Holy Monastery of Panagia Kastriani

According to the Orthodox tradition, a winter night in 1699 a strong ray of white light on the abrupt hill Kastri lead the inhabitants and the shepherds of the area to a little cave. There, they saw a Christian icon depicting the Dormition of Virgin Mary covered with some ground. The believers interpreted this sacred and precious find as a divine indication about where a church of Virgin Mary should be built and decided to start constructing it there despite the roughness of the location. In spite of all difficulties, the monastery was completed in 1700 and since then it safeguards the discoverd icon. Each August 15th, when the celebration of Virgin Mary’s assumption takes place, there is a pilgrimage by the inhabitants and visitors of the island and a big feast, while many people visit also the monastery all year round.