One of the most important pilgrimage sites in Crete is Panagia Charakiani in Bali, Rethymno, the important holy pilgrimage site belonging to the Holy Monastery of Atalis welcomes thousands of believers from Crete and the rest of Greece. Throughout the entire period of August 15, the believers participate with great reverence in the holy services of the days while many families, especially in the past, settle in makeshift huts in the area and become tent dwellers to honor the grace of the Virgin Mary. Although anyone who goes there for the first time may have the impression that it is a relatively new church, in reality it has many centuries of history, as evidenced by the Venetian coat of arms of the famous Kallergis family, at its western entrance.
