On the road leading to Elafonisi Beach, about 76km southwest of Chania you will find the Monastery of the Virgin Mary of Chrysoskalitissa. There is a whole settlement build around the Monastery which belongs to the Holy Metropolis of Kissamos and Selino.
Built on a high large rock of 35 meters, the Monastery of Chrysoskalitissa offers breathtaking views of the Libyan Sea. As legend has it, there are 90 rock stepped stairs that take you up to the monastery and only one of them is made of gold. This gold step can only be seen by those who have not sinned. During the Ottoman Empire, the golden masterpieces of the monastery were concealed by the nuns so as to safeguard them from the Ottomans who wanted to destroy all the Orthodox Churches and its belongings. This is where the name of the monastery comes from as “Chrysoskali” means golden stair.
Some say that the Image of the Holy Trinity and the Assumption of the Virgin was created over 1000 years ago and the Monastery of Chrysoskalitissa is solely dedicated to them. The first mentions of the settlement of Chrysoskalitissa can be found in the Minoan years. It started of as a fishermen’s settlement. The Monastery itself is an imposing building and makes for a great visit if you are interested in this sort of history.
The Virgin Mary is celebrated every year on the 15th of August and the village of Chrysoskalitissa becomes a huge feast of celebrations on this specific day. Across the whole of the country the Virgin Mary is celebrated greatly as it is considered one of the biggest celebrations in the Orthodox Calendar. If you visit around this time of the year you will truly experience some deep rooted celebrations that are prevalent in Crete.
