This monastery at an altitude of 1 423m on the wooded slopes of the Troodos Mountains is a place of pilgrimage for Cypriots. Founded in the 12C, it was rebuilt several times, most recently in the late 19C. It was first a religious site, with an icon of the Holy Virgin painted by St Luke, then a place of patriotic import: deep in its forests, a Greek-Cypriot fighter, Grigoris Afxentiou, found himself surrounded by British forces. Refusing to surrender, he was eventually killed when his hideout was burned down.