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Kallergis Monastery
Kalergi Monastery is a picturesque monastery in Heraklion Prefecture dedicated to Saint John Prodromos, this peaceful place is situated in the southeast of Smari village by Kasteli region, south of the peak of Voukolies, at a distance of two kilometres from Kastelli village.
It was built one hundred years ago. However, on the peak of Mount Voukolies there are remains testifying to the existence of a monastery in that region that goes back hundreds of years.
The Kallergi Monastery is a monastery complex dedicated to St. John the Baptist, while the surrounding area is mountainous and barren. Although the exact date of its construction is not known, it seems that it was founded during the Venetian period. It is speculated that the site where it was built was a feud of Callergi.
During a period of tension, because of religious conflicts, the monastery hosted the Byzantine scholar and theologian Joseph Vryennios (1380-1400), to whom the area has been related. Since the early 20th century, the monastery has undergone several restorations, and since 1998 the restoration work has been continuing by the “Friends of the KalergisMonastery”.
Places near Kallergis Monastery
The village of Smari is a traditional Cretan village, only 7,3 km away from Kastelli, Heraklion prefecture, central Crete, and has 418 inhabitants. The village is first mentioned in 1375; in a document of the Ducal Archive of Chandax.
In it you will find beautiful old stone houses that have been restored, picturesque little alleys, and ruins of older buildings and pottery workshops where you can purchase copies of Byzantine and Minoan ceramics.There are also some interesting churches with wonderful frescoes like the one dedicated to Sotir Christos, the Koimisi tis Panagias and Agios Giorgos.The earliest reference to the village of Smari dates back to 1375.
There is a lively Cretan feast on July 20th in honour of Profitis Ilias, with much rejoicing, singing and dancing.
Caves of Smari
There are some caves found in the area of the Acropolis of Smari but the research for them is quite superficial.
A cave was found on the northeast of Smari, at an altitude of 320 meters, at a place named “Kupos”. It has a total length of 30 meters, with two chambers inside.
The cave “Xepatomeni Latsida”, with depth of 45 meters, is on the southeast of the village Smari, at an altitude of 412 meters, at a place named “Pithos”. According to a custom, sick people’s clothing or sick animals used to be placed in this cave.
There is another cave, 10 meters long, southwest of Smari, at an altitude of 414 meters, at the place “Gerolakkos”. Its entrance is located three meters below the ground level.
A cave, 30 meters long, lies southeast of Smari, at the place “Spiliarida”, at an altitude of 489 meters.
The journey to the village is charming getting you through areas of impressive wild landscape, and the typical old stone houses of Lagou, through the combined efforts of the members of the cultural centre, are being restored to their original traditional form so as to get the well deserved honour of being considered a protected traditional settlement.
Church of Agios Panteleimon (Saint Panteleimon)
The large historic Byzantine church of Agios Panteleimon of the 11th century is located near Bitzariano, north of Kastelli, in a location where nature is impressive. This is a three-aisled domed basilica of the Middle Byzantine period, which retains earlier architectural remnants on the south side, perhaps indicative of the fact that it has been built on the site of an early Christian church.
The fragmentary wall paintings are of particular interest and they are better preserved in the lower parts of the side walls, the central apse and the fronts of the eastern piers. The paintings are divided into three layers, dating from the 2nd half of the 11th up to the 13th century. Despite the many interventions in the temple, there is the possibility that this used to be an aisled basilica.
Smari in Kastelli Pediados (Heraklion prefecture) has a very long history and was inhabited, according to reliable sources, from the proto-Minoan period onwards. The archeological relics in the Akropolis of the hill called Profitis Hlias, excavated under the direction of the Archeologist D. Hatzi Vallianou, indicate a continuous human presence from the Middle-Minoan period to about 630 B.C.
On the top of the hill, on a field surface of 30 by 40 m. called Troulli, surrounded by a fortification wall, three rectangular constructions matching megaron buildings were excavated as well as a sanctuary of Athina Ergani , courtyards, and additional secondary buildings, all dating back to the Geometric/Eastern period (800-630 B.C.) Earlier remains dating to the Middle-Minoan/Old-Palatial periods were also found, even though the architectural remains from these periods have not been preserved except on the surrounding wall, which was built according to Pythagorean Theorem. According to the Archeologist-researcher D.Hadzi-Vallianou these buildings were the seat of the local Hegemon (powerful leader) of the area during the Geometric/Eastern periods.
The detection of social structures similar to those described by Homer as belonging to aristocrats could lead us to believe that Troulli was the seat of the ancient Homeric Lyttos Surrounding these buildings on the top of Troulli, excavations have also revealed a few more buildings, store rooms, workshops and one building containing a pyre. In the wider area of Smari there have also been discovered the remains of ten buildings dating from the Minoan to the Roman Empire periods, the most important of which are the vaulted tomb at the hill of Livaditsa and one Roman rural residence at the entrance to the villa.
The VillageThe village of Smari is a traditional small Cretan village, only 7 km away from the municipality of Kasteli and only 23 km. away from Heraklion, which is the capital town of the island of Crete in Greece. Smari has been populated by 418 registered inhabitants. Most of them stay and work in Heraklion.The village is first mentioned in 1375; in a document of the Ducal Archive of Chandax. In it you will find beautiful old stone houses that have been restored, picturesque little alleys, and ruins of older buildings and pottery workshops where you can purchase copies of Byzantine and Minoan ceramics.Agriculture and animal farming are the main activities of people staying permanently at the village. Traditionally, olive oil, wine and animal products have been the main source of income. In earlier years the village has been famous for its male population who were known traders of olive oil. They had been crossing the Crete Island by horses or donkeys selling olive oil. Instead of money, mostly they had been paid in form of other products, which were not possible to be produced at Smari.Smari is one of the few villages in the area which is characterized by a cultural, social and building growth during the recent years. This is due to a variety of factors. Among them the foremost is the love of the local people to revive the tradition. They have created a very active cultural association which is the corner stone of each new effort towards the future. There is a lively Cretan feast on July 20 in honour of Profitis Ilias, with much rejoicing, singing and dancing.NameThe name has been stemming from the Greek word “smari” which is used to describe a dense populated place. It is claimed that Smari was such a place in the past.
ChurchesGoing down from Smari Acropolis (Alt. 594 m.) in the direction to Smari village, you can see the church of Profitis Ilias among the trees and gushing water, a real oasis to visitors suffering from the hot Cretan summer. Next to it stands the church of Sotir Christos with wonderful wall paintings. At the southern side of the Acropolis is the Kallergi monastery, a place of calm and recollection, an ideal place to meditate and get in touch with your own spirituality. There are also some interesting churches with wonderful frescoes like the one dedicated to Agios Georgios, the Koimisi tis Panagias and Michail Archaggelos. A very important church, is the one of Agios Ioannis where it is also hosted Agioi Pantes
Bisariano is a traditional small village of about 24 inhabitants in the Municipality of Kasteli Pediada, 320 m above sea level and about 3 km to the north of Kastelli on the road to Hersonissos.
A pretty village with stone houses, graphic lanes and courtyards covered in flowers.
It is first mentioned in 1881, as Bizariano, Municipality of Kasteli, with 55 Christian inhabitants. In 1951, it changes its name to Pigi. Its first name is that of a family, Bizariano.
Close to the village, in a beautiful spot full of lush vegetation, evergreen plane trees and gushing water, stands the ancient church of Agios Pandeleimonas, with its three naves.
Two rows of arches supported by columns without capitals separate the naves. Another column is made exclusively of capitals, apparently brought in from other churches or temples. Practically all the middle outside wall is decorated with inscriptions, Byzantine reliefs and crosses.
The artistic highlight of the church of Saint Panteleimon are its fresco scenes painted on the walls which are among the oldest in Crete, although very few frescoes remain. In the lower section of the arch, there is the representation of the three Hierarchs, shown on full length, with vertical inscriptions on it. On the two side walls there are the representations of Saints in a colossal size. These scenes were designed to be a source of biblical education to the faithful, who would have been illiterate at that time.
Chapel of Jesus Christ the Savior in Smari
The church of the Metamorphosis of Jesus Christ the Savior is located on the western slope of the hill Prophet Elias, near the Acropolis of Smari. It is a single – aisled arched church, inside of which there are interesting frescoes, typical of the style that prevailed in the 14th century. The morphological characteristics of the church are from the 14th century too.
Chapel of Agios Georgios (Saint George)
The single-aisled arched church of Agios Georgios is located in the plain of the village Smari and it is the oldest Byzantine written source for the village, because of the dedicatory inscription of 1320-1321. We can recognize paintings, made by two different painters, in the part of the frescoes which are preserved on the eastern side of the temple, depicting Platitera (Our Lady), the Holy Mandylion and parts of the Annunciation according to the previous standards.
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