Kiriakosellia

Kiriakosellia is a very small village with approximately inhabited by 50 people. It belongs to the municipality of Apokoronas and it is located 30 km southeast of Chania.

The settlement still maintains at a significant extent the traditional architecture. At Kiriakosellia you will have the opportunity to see the church of St. Nicholas dated back to the 11th century, one of the most beautiful Byzantine churches of Crete. The church is decorated with remarkable icons which are maintained in good condition even until today. The temple is located inside the Byzantine fortress of Kiriakosellia, which was built in place of Kastelli by the liege of the area, in order to keep intact and protected his privileges. Today only a small part of the walls of the fortress and the small church inside are still standing.

Near Kiriakosellia there is a cave inside of which there is the church of St. Mamas. In this small cavernous church there is also an icon of the Saint, painted on the walls. The residents of the village celebrate St. Mamas on 2 September. During that day, but also the day before, the hospitable locals offer treats to their relatives, to their family friends and to all strangers as well.

In the area there are the ruins of an ancient settlement and a smaller Kules (the word means “fortress” in Turkish), which constitutes a representative example of the Ottoman defensive architecture. Close to Kyriakosellia there is also Pontikospilo and several other smaller caves.