ocated at the northern tip of
the Akrotiri peninsula, the monastery of Gouvernetou
was built in 1548 and, like Moni Gonias and Moni
Agios Triados Tsagarolou, shows Venetian
architectural influences. Not far from the
monastery, as you walk down, is the so-called Bear Cave
(ill. 8). It provides the well-needed shade
and coolness to the travelers who are returning from
the smaller cave in which St. John of Gouverneto
lived with his companions until his accidental death
during a hunting accident. The Bear Cave features a
huge stalagmite shaped like a bear, as well as a water cistern
with an active natural spring. At the bottom of the
gorge, about a mile away and below the
main monastery, you'll find the original little cave
of St. John the Hermit and the abandoned
Byzantine rock-carved monastery,
the Katholiko (dedicated to St. John).
Featuring a fancy Venetian facade, the Katholiko (ill.
1-7) is today not much more than a challenge
to your legs and
an opportunity to admire beautiful views of the sea
on your way down; descent to the bottom of the
gorge from Moni Gouvernetou is relatively
easy, but the return trip, forcing you to climb up
an almost vertical path cut in the face of the rocky
mountain, will make you wish more than once that you
were a mountain goat. |
