Galataki Monastery

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This Monastery, standing on a cliffside 200 meters above the sea, as if to welcome visitors to North Evia and to gaze at neighboring Viotia across the gulf, is a significant monument in the area of North Evia, but also for the whole of the island of Evia and Greece. This monastery is dedicated to Saint Nikolas, protector of the sea and in part to Poseiden, offers exquisite natural beauty and attracts tourists from all over Greece who come during their summer holidays. 

It celebrates his official name day on the 6th December but also on 20th May when his relics were found. On this day the monastery celebrates amongst the majesty of nature that only North Evia can provide.

The monastery, most probably was named after its founder who was a ship’s captain descending from Galata in Constantinople, Turkey.

This captain is said to have survived a shipwreck, after divine intervention of the Saint whose name was given to the monastery, and the existence of which was known to the captain. After going to the monastery to pay his respects, and seeing the destruction it had sustained, the captain decided to resurrect the monastery, something he realized and then lived the rest of his life there as a monk.
One other version of the history of the name is attributed to the milk production (γαλα-gala=milk) from the various sheep herds in the area.

The monastery dates back to 1576 and through the centuries of its existence served different purposes. Just to name a few, during the Ottoman reign, a secret passage leading to the roof of the temple served as a shelter for the monks from the Turkish soldiers. The tower on the west side served as a lookout for the monks against pirates and it is stated that Saint David the elder (see next section) built it himself. Presently it is used as a library and display of the artifacts of the monastery. The history is too great to be limited to this space, but visitors to North Evia during their summer holidays should take the time to visit this exquisite monastery.

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