Holy Toplou Monastery

The sacred Panaghia Akrotiriani and St. Ioannis Theologos Toplou Sitia (Toplou Monastery), is situated in the North-East of Crete and is one of the oldest and most historic Monasteries in Crete through the centuries.

It is built in the East of Sitia, towards the palm-tree forest of Vai and it is the biggest castle Monastery in the East Crete. It was built in the 14th century according to the remainders of mural art in the first temple.

The Monastery of Toplou was in the height of its glory in the 14th and 15th century, judging by the many and very important Byzantine icons of that period. Those icons represent the development of Byzantine painting which came to Crete gradually after the conquest of Istanbul (Konstantinoupolis) by the Turks. The high artistic value of these icons indicates that the monks in Toplou were highly-educated and we also know that they helped to raise the cultural level in Crete during the Renaissance. Unfortunately, the rise stopped in 1612 because of a disastrous earthquake in East Crete.

The Monastery was rebuilt in the form of a castle with the financial help of the Cornari and Mezzi families.

In 1646 the Turks conquered Sitia and put an end to the glory of the Monastery. It was then that the name of the Monastery which had been  ”Akrotiriani” changed to “Toplou”. The name “Toplou” probably comes from the Turkish word “top” which means “metal ball” because of the cannon that used for the defense of the Monastery.

During the Turkish domination the Monastery was restored and great painters of the time, like Ioannis Cornaros and Stamatios, were asked to paint new icons. The contribution of the Monastery in the Greek revolution against the Turks in 1821 was important both in the social and national field. During the Ottoman occupation there was a school in the monastery, while, after 1870, it was founded there a school of mutual teaching. 

During the German domination, lots of Greek fighters found shelter in Toplou and were also allowed to hide a radio here.

Toplou Monastery is a stauropegion fortress. The main building of 800 m2 has three floors, which are divided into cells, guest - houses, kitchens, the abbot' s residense and warehouses. The katholicon is a two-aisled church; the northern aisle is dedicated to the Virgin, and the southern posterior aisle, to St John the Theologian.

One more restoration of the Toplou Monastery took place in recent years, originated and surveyed by the Abbot Philotheos Spanoudakis. Furthermore, a museum was founded for the exhibition of the very carefully  preserved, precious things in the Monastery. In addition, there is a library in the Monastery, which includes rare books. The Temple is decorated with murals and frescos painted by Mr. Emmanouil Betinakis.

Flocks of sheep and goats graze in the barren land owned by the Monastery, whereas in the fertile parts there are biological vineyards and olive trees cultivations.