged and rebuilt
many times.
Toplou
Monastery is one
of the most
important
monasteries on
Crete, erected in
the middle of a
fertile plateau
halfway to
Palaekastro. In
the past the
monastery held
land from Capo
Sideros all the
way to the south
coast - mainly
received as gifts
from the rich and
devoted families
of Sitia
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