The Old Fishing Village of Panormos

Panormos is a small traditional Cretan fishing village with narrow cobbled streets, shops and an excellent choice of tavernas. It lies above the harbour and overlooks three beautiful little coves with lovely sandy beaches for sunbathing and calm waters for swimming. It is the ideal place to relax and enjoy the lazy atmosphere, go for long walks or just sit at the cafes/tavernas overlooking the harbour and enjoy the beautiful view and watch the world go by. It is also possible to rent fishing boats by the hour or day. There is a post office, chemist shop and doctor.

In Roman times Panormos was the old port of Axos, in the more recent days of steam travel it was an important harbour and a flourishing small town. Above the harbour you can see the remains of a mediaeval Genoan fort and behind the village the remains of the sixth century Christian basilica of Agia Sofia have been excavated. The basilica has three aisles; each aisle was separated from the other by four columns. Fragments of the capitals have been found. About 25 km south is the archaeological site of ELEFTHERNA

Panormos is an excellent geographical point to use as a base for excursions all over Crete. It is in the centre of the island, 22 kms east of Rethymnon. There is a regular bus service to Rethymnon (on average every 20 minutes) and to Heraklion.
It is just a short drive up to Anogia in the mountains, 740 metres up the north face of Mount Psiloritis, and from there to the stunning Nida Plateau and the Ideon cave where according to mythology was where Zeus grew up.

In the ancient days of steam travel it was an important harbour and a flourishing small town. About 25 km south to the mainland is the archaeological site of ELEFTHERNA. Today, Panormos is a protected area due to its beautiful and traditional narrow streets and buildings. Fine sandy beaches, several good restaurants, a wonderful sea view are just some of the pleasures a visitor can experience in Panormos. It is also an excellent geographical point to use as a base for excursions all over Crete.

Monastery of Arkadi

Just 25 kms from the historic town of Rethymnon you can take a local bus or you can book a tour of the most important site in the area of Rethymnon - Arkadi Monestry, a living monastry with an heroic history.

Immaculately situated in the foothills of Psiloritis Mountain (Mount Idi), Arkadi is something of a national shrine. During the 1866 rebellion, the monastery served as a Cretan stronghold in which hundreds of Cretan guerrilla fighters and their families took refuge as the Turks advanced and had the upper hand in the proceedings, it was here that they were surrounded by the Turkish army that lay siege for two days, finally the defenses were breached on November 9th, 1866.

The Holocaust of Arkadi
The Arkadi Monastery is one of Crete's most venerated symbols of freedom. The defiant defense of this fortress-like monastery during the 1866 Cretan rebellion against the Turks is still legendary and inspirational.
By the mid-1800's, the Turks had occupied Crete for more than two centuries, despite frequent bloody uprisings by Cretan rebels determined to win independence and union with Greece. Then came the revolution of 1866, instigated by a 16 member revolutionary committee. Arkadi Monastery became the rebels' headquarters, owing to its central position on the island and strategic location atop a craggy inland gorge.
When the Turkish Pasha in Rethymnon learned of the rebels operating out of the monastery, he sent an ultimatum to Arcade's Abbot Gabriel Marinakis: either expel the revolutionary committee or the monastery would be destroyed.
But Abbot Gabriel was himself acting as chairman of the committee. He refused the Pasha's demand. The rebels began preparing the monastery for the anticipated Turkish attack. At dawn on November 8, 1866, the Arkadi defenders awoke to find the monastery surrounded by 15,000 Turkish soldiers armed with 30 cannons. The monastery walls were manned by only 259 armed men, including 45 monks and 12 of the 16 revolutionary committee members. There were also almost 700 unarmed women and children from nearby villages, seeking refuge from the encroaching Turks.

The Turkish commander's demand for surrender was answered by gunfire. The battle was on.

Turkish troops stormed the monastery gate in waves and hundreds were mown down by heavy fire from the defenders and from seven Cretan snipers who had barricaded themselves in a windmill outside the walls. As night fell on the first day of the battle, the fields around the monastery were heaped with Turkish corpses. The snipers had died one by one. But still the gate and walls held.
In the dark of the first night, the two Cretan rebels were lowered by a rope from a window, dressed as Turks, to slip through enemy lines and seek reinforcements from a nearby town. When it was learned that no help was coming, one of the rebels crept back through Turkish ranks to return to Arkadi.
The second day of battle broke with a bang, as the Turks opened fire with two heavy artillery guns
they had dragged up the gorge from Rethymnon during the night. As the walls and gate smashed
and crumbled under the incessant pounding of the shells, Abbot Gabriel gathered the defenders into the Arkadi Chapel to receive the last sacrament. The Abbot urged them to die bravely for their cause and then went up to the walls to do so himself.
Aware that the Pasha had ordered him to be taken alive, Abbot Gabriel showed himself on an unprotected terrace and opened fire on the Turks. At first the Turks obeyed orders and did not shoot back. But at last the big Abbot, standing in clear view in his black flowing robes, blazing away at anything that moved, made too inviting a target for one Turkish soldier.
A bullet caught Abbot Gabriel just above the navel and he fell dead - but not before he had given his blessing to a desperate plan hatched by an imposing rebel fighter named Konstantine Giaboudakis. What the refugees at Arkadi feared more than death was to fall into the hands of the Turks. So when Konstanine Giaboudakis presented his plan to the defenders, it was unanimously approved.
By the afternoon of the second day, the Turkish heavy artillery had pulverized the outer walls. The defenders killed hundreds more invaders, but the end was clearly near - ammunition was running low and the gate was almost breached. As darkness fell, the Turks launched a massive final assault, pouring through the gate into the inner courtyard, where the rebels fought them hand to hand.
Meanwhile, Giaboudakis was preparing to carry out his plan. He led more than 600 women and children into the monastery's gunpowder storage room, where they said their prayers and waited until hundreds of Turks were swarming over the roof and ramming away at the bolted door. As the door splintered, Giaboudakis put a spark to a gunpowder keg.
The massive explosion killed all the refugees, along with several hundred Turkish soldiers. When the smoke cleared, 864 Cretan men, women and children lay dead, along with 1500 Turks. The Turks took 114 prisoners whom they immediately put to death. Only 3 rebels managed to escape to tell the tale.
News of the slaughter at Arkadi Monastery, with the heavy loss of women, children and clergymen shocked the rest of Europe and won much support for the Cretan rebels' cause. In 1898, with help from Greece and the Great Powers (England, France, Italy and Russia), Crete won its independence and the Turks withdrew from the island, which they had held since 1669.

Then in 1913, the long-fought-for goal was achieved and Crete was united with Greece.

Text the website of the Rethimnian Association of Melbourne "Arkadi"

Arkadi nowadays
There are still monks and a couple of nuns living at the monastery; they take care of the church and the surrounding buildings as well as the small museum where relics from the monastery and the church are kept. In the museum you can also buy very good copies icons made in the traditional way and other religious items.
Outside the grounds of the monastery there is a cafeteria and a souvenir shop. Here they sell local handcrafts, honey, Raki, komboloi's of a very good quality (the traditional string of beads that many men play with), and many other souvenirs and of course postcards.