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Crete: Hania Prefecture Overview Page nine

East of Hania continued

the monastery of Aghia TriadaThe monastery of Aghia Triadha (open daily 9am-7pm; 1.50 euros) (left) has an enormous cruciform church with several domes and Doric columns. It was founded during the 17th century and is also called 'Moni Zangarolo' after its founders, who were Venetian converts to Orthodox Christianity. Both church and monastery are built of pink and ochre-colored stone.

The present name means 'Holy Trinity' and on 'Trinity Sunday' a place of pilgrimage to which many travel from afar. There was a religious college here during the 19th century. The monastery has a fine library and an olive-oil factory run by the monks in one of the buildings.

gouvernetos monasteryFarther on, on a dirt-road that eventually turns to pavement is the second, older Venetian monastery of Gouverneto (open 7am-2pm;4-8pm; free) (right) with a small museum. This monastery is in the far northeastern corner of the peninsula, which is wild, rocky, rugged country, and dates to around the 11th century, and is yet another example of the siting of structures up high and away from the coast and potential pirate attacks (which were devasting Crete during this period). It forms a quadrangle with towers at the corners, and has an elaborately-decorated fascade and relief carvings on columns at the base and some frescoes inside.

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