Arkadi Monastery is located near the
village Amnatos, 23km east of Rethymno. It is built at an altitude of
500m, on a fertile plateau with olive groves, vineyards, pine, cypress
and oak trees. Around the monastery there are several picturesque
chapels and from there starts the beautiful Arkadi gorge.
The exact date of the foundation of the
monastery is not known, but it is believed that it was actually founded
by Byzantine Emperor Arkadios in the 12th century. According to another
version, the name is taken after a monk called Arkadios, who first
founded the monastery. Moreover, the monastery was called Tsanli
Manastir by the Turks (i.e. beneficiary bell), as the Arkadi monastery
was the only Cretan monastery that had the right to ring its bells.
The initial church of the monastery was
dedicated to Saint Constantine and some ruins of it are preserved in the
northwestern part of the monastery enclosure. Arkadi is surrounded by
massif walls that made it impregnable from the enemies and its rich
fortification attracted the rebellious Cretans. Many Turkish and Greek
documents are referring to the life and the adventures of the monastery,
that provided educational, national, ethical and monetary support for
the locals.
Arkadi is certainly the most historic
monastery of Crete and has become the most sacred symbol of the Struggle
of the Cretans for Freedom. It is the theater of the tragic battle of
1866, which opened the way for the liberation of the island in 1898.
Indeed, UNESCO has designated Arkadi as a European Freedom Monument.
The Battle of Arkadi
During
the Turkish occupation of Crete, the Cretans made many revolutionary
movements, such as the Revolution of Daskalogiannis in 1770, of the
Janissaries in 1821, against the Egyptians in 1822, of Gramvousa in
1828, of Chairetis in 1811. They all failed but strengthened Cretan
morale and hatred against the Turks. The Revolution that opened the way
for the Liberation of Crete was the Revolution of 1866, which, combined
with the revolutions of 1878 and 1895, put an end to the Turkish
Occupation in 1898.
The Cretan Revolution of 1866 brought a
blow against the Turkish Empire, caused significant economic damage and
stultified its military prestige. The Monastery of Arkadi from the first
moment of the Revolution was the center of the Cretan struggle. On May
1, 1866, 1500 Cretan rebels gathered under the leadership of Hadji
Michalis Giannaris and elected representatives of the various provinces
of Crete. As president of the Rethymno Commission, was elected the abbot
of Arkadi Monastery, Gabriel Marinakis.
When Ismail Pasha was informed of these
events he demanded that the abbot had to expel the Revolutionary
Committee from the monastery, otherwise he would destroy it. The abbot
refused and in July Ishmael Pasha sent his troops. However, the
Commission had abandoned Arkadi and the Turks only destroyed the icons
and sacred vessels of the temple. The committee returned in Arkadi and,
in September, Pasha reasked the abandonment of the monastery, otherwise
he would destroy it completely!
The
message of Ishmael was rejected and the rebels immediately started
organizing their defense. On September 24, Panos Koroneos arrived in
Bali and visited Arkadi with his soldiers, where he was announced as the
General Chief of Rethymnon. He organized the military defense and
pointed out that Arkadi is not suitable for defense. The abbot and monks
had the opposite opinion, so Koroneos set John Dimakopoulos as
commander and left Arkadi. The monastery was a refuge for many women and
children from the nearby villages. So, on November 7, in the monastery
there were 964 people. 325 of them were men of whom 259 were armed.
On the evening of November 7, an army
consisting of 6000 soldiers, 200 horsemen, 1200 Albanians and 30 cannons
departed from Rethymnon city. In the morning of November 8, 1866 all
that army, led by the groom of Mustafa Pasha, Suleiman Veis, was
standing in front of the monastery. The dawn of the same day found the
Cretans in the Divine Liturgy (in church). When the abbot Gabriel
learned that the Turks were established on the hills around the
monastery, he blessed all the rebels and everyone took up battle
positions.
Soon,
Suleiman Veis asked from the Cretan warriors to surrender. The answer
was given by the shooting guns and the raised emblem - flag depicting
the Transfiguration of Christ (and now kept at the Museum of the
Monastery). The battle started.
Women helped by carrying ammunition and
water for the warriors, while the Turks were trying in vain to approach
and destroy the West Gate. The battle continued all day with many
casualties of the Turks. In the windmill outside of the gate (where the
ossuary is currently set) seven Cretans were hidden, who caused the
greatest damage to the Turks, but by the evening they were all killed.
At the night, the Turks brought two heavier cannons from Rethymnon. One was the famous bombard koutsahila,
famous throughout Crete for its devastating effectiveness. The
desperate besieged managed to send secretly the priest Kraniotis and
Adam Papadakis to ask for help from Koroneos and the other chieftains of
Amari province.
The two men managed to escape Arkadi and reach the other rebels, but
they could not help. It is worth mentioning that the heroic Adam
Papadakis decided to return the monastery, where he knew that he would
certainly die.
In the evening of November 8, the bell
rang for last time. Warriors, old men, women and children came to the
Holy Communion (Blessed Sacrament). Even children had understood that
they lived the last moments of their lives.
When November 9 dawned the battle began.
The new canons destroyed the western gate. The abbot ordered whoever
would manage to be alive when the Turks would enter the yard, to give
fire to the gunpowder storage room.
The
battle continued relentlessly. The Turks managed to enter the gate of
the monastery and the battle was bounded inside the monastery. Those
warriors that had run out of ammunition came to the courtyard and fought
with their swords. Many girls and women ran to the storey with the
powder kegs, as they preferred to surrender their bodies to the flames
rather than the atrocities of the Turks. When most of the Turks entered
the monastery, Dimakopoulos and other warriors, rushed with swords and
killed many Turks from those who were in the yard. After a while their
swords were broken and the Turks continued to come from everywhere after
the resistance had fallen from all sides.
It was now dark and most women had
gathered in the powder room. Kostas Giamboudakis then raised his pistol
and ordered anyone who wanted to leave the storey, as he would explode
the gunpowder. Hundreds of Turks were trying to break the door to
slaughter the Christians. Giamboudakis waited to attract as many Turks
as possible outside the door. Then he shot the powder kegs and a huge
explosion was heard. Stones, bodies, heads, ruins, soils were all mixed
and the souls of the Cretans passed into history forever.
After the explosion of gunpowder, John
Dimakopoulos and a few survivors continued to fight against the Turks
and the Albanians in the courtyard of the monastery. He decided to
surrender when he was guaranteed that the last alive defenders would be
left free. However, on the next day, they were all beheaded. Even today
you can see the marks of the swords on the dining tables. The result of
the holocaust of Arkadi, as this drama has prevailed in Greek History, was: 114 men and women prisoners, 864 dead Cretans and about 1500 dead Turks.
In the cypress of the monastery there
are still bullets of that battle. Pasha believed that his victory would
stop rebels in Crete. However, this battle was learned in Europe and
opened the closed doors of European diplomacy, changed the mindset and
tactics of the Great Powers towards Crete and led to its liberation in
1898.
http://www.arkadimonastery.gr/
(source:cretanbeaches)http://www.arkadimonastery.gr/
Greece’s significant tourism growth was discussed in a meeting in
London on Friday 31 October between Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni
and the chairman of the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA), Noel Josephides.