A cache that can be easily reached from the new National road with
parking facilities very near to the cache - almost a drive-in.
At the same time it is located just a few meters from a small and
very beautiful Monastery and has a beautiful view upon the town of
Bali.
The cache is placed near the parking space outside the Monastery
so it can be searched for when the Monastery is closed.
The Monastery is opened every day (except on fridays) from 9:00 to
12:00 and from 18:00 to 20:00. I highly recommend to visit it - it
is very quiet and beautiful!
Some details concerning the monastery:
The Monastery is dedicated to Agios Ioannis Prodromos and located
at the 33rd km on the new National Road to Heraklio, and
approximately 1km in southerly direction from that point. It was
built in a truly imposing location veiwing the Cretan Sea on the
one hand, without being easily visible from the sea on the other
hand.
The Monastery exists since the period of the Venetian occupation;
however, it is not definitely known, when it was built. Some of the
frescoes in the Church date back to the 14th century, while the
first written evidence of its history derives from notary's
document dating back to 1628. The little information up until the
18th century simply confirms its operation. Starting from 1761
increasing evidence asserts great activity. The monks participated
in the uprising of 1821 with the result that the Monastery was
probably set on fire, or at least the Church was damaged. During
the great Cretan Revolution (1866-1869) the Monastery was fequently
attacked by the Turks. In 1866 it was looted, and the sacred spaces
were desecrated. In 1881 only two monks had remained, and in 1935
the Monastery was declared deserted. Approximately 50 years later,
the Atalis Monastery was operating again, at the same time its
buildings were being restored. Two monks are living in the
monastery and taking care of the beautiful garden.
Small note on cache maintenance: local cacher
yiannisp has agreed to maintain the cache. Thanks!