Agios Savvas Lassithi

The currently deserted monastery of Saint Savas (Agios Savvas) is located at a degraded location of Heraklion bay, next to the cement and fuel industries at Ellinoperamata, very close to the monastery of Pantanassa and not too far from the sea.

The temple was built in the 10th century by Nicephorus Phocas and a prosperous monastery soon was established around it. According to tradition it hosted 300 monks who were slaughtered by the Arabs on a raid and the monastery was then abandoned. The monks of Saint Savas who escaped the horrific massacre probably moved to a more protected area and founded the current monastery of Savvatiana.