Faneromenis Monastery, Sitia

Drive west out of Sitia on the main road to Agios Nikolaos. The marked exit to the Faneromeni Monastery is on the right 2km after the city of Sitia. There are two exits a few kilometers apart that meet in the middle. The monastery is reached after a signposted, 30-minute drive on a good dirt track.

When you reach the sea, continue along the road as it climbs uphill for about 2km from the sea. The monastery is perched dramatically on the edge of a canyon. The monastery is perched dramatically on the edge of a canyon.

The name of the monastery (Faneromeni, “revealed”) was taken from an icon of the Virgin which was found in a small cave beside the church. The frescoes in this small fourteenth century monastery church are dated 1455 and were blackened by smoke when the church was set on fire to by the Turks.

There is an inscription commemorating renovations on the monks cells in 1624.

Today the monastery is almost deserted. Only on 15th of August it is crowded by the pilgrims that arrive from the surrounding area. Then a traditional ceremony takes place here, when the icon of the Virgin Mary, the “Revealed Lady” is transferred on foot from the church of St George in Skopi, accompanied by the pilgrims.