Walking down the footpath from Gouverneto Monastery through the Avlaki Gorge, in a wild and beautiful landscape, you will see, in about 30 minutes’ walk, the ruined Katholiko Monastery (Moni Katholikou) or Monastery of St John the Hermit, or simply Katholiko. The buildings you see probably date to shortly after 1600, but tradition says that there was a much earlier monastery here, the oldest in Crete. Next to the ruined but still impressive buildings is the cave of St John the Hermit, who is thought to have come here from Egypt and was active in many parts of Crete, such as Azogyre, before ending up at Akrotiri. The Monastery is located on the Akrotiri Peninsula, about 4 km from Agia Triada Monastery, or 19 km north of Chania.
