When you’re in the area of Vai, a visit to the impressive and beautiful monastery of Moni Toplou should not be missed. It is built high on a rugged plateau on the way to Vai, and its architecture resembles a fort due to the fact that throughout history it had to defend itself from bandits, dangerous pirates, and invaders. It is one of the most important monasteries and it was the seat of the church for quite a number of years. Moni Toplou literally means "Monastery with the gun", and its museum houses beautiful Byzantine icons and engravings. There are also rooms with historical exhibits, which reflect the monastery's role in the historical events that formulated modern Greece. In fact much of the destructions of its buildings and slaughter of the monks were caused by the direct involvement of the monastery with the organized resistance against the Turks, and more recently against the Germans in World War II.
