Crete - east of Sitia continued, Toplou Monastery.

 We drove back towards Sitia in a tour bus sandwich,( buses to left of us, buses to right of us ....) and when we got to the monastery..

we were greeted by about 15 buses, parked in the lot designated for them and all along the road too. The car parking lot was nearly empty.

The crowds (all those buses must have been full) were streaming into the main church so we could look at this little chapel,

the windmill (there is a spring on site)

 

the pretty gardens

and courtyards, in peace.

The monastery is dedicated to Panagia (Virgin Mary) and St. John the Theologian. The monastery, especially the main building, is a composite of structures resulting from its frequent destruction and consequent rebuilding. from Wikipedia

The monastery owns a huge amount of land out towards the Eastern cape and sells olive oil and wine from its own agricultural area. On investigating, on line, why it was so busy I found that the day was a festival for Saint Isadore who appeared at the eastern end of Crete. His pilgrims bring wild greens and we saw some picking dandelion leaves and other greens along the sides of the roads.

The monastery itself looks more like a fortress. Once we got through the door it was wall to wall people and we turned around and decided we would maybe come back another day to see the actual cloister and chapel.

Bit of a step down for the "hero-monks" to now sell olive oil and wine to the tourists.