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The historic Holy Monastery of Preveli is located south of Rethymno, west of the estuary of Kourtaliotis (Great River). It is one of the most famous and respected monasteries of Crete, in a verdant and green landscape.

It includes two separate monasteries located 1.7 kilometers apart, the Lower Monastery of Prodromos (Forerunner) and the Back Monastery of the Theologos.

The first complex, which the visitor meets first, coming from Rethymnon, is the Lower Monastery of Prodromos, which is ramshackle. It is located near the Grand River and the glorious bridge of the area and was founded in the 10th - 11th century. The monastery was earlier used almost all year round, as the surrounding areas were ideal for farming and livestock. However, it was abandoned, as it was ruined and plundered several times by the various conquerors.

Unlike the Lower Monastery, the Back Monastery of Theologos is normally operated as a male monastery and can be visited. It was founded in the 16th century and is built on a stony hill with unprecedented view to the sea. The complex is built in the shape of a Π and in the center there is the temple of the monastery with the magnificent iconostasis, dedicated to Saint John the Theologian (celebrates May 8) and the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary.

During the Ottoman domination it was destroyed in 1646 and in 1770. The name of the monastery probably came from Akakios Prevelis, who was a monastery renovator in 1670.

Preveli has linked its name with the participation of its monks to the liberation struggles of Crete, a fact that was paid very expensive many times.

One of the most important figures of Crete was Melchizedek Tsouderos (1803-1823), Abbot of the Monastery. Melchizedek was initiated into the Filiki Etaireia and first organized the 1821 revolution in Crete. He also took part in the battles, but was heroically killed in 1823. Later, the Turkish Psarosmaelis raids against the monastery and destroys it.

The miraculous Holy Cross of the monastery, which bears a piece of Timber Wood at the base, fell into the hands of the Turks, who sold it to Genoese pirates. When they flew near Lake in November 1823, the ship stopped abruptly despite the favorable wind. For three days, the ship could not continue its course unless the pirates handed over the Cross to the monks. The new abbot Nilos Moschovitis renovates the Back Monastery, reorganizes the old school and the school of the Holy Spirit. In 1850, the monastery undertook the construction of the magnificent arched bridge of the Great River and the Bridge of Mpourtzoukos. In 1866 the monastery offers shelter to the rebels, while 14 monks participate in the armed struggle. In 1867 the monastery was completely destroyed by the soldiers of Resit Pasha and its reconstruction began in 1897.

In 1941, after the Battle of Crete and the consolidation of the German occupation, more than 5,000 soldiers of the allied forces were gathered in the monastery, until they reached underwater in Preveli to escape to Africa. On August 25th of the same year the Germans destroy the monastery and many monks are taken to the Prison of Chania. The Germans seize the Holy Cross of the Monastery and on September 13, 1941, the plane that would transport the Cross to Germany could not take off mysteriously. The Germans hand over the Cross to the police station of Chania and the plane was able to fly.

Later, in 1979, the surviving Australian veteran of World War 2, Geoffrey Edwards, founded the monastery of Saint John Preveli near Perth, southwestern Australia, grateful for the hospitality of his monks after the Battle of Crete. The monks returned to the monastery in 1943. In 1980, unknown people desecrated the Lower Monastery and the figures of the Saints were replaced by paintings and slogans on drugs.

Many of the monastery's holy relics are exhibited in an elegant museum. With a dynamic, today, spiritual and worshipful presence, this heroic monastery enjoys a special appreciation and respect throughout Crete and its thousands of visitors.

The monastery is 36 kilometers far from Rethymno, and near the monastery is the gorge that leads to the Libyan Sea, as well as the famous beach of Preveli with the wonderful palm forest.

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