July Full Moon Concert – Marathokefala 22nd July
“Come along, enjoy the rise of the July Full Moon and let us sing our favorite songs with Giannis Sinis in the enchanting courtyard of the Cave of Saint John the Hermit in Marathokefala”!
WHEN: 22nd July at 21.00
WHERE: courtyard of the Cave Saint John the Hermit, Marathokefala
Free entrance.
Source: Municipality of Platanias
About the Cave of Saint John the Hermit:
The famous historical cave of Saint John the Hermit (Agios Ioannis Xenos) is located just 3 km from Kolymbari.
According to tradition, this saint of Crete lived there. Saint John the Hermit founded the rich ascetic tradition of the island. Inside the cave there is temple of the 15th century and the foundations of old cells that date back in the 17th-18th century.
In the area, locals found a marble altar (kept in the museum of the parish of Spilia) and a marble head of a child and it is believed that the cave was used as a sanctuary since the pre-Christian era.
The crypt is located on the left, attached to which there is a small room that was used as a Secret School during the Ottoman Era. Next to the temple, water drips throughout the year through a crack in the rock, “the holy water of Agios Ioannis”, which is stored in a small tank for visitors.
The feast of Saint John the Hermit takes place on 6th/7th October and on 24th December, Christmas Eve, the Nativity of Christ is represented with real animals, and is very famous throughout Greece.
