The monastery of Toplou - East Crete

The monastery of Toplou
The Monastery of Toplou or the Akrotirian, as it is called, due to its position in the eastern Part of Crete, is one of the most renowned and important monasteries of the island. Its establishment probably dates to the late 14th century, a period during which the original catholicon was erected, dedicated to the Birth of the Theotokos. The monastery acquired its fortified form after its systematic plundering by Turkish pirates that raided eastern Crete at the end of the 15th century. Its reconstruction is connected to the Venetian-Cretan families of the Kornaroi and the Metzoi of Sitia according to ­tradition. Important icons, ­manuscripts, early printed books, and engravings that cover a lengthy period, from the 15th to the 19th centuries, are ­displayed in the two adjacent spaces of the basement of the monastery that are arranged as a museum.

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