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Moni Toplou (Greek: Μονή Τοπλού) is a 15th-century monastery located in a dry and barren area in theLasithi regional unit, on the eastern part of the island of Crete in Greece. It is about 6 km north of the village ofPalekastro and 85 km east of Agios Nikolaos. The monastery was originally called Panagia Akrotiriani (Virgin Mary of the Cape), after the nearby Sidero cape. Its current name literally means “with the cannonball”, thus called by the Turks for the cannon and cannonballs (Turkish: top) it had in its possession for defensive purposes.