The monastery, founded in the 11th century, is located on the northeastern edge of the Akrotiri peninsula just 5km apart from Agia Triada.

In 1637 a census, recorded shortly before the Turkish invasion, revealed that at the time there were 60 monks living there, making it one of the largest in Crete at the time.

During the uoproars of 1821, the Turks slaughtered the monks and plundered the monastery. The Germans established a guardhouse in the monastery to control the area during WWII.

The fortress-like wall is shaped like a parallelogram, with four square towers at its four corners. In the center of the monastery courtyard are the domed church and two chapels.