Arkadi Monastery

The Monastery of Arkadi (located 23 km southeast of Rethymnon) is a great symbol of Crete.

During the 1866 revolution against the Turks, about 900 Cretans (militants and locals) took refuge here. Instead of surrendering, they preferred to blow up the gunpowder depot, killing themselves and many of the conquerors. In all, 3,000 Turks and Egyptians lost their lives in the battle.

This tragedy was heard all over the world, but it took another 30 years for Crete to be liberated.
Of all the sacrifices that Crete offered, Arkadi mediates.

The monastery of Arkadi raised the demand for Cretan freedom and aroused the philhellenic feelings of Europe, changing the mentality and tactics of the European powers towards the Cretan issue.

Every year on November 8, the national day of remembrance of this tragedy, hundreds of people gather at the monastery to pay tribute to the martyrs. UNESCO has designated Arkadi as a European Monument to Freedom.