Mount Athos, Greece

Idea About: place

Country: Greece

Bulgarian monastery Saint George the Zograf, Mount Athos, Greece
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Idea Description

General Information

Country: Greece (5)
Location Info: City: Karyes Province/State: Greek Macedonia
Idea About: place (99)
Type of Travel: history (63) | off the beaten path (20)
Features: heritage site (36) | hideaway and retreat (15) | mountain (29) | pilgrimage (24) | sacred place and sanctuary (40)
Recommended for: single (48)
Budget: budget (80) | mainstream (85)
Region: Western Europe (47)

Description

Mount Athos, the oldest monastic republic, was created in 963 AD. Nowadays Mount Athos political status is the Autonomous Monastic State of the Holy Mountain. It is located on the Athos peninsula of Chalkidiki, which protrudes into the Aegean Sea for about 37 miles (60 kilometres) and covers an area of 129.59 sq miles (335.637 sq km). With the summit reaching 6,670 feet (2,033 m), the Mount Athos itself has steep slopes and plenty of vegetation. The Aegean Sea in that place is known to be dangerous and unpredictable. The remoteness of the place together with its mountainous landscape with deep ravines and countless streams, surrounding rough seas and shores without natural harbors makes Mount Athos unreachable and gives a perfect secluded place for building monasteries. One thousand years ago the monastic republic began its existence with the Monastery of the Great Lavra (Megiste Lavra) built by an orthodox monk named Athanasios the Athonitet.

But the monks of the Monastery of the Great Lavra were not the first to inhabit Mount Athos. Since the middle of the ninth century it was a dwelling place for Hermits. Twenty Eastern Orthodox monasteries and smaller communities called sketae (or skete) sprang to existence during the past centuries. Besides there are many other forms of small monastic communities or hermitages on the Mount Athos: monks live in kellia, kalyvae, kathismata, and hesychasteria. The administrative center of Mount Athos is the village of Karyes. Spiritually, Mount Athos comes under the direct jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.

Only males over the age of 18 who are members of the Eastern Orthodox Church are allowed to live on Athos, either as monks or as workers. There is a small number of unarmed religious guards, who are not monks, to keep order. Police and Coast Guard presence is very discreet. Residents not part of the religious communities are required to live in the peninsula's capital, Karyes. Small low class hotels exist at Karyes (administrative center) and Dafni (main port).

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What Makes It Special

The Autonomous Monastic State of the Holy Mountain (Mount Athos) is a unique sacred place where one can see a seclusion of monastic life. A semi-autonomous, all-male monastic community is the center of the global Orthodox religion which operates in the same manner as they did for over 1,000 years ago. The 1,500 inhabitants of the monasteries follow the Julian calendar and Byzantine time. There are 20 monasteries including 17 Greek and Russian, Bulgarian and Serbian monasteries. Located in the Greek part of Macedonia for more than 1,000 years, in times of war and peace, the Athos monasteries continued to influence the culture and spiritual life of the orthodox world and the region of Macedonia in particular.

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Directions To Destination

Mount Athos can be reached by boat from Ouranoupolis or Ierissos (town located on the Athos peninsula, 105 km from Thessaloniki's Airport).

From Thessaloniki you can get to Ouranoupolis by car or bus (KTEL buses of the Prefect of Chalkidiki.) There are daily departures to Ouranoupolis and Ierissos. The trip takes approximately two hours. From Ouranoupolis there are daily boat trips to Daphne (or Dafni), the sea port of Mount Athos, and to the monasteries.

Transport from Daphne to Karyes, the capital of Mount Athos, is by bus (35 minutes). From Karies visitors may reach monasteries and sketae by mini buses or monastery vehicles.

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Best Time To Go

The best time to go is in spring when everything is in bloom. But you can go there all year round. The climate is generally mild, but the west coast is more sheltered from winds: that's why the temperatures are higher in the west than in the north of the peninsula which is swept by north winds.

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Where To Stay

Room and board in the monasteries and sketae is free and is valid for 24 hours. To get room and board in the monastery you should call beforehand. You can also find accommodations in small hotels in Daphne and Karyes. Research and book hotels in or near Thessaloniki, Greece

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Activities

Sightseeing, hiking.

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Useful Visitor Information and Tips

Mount Athos is accessible only by boat, though it is a land-bound peninsula. The daily number of visitors entering Mount Athos is restricted. A maximum of 120 Orthodox Christian visitors are allowed per day, foreigners of other religious affiliations are limited to 14 per day. All are required to obtain a special entrance permit which is valid for a limited period (for four calendar days).

Only males are allowed entrance into Mount Athos and Orthodox Christians take precedence in the issuing the permit. (Women can take a cruise around the island).

You cannot take pictures within monastery without monastery permission. Cinematography, video recordings and listening to music, as well as photographing monks are forbidden

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Additional Information

Tags: Aegean Sea (2); Athos peninsula; Autonomous Monastic State of the Holy Mountain; Chalkidiki; Christians (2); Dafni; Daphne; Greece (3); hesychasteria; kalyvae; Karyes; kathismata; kellia; Macedonia; Monastery of the Great Lavra; Mount Athos; Orthodox; Ouranoupolis; sketae; Thessaloniki

Web Sites: Athos The Holy Mountain
Macedonian Heritage: An online Review of the Affairs, History and Culture of Macedonia

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