Toplou Monastery
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Toplou Monastery () is a currently active
monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...
located in a semi-arid area of the
Lasithi Lasithi () is the easternmost regional unit on the island of Crete, to the east of Heraklion. Its capital is Agios Nikolaos, the other major towns being Ierapetra and Sitia. The mountains include the Dikti in the west and the Thrypti in the ...
regional unit The 74 regional units of Greece (, ; singular , ) are the country's third-level administrative units (counting decentralized administrations as first-level). They are subdivisions of the country's 13 regions, and are further divided into municip ...
, on the eastern part of the island of
Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...
in
Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
. It is about north of
Palekastro Palaikastro or Palekastro (, officially ), with the Godart and Olivier abbreviation PK, is a thriving town, geographic heir to a long line of settlements extending back into prehistoric times, at the east end of the Mediterranean island Crete. T ...
and east of Agios Nikolaos. It is at the base of the Itanos promontory from which
Cape Sidero Cape Sideros or Cape Sidero () is a cape at the eastern end of the island of Crete, Greece. Anciently it was known as Samonium or Samonion (), Sammonium or Sammonion (), Salmonium or Salmonion (Σαλμώνιον) and Salmone (Σαλμώνη). T ...
, the easternmost point of Crete, projects to the northeast. The nearest settlements are
Sitia Sitia (Latin language, Latin and Italian language, Italian) or Siteia (, ) is a port town and a municipality in Lasithi, Crete, Greece. The town has 11,166 inhabitants and the municipality has 20,438 (2021). It lies east of Agios Nikolaos, Cre ...
to the west and
Palaikastro Palaikastro or Palekastro (, officially ), with the Godart and Olivier abbreviation PK, is a thriving town, geographic heir to a long line of settlements extending back into prehistoric times, at the east end of the Mediterranean island Crete. T ...
to the southeast; otherwise, the entire promontory is uninhabited except for the modern military reservation at the tip of the cape. In the political structure of Greece, the monastery has been assigned the settlement (oikismos) of Toplou, which it had before 2011, but was validated again in the redivision of 2011. The full civic classification beyond Toplou from 2011 in ascending order is: local community (topike koinoteta)
Palaikastro Palaikastro or Palekastro (, officially ), with the Godart and Olivier abbreviation PK, is a thriving town, geographic heir to a long line of settlements extending back into prehistoric times, at the east end of the Mediterranean island Crete. T ...
, municipal unit (demotike enoteta)
Itanos Itanos () is a municipal unit (demotike enoteta) of the municipality (demos) Siteia in the Lasithi regional unit, eastern Crete, Greece. A former municipality itself, it was included in Siteia as part of the 2011 local government reform. The muni ...
, municipality (demos)
Siteia Sitia (Latin and Italian) or Siteia (, ) is a port town and a municipality in Lasithi, Crete, Greece. The town has 11,166 inhabitants and the municipality has 20,438 (2021). It lies east of Agios Nikolaos and northeast of Ierapetra. Sitia's ...
, regional unit (periphereiake enoteta)
Lasithi Lasithi () is the easternmost regional unit on the island of Crete, to the east of Heraklion. Its capital is Agios Nikolaos, the other major towns being Ierapetra and Sitia. The mountains include the Dikti in the west and the Thrypti in the ...
, region (periphereia) Crete. Believed to have been founded as early as the 14th century, the monastery was placed on the upper southern slope of Moni Toplou Gorge (named after it), a tortuous, geologically and ecologically interesting ravine exiting into the Sea of Crete through a boulder-strewn declivity called "the Abbott's Beach" (he paralia tou hegoumenou). Today the ravine is one of the reasons why the whole area has been incorporated into Sitia Geopark. The original placement was made near a copious spring draining into the gorge, now the site of a windmill-driven pump raising water out of the water table below. The monastery was founded at a time when the classical city of
Itanus Itanus or Itanos () was a Greek city and port on the northeast coast of ancient Crete, on the promontory which the Romans called Itanum, the neuter form of Itanus, Latin for Greek Itanos. The base of the tripartite northeast promontory, today c ...
, former owners of the promontory, was long gone, abandoned centuries earlier, and forgotten by all except the monks, who continued to be interested in the site. The Ottoman Empire had not yet become ascendant. For reasons unknown or not generally published the monastery inherited the entire territory of the ancient city, which it holds today as a major asset. A corporation has been created for its land holdings, "The Public Welfare Foundation of Panagia Akrotiriani," a subsidiary of the monastery and the Archdiocese of Sitia. The monastery was originally called
Panagia Panagia (, fem. of , + , the ''All-Holy'', or the ''Most Holy''; pronounced ) (also transliterated Panaghia or Panayia), in Medieval and Modern Greek, is one of the titles of Mary, Mother of God, used especially in Orthodox Christianity and E ...
Akrotiriani ("Our lady of the Cape)," a name which apparently is still legally meaningful. Its alternative current name, Moni Toplou, literally means "place of the cannon" (), thus called by the
Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic of Turkey * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic lang ...
for the cannon then mounted over the door. It had that name since at least 1865, when
Thomas Abel Brimage Spratt Thomas Abel Brimage Spratt (11 May 181112 March 1888) was an English vice-admiral, hydrographer, and geologist. Life Thomas Spratt was born at Woodway House, East Teignmouth, the eldest son of Commander James Spratt (Royal Navy officer), Jam ...
reported on his survey work in Crete, misrepresenting the name as Greek to plou ("the plou," whatever "plou" might be). The monastery has this entire time been economically and politically proactive. The monks, dressed in blue robes, under the direction of the Abbott, run a number of businesses. As the main road from Sitia to Vai runs through the premises, the monastery is open to the public for an entrance fee. Temporary hotel space is also available. Within the main gate are a store and a museum. The museum is a repository for many works of art, containing also collections of manuscripts. On the outside, much of the land around the monastery buildings is used for viticulture and dendriculture. They manufacture and export wine and olive oil. The real estate company is currently negotiating other uses of the promontory, but the chief obstacle is the conservation-minded government. Similarly, the cape is theirs but its use is reserved to the military. Some high points of their political proactivity are their support of resistance to the Ottoman Empire and to the Nazi occupation of Crete.


History


Evidence of the early monastery

The monastery is dedicated to Panagia (
Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...
) and St. John the Theologian. The monastery, especially the main building, is a composite of structures resulting from its frequent destruction and consequent rebuilding. Different parts of it have different dates of origin. These appear in the literature as different "foundation dates." More accurately the original foundation date remains unknown, while the others are only rebuilding dates. The oldest identifiable structure is the northern
nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
of the church in the inner courtyard, which has two. The northern once stood alone before any fortifications had been built. It is and perhaps originally was dedicated to the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of the Cape. The frescoes on its walls are as early as the 14th century. This is the only solid evidence of its earliest known date. The evidence dates to a century well within the period of Venetian sovereignty over Crete. The Venetians, however, were of the Roman brand of Christianity, whereas the monks were Greek Orthodox. Not enough is known to be able to extend the date back into times when the Orthodox were ascendant.


The corsair problem

After the fall of
Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
on May 20, 1453, and consequent end of the
Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...
, Cretan defenders of the city returned to Venetian
Candia The name Candia can refer to: People * The House of Candia, a noble family from Savoy (14th-16th) * Alfredo Ovando Candía, 56th president of Bolivia * Antoinette Candia-Bailey, American academic administrator * Cecilia Maria de Candia, British-It ...
along with "a stream of refugees." As the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
proceeded to establish itself in the
Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...
, Crete, "the last Latin principality," became "no longer safe." Turkish privateers, having taken the
Cyclades The CYCLADES computer network () was a French research network created in the early 1970s. It was one of the pioneering networks experimenting with the concept of packet switching and, unlike the ARPANET, was explicitly designed to facilitate i ...
, ravaged its coasts, plundering to support the Turkish war treasury, destroying settlements, and capturing population for sale as slaves. Sitia was attacked in 1471. Muslim corsairs found their way in 1498 to the undefended Toplou Monastery and sacked it.
Suleiman the Magnificent Suleiman I (; , ; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the Western world and as Suleiman the Lawgiver () in his own realm, was the List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman sultan between 1520 a ...
had employed the pirate,
Hayreddin Barbarossa Hayreddin Barbarossa (, original name: Khiḍr; ), also known as Hayreddin Pasha, Hızır Hayrettin Pasha, and simply Hızır Reis (c. 1466/1483 – 4 July 1546), was an Ottoman corsair and later admiral of the Ottoman Navy. Barbarossa's ...
, giving him 200
galley A galley is a type of ship optimised for propulsion by oars. Galleys were historically used for naval warfare, warfare, Maritime transport, trade, and piracy mostly in the seas surrounding Europe. It developed in the Mediterranean world during ...
s, to capture the Greek islands. He turned to the north coast of Crete in 1538, burning crops, confiscating farm animals, and taking slaves. By this time Barbarossa was operating from the new Barbary State founded in
Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...
. These pirates raided as far away as the coast of England, capturing on one occasion Reverend Devereux Spratt, ancestor of
Thomas Abel Brimage Spratt Thomas Abel Brimage Spratt (11 May 181112 March 1888) was an English vice-admiral, hydrographer, and geologist. Life Thomas Spratt was born at Woodway House, East Teignmouth, the eldest son of Commander James Spratt (Royal Navy officer), Jam ...
, later explorer of Crete and friend to the monastery. The reverend though ransomed stayed on in Algiers as minister to the Christian slaves until expelled.


The earthquake of 1612

The monastery collapsed in 1612 due to a strong earthquake. Centered near
Heraklion Heraklion or Herakleion ( ; , , ), sometimes Iraklion, is the largest city and the administrative capital city, capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion (regional unit), Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in G ...
, the quake, of
magnitude Magnitude may refer to: Mathematics *Euclidean vector, a quantity defined by both its magnitude and its direction *Magnitude (mathematics), the relative size of an object *Norm (mathematics), a term for the size or length of a vector *Order of ...
7.2 (Richter), affected mainly northern Crete, bringing down buildings and sinking ships in the harbor due to the
tsunami A tsunami ( ; from , ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and underwater explosions (including detonations, ...
. The collapse provided an opportunity to the Venetians to fortify the monastery against the growing corsair problem. On November 5, 1612, Nicolo Balbi, mayor of Sitia and ex-rector of the monastery, wrote to the
senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
of the
Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...
stating that the fortifications of the monastery had been so reduced that it could not be defended against raids. The Senate decided to financially aid in rebuilding it. A decree of March 13, 1613, allocated 200
ducat The ducat ( ) coin was used as a trade coin in Europe from the later Middle Ages to the 19th century. Its most familiar version, the gold ducat or sequin containing around of 98.6% fine gold, originated in Venice in 1284 and gained wide inter ...
s, presumably Venetian standard, presumably gold, presumably representing a lot of money, to the abbott, "Gabriele Pantogalo" for the rebuilding of the monastery. Venice was Roman Catholic; the monastery, Greek Orthodox. In Crete there had been some contention earlier. The decree said nothing strategic at all, but that topic was alraady covered by the petitioner. Instead the Senate appended the comment "it having appeared that the church is well attended by many subjects of our kingdom." If "our kingdom" is Venice, the comment appears to identify the reason for the Senate's generosity. The Balbi family, ascendant at Venice and also at Genoa (connection unknown) claimed descent from a gens of the same name in ancient Rome, as did the
Cornaro family The House of Cornaro or Corner were a Venetian patrician family in the Republic of Venice and included many Doges and other high officials. The name ''Corner'', originally from the Venetian dialect, was adopted in the eighteenth century. The o ...
of Venice (from
Cornelii The gens Cornelia was one of the greatest patrician houses at ancient Rome. For more than seven hundred years, from the early decades of the Republic to the third century AD, the Cornelii produced more eminent statesmen and generals than any othe ...
). Apparently there were equal numbers of Catholic and Greek Orthodox monasteries. When the noble Andrea Cornaro made out his will in 1611 he bequested large numbers of both. Apparently in this period, which some historians would call "the Cretan Renaissance," the two brands of Christianity had overcome their antagonism.


Relations with the Ottomans

The monastery flourished until the surrender of eastern Crete to the Turks in 1646, after which it was abandoned for a long time. In 1704, it acquired special protection privileges from the
Patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Roman Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and ...
(i.e.,
stauropegic A stauropegion, also spelled stavropegion (from , in turn from σταυρός ''stauros'' "cross" and πήγνυμι ''pegnumi'' "to affirm"), is a monastery or a parish which depends directly on the Primate (bishop), primate or on the Holy Sy ...
) and was re-inhabited. After its monks were slaughtered by Turks in 1821 during the Greek Revolution of Independence, Toplou was again deserted until 1828. In 1866, during the massive Cretan revolt against the Turks, it was once again devastated.


Axis occupation

During the
German occupation German-occupied Europe, or Nazi-occupied Europe, refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly militarily occupied and civil-occupied, including puppet states, by the (armed forces) and the government of Nazi Germany at ...
of 1941–44, Toplou was providing shelter to resistance fighters and housed their wireless radio. When this was discovered by the Germans, the
abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...
and two monks were tortured and executed.


Architecture

Having to defend itself from pirates and invaders, Toplou monastery is heavily fortified, being laid out around a courtyard paved with sea pebbles and surrounded by strong, high square walls. In its present form it extends to about 800 square meters in three floors, divided into cells, guest houses, kitchens and warehouses. The main church (
katholikon A ''katholikon'' or catholicon () or ''sobor'' () refers to one of three things in the Eastern Orthodox Church: * The cathedral of a diocese. * The major Church (building), church building (temple) of a monastery corresponding to a conventual ...
) is built as a two-
nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...
and the belltower dates back to 1558.


Art and literature at the monastery

Despite its turbulent history, Toplou has many works of art to its possession. Today, it hosts an interesting exhibition of
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...
icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic, and Lutheranism, Lutheran churches. The most common subjects include Jesus, Mary, mother of ...
s, books and documents, a display of ancient engravings and a collection of artefacts which reflect its role in the historical events that influenced Crete during the last centuries. The monastery possesses a series of about 20 portraits of monks, despotes and igoumens painted by the famous portraitist Thomas Papadoperakis. Many of them have written the recent tragical history of the place. The walls of the monks' dining hall, the "trapezaria", are also adorned with remarkable
fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...
paintings by the icon painter Manolis Betinakis.


The Cavo Sidero dispute

UK-based Minoan Group (formerly Loyalward Group Plc) plans a €1.2bn construction project on the Cavo Sidero
peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...
that is located in the northeastern part of Crete. This land is owned by Toplou monastery and is leased for 80 years. Backed by strong political support, the so-called ''Cavo Sidero'' project is advertised as one of the largest tourist investments in Greece. It includes the construction of six tourist villages with 7,000 beds, three golf courses, a conference center, a marina plus sport facilities. However, the Cavo Sidero peninsula is a
Natura 2000 Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectiv ...
designated area of particular
biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...
and archaeological importance and home to the Vai natural palm forest, the largest of its kind in Europe. On top of that, it is one of the driest areas on Crete and the large amounts of water that would be required by the developments when in operation will have a tremendous negative impact on the environment. Thus, despite the investors' assurances that the project has been designed to operate according to the principles of sustainable development, there has been strong opposition against it by the local population and several environmental groups, including
World Wide Fund for Nature The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is a Swiss-based international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named th ...
. Serious doubts about the intentions and the financial strength of the investors have also been raised. In April 2009, the
Supreme Administrative Court A supreme administrative court is the highest court in a country with jurisdiction over lower administrative courts and the administrative decisions of the authorities, but not the legislative decisions (laws) made by the government (which are unde ...
accepted the request of about 300
Sitia Sitia (Latin language, Latin and Italian language, Italian) or Siteia (, ) is a port town and a municipality in Lasithi, Crete, Greece. The town has 11,166 inhabitants and the municipality has 20,438 (2021). It lies east of Agios Nikolaos, Cre ...
residents who sought to annul the ministerial decree of 2007, which adopted the environmental impact study for the project. According to the Court, the environmental licensing of the project was not legitimate«Mπλόκο» από ΣτE στα έργα της Μονής Τοπλού, Το Βήμα OnLine, 10 Απριλίου 2009
/ref> since the
land use planning Land use planning or ''Land-use regulation'' is the process of regulating the Land use, use of land by a central authority. Usually, this is done to promote more desirable social and environmental outcomes as well as a more efficient resource u ...
foresees only a mild tourist development for the area.


See also

*
Kapsa Monastery Kapsa Monastery () is an Eastern Orthodox monastery situated on the southeast coast of Crete, between the villages of Makrys Gialos and Sitia in the west and Goudouras and Ierapetra in the east. It is built on a steep, rocky mountainside near th ...


References


Reference bibliography

* *


External links


Toplou monastery: History, description, icons

Photographs, videos, and street views of the Monastery from Google Maps

Photographs, videos, and street views of the Gorge from Google Maps
{{Authority control Modern history of Crete Buildings and structures in Lasithi Monasteries in Crete Greek Orthodox monasteries in Greece Christian monasteries established in the 1350s Tourist attractions in Crete