Saint Minas was declared the patron saint of Heraklion during the
Turkish period.
The difference of religion between Cretans and Turks led to Muslim
acts of violence against the Christians.
Tradition has it that on Easter Sunday 1826, when the Christians
were gathered in church attending the Resurrection service, a
Muslim mob plotted to slaughter them. An aged officer on horseback,
resembling their fiercest warrior, Ayan Agha, intervened, calming
and dispersing the mob. The Christians attributed the appearance of
the rider to a miracle of St Minas, believing that it was he,
rather than Ayan Agha, who had appeared to the Turks. Even if the
Turks were right, however, and the rider was not St Minas, it would
have been a miracle for the Turkish persecutor of the Christians to
act as their protector at the last moment.
Ever since, St Minas has been depicted as a Roman general on
horseback and honoured as the patron saint of Heraklion. Also the
Turks considered him the protector of the city and regarded him
with fear and respect.
The massive Agios Minas Cathedral, built in 1895, dominates the
large paved square, where the initial coordinates lead you.
This is your first stop, stage 1, and you need to find answers to
the following questions in order to go on:
A. How many golden Greek capital letters are there higher above
the main entrance symbolising God?
B. How many letters are there in the writing just above the main
entrance?
C. How many columns are there at the main entrance?
D. How many round windows are there on the façade?
E. How many priests’ busts are there on the square at the
front of the church?
Now you move to: N 35 20.AB E 025
07.CAD.
You are now standing in front of the original church of Saint
Minas, little Saint Minas as the locals call it ("micros Agios
Minas" in Greek), built in 1735 and housing some eighteenth century
icons.
This is stage 2 and the questions are:
F. How many doors can you see at the front of the
church?
G. How many bells are there on the top?
Next stop is: N 35 20.FC(E+2) E 025
07.CB.
Here you are in Saint Catherine Square. It is named after the
church of Saint Catherine which is standing just in front of
you.This is stage 3.
The Monastery of Saint Catherine was founded in around the 10th
century and the building preserved today was its main church. The
church was built in the 16th century and is obviously influenced by
Venetian architecture.
From 1967 to the present, the church of Saint Catherine has housed
an important exhibition of Byzantine icons and religious objects
including manuscripts, vestments, and wall paintings, representing
six centuries of Orthodox history (14th-19th).
The questions are:
H. How many columns are there by the main door?
I. How many round windows are there over the entrance?
Now you are ready to find the actual cache.
The final coordinates are:
N 35 20. H(G+4)I E 025
07.C(I+6)(E+2).
The cache is a film canister. It contains only the logbook, so
don’t forget to bring your own pen.
Please, mind the numerous muggles around you! Best time to
find the cache is when shops are closed, that is in afternoons or
late evenings. Then you can search in more peace and you’ll
save yourself from seeing the cache area serving as a motorcycle
parking place!
The Greek Geocaching site (Only in Greek)
