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Description
A winding narrow road through olive trees and gorges takes us to the Arkadi Monastery which is built on the slope of Mount Ida (called Psiloritis) in Crete.
The filmmaker and his friend start their tour from the sacristy (an old windmill) of the fighters of the monastery, who on the fatal day of 1866 were blown up alongside women and children in order not to fall into the hands of the Turks.
The filmmaker’s friend continues her wandering passing in front of the Monastery’s stables and ends up in the church with the two naves (1587). The northern nave is dedicated to the Transfiguration of Christ and the southern nave is dedicated to Saint Constantine and Saint Helen. We watch views from the facade of the building with the renaissance architecture and then views from the gunpowder magazine.
The film closes with the filmmaker walking in the courtyard of the monastery.
The Monastery of Arkadi is a symbol of heroism and sacrifice. On November 6, 1866, Mustafa Pasha with 15,000 soldiers and heavy artillery arrived outside the monastery demanding the surrender of the besieged (966 but only 250 could fight). The hostilities started on November 8 and on November 9 and after the Turks asked for reinforcements, they occupied the Monastery.
In the gunpowder room, where the majority of the women and children hid, Konstantinos Giaboudakis gathered the people hiding in the neighbouring rooms together. When the Turks arrived at the door of the powder room, Giaboudakis set the barrels of powder on fire and the explosion resulted in numerous both Greeks and Turkish deaths. The Greeks who surrendered were hanged the next day.
The filmmaker and his friend start their tour from the sacristy (an old windmill) of the fighters of the monastery, who on the fatal day of 1866 were blown up alongside women and children in order not to fall into the hands of the Turks.
The filmmaker’s friend continues her wandering passing in front of the Monastery’s stables and ends up in the church with the two naves (1587). The northern nave is dedicated to the Transfiguration of Christ and the southern nave is dedicated to Saint Constantine and Saint Helen. We watch views from the facade of the building with the renaissance architecture and then views from the gunpowder magazine.
The film closes with the filmmaker walking in the courtyard of the monastery.
The Monastery of Arkadi is a symbol of heroism and sacrifice. On November 6, 1866, Mustafa Pasha with 15,000 soldiers and heavy artillery arrived outside the monastery demanding the surrender of the besieged (966 but only 250 could fight). The hostilities started on November 8 and on November 9 and after the Turks asked for reinforcements, they occupied the Monastery.
In the gunpowder room, where the majority of the women and children hid, Konstantinos Giaboudakis gathered the people hiding in the neighbouring rooms together. When the Turks arrived at the door of the powder room, Giaboudakis set the barrels of powder on fire and the explosion resulted in numerous both Greeks and Turkish deaths. The Greeks who surrendered were hanged the next day.
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