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THE ARKADI MONASTERY
THE ARKADI MONASTERY
The current church of the Arkadi Monastery dates back to the 16th Century where it was a place of teaching and science. It is believed, however, that the site was first occupied sometime in the 5th Century.
The monastery found fame during the Cretan Revolt of 1866 against the Ottomans. Arkadi Monastery was being used to shelter Cretan villagers from all around the area from attacks by the Ottomans. On the morning of the 8th November 15,000 Ottoman Turks with twenty cannons began their assault on the fortress like building. The fighting raged for two days and the Cretan fighters were running out of ammunition when the walls were finally breached. The last remaining Cretan fighters tried to hide in the monastery were massacred by the Ottomans as they were found. In the powder room, where the majority of the women and children hid, Konstantinos Giaboudakis gathered the people hiding in the neighbouring rooms together and told them his plan. Everyone in the room agreed. When the Turks arrived at the door of the powder room, Giaboudakis set the barrels of powder on fire and the resulting explosion resulted in the deaths of the Cretans and many Turkish deaths. Of the 964 people present at the start of the assault, 846 were killed in combat or at the moment of the explosion. Turkish losses were estimated at 1500. |
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