The Preveli Monastery is one of the largest, most important and historic in Crete.
Built on an imposing site (see the Preveli Palm Beach) typical of the southern Cretan landscape, it is fairly isolated since there never was any nearby human settlement.

The monastery was probably founded in the Middle Ages, during the occupation of Crete by the Republic of Venice, its founder being a feudal lord named Prevelis. It developed over several centuries as a religious and cultural centre for the local population.

After the Ottoman Turkish occupation of the island, Abbot Melchissedek Tsouderos led a group of rebels in the Greek War of Independence in 1821, one result of which was that the monastery was destroyed, but later rebuilt. In 1866 and 1878, the monastery was again active in organising rebellions against the Turks, which helped contribute to Crete's eventual independence and then its political union with Greece.

In the Battle of Crete in 1941, Agathangelos Lagouvardos helped supply British, Australian and New Zealand troops on the island, and provided shelter for them. A group of Australian soldiers protected by the monastery managed to secure their rescue by submarine from the island at Preveli Beach. After this was discovered, the Lower Monastery was destroyed by German forces.

The upper monastery contains numerous religious relics and icons, and many of its buildings, now heavily restored, are open to the public. There are also a number of monuments to the work of the monastery during the Second World War, many of them financed by rescued Australian former soldiers. The town of Prevelly in Western Australia was named after the monastery.

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Tripiti Beach by Lefka Ori

Almirida Beach and Village in Chania, west Crete

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Pachia ammos Beach and Paleochora area in Chania, west Crete

Plakias village by Rethimno. Holidays and apartments

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Rethymno The City. Towns in West Crete

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Sfakia in South-West Crete. Cretan nature

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Kissamos West Crete Chania area

Paleochora, The Bride of The Libyan Sea - West Crete, Chania

Agia Village, west Crete, Chania. Holidays and apartments

Chania Municipal Market. Sights in West Crete

Spending Greek Holidays in Chania

Loutro in Sfakia west Crete Chania. Holidays and apartments

Neo Chorio by Apokoronas Municipality, Chania

Kato Daratso Village, west Crete

Alikianos, Chania, west Crete

Prasano gorge in Rethimno west Crete

The gorge Klados in Sfakia, Chania, South Crete

Samaria gorge in Chania region

Aradena gorge in Sfakia west Crete

Ilinga or Iliga or Kavis gorge in Sfakia, west Crete

Kandanos Gorge in Chania, West Crete

Tripiti gorge or Trypiti in South Crete Hania

Imbros Gorge in Chania, West Crete

Lissos Gorge in West Crete

Prasses Gorge in West Crete

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Sirikari - Polirinia Gorge in Chania, West Crete

Rokka Gorge in Chania, West Crete

Fygous Gorge in Chania, West Crete

Diktamos gorge in Chania west Crete

The Climate of Crete

Knoosos should be a UNESCO World Heritage Site

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Greece and the Islands

House Margot East Crete Olive Oil

Ancient sites of Minoan Crete

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Helping to preserve the Cretan culture

Traditional Cretan Music & Dances. Culture in Crete

Crete Prefectures

Looking for the Beaches in Crete

Nikos Papadakis Olive Oil, Sitia, East Crete

Greece and Crete and the Dept Crisis

To Crete: The best move he ever made

The Minoans were indigenous Europeans