Mt Athos (Agion Oros) If you’re lucky enough to be able to visit Mt Athos, do it. It’s one of the most unusual places in the world. A semi-autonomous monastic republic that still follows the Julian calendar, along with many other Byzantine edicts and mores, the Holy Mountain (as it is in Greek) consists of 20 working monasteries and smaller dependencies (skites), with a few very old-school, remote mountain hermitages still inhabited. An enormous World Heritage Site that occupies most of the Athos Peninsula, Mt Athos is formally a part of the Greek state, though ecclesiastically it remains under the Greek Patriarchate of Constantinople (İstanbul). Apocryphal legends say that the Virgin Mary herself visited Athos and blessed it; the Holy Mountain is considered the Garden of the Virgin, and it is dedicated exclusively to her, meaning there’s no room for other women. Although frustrated Eurocrats in Brussels have contested this prohibition, they have proven no match for over 1000 years of tradition and the gold-sealed decrees (chrys-obulls) of Byzantine emperors, whose names are still invoked in prayers and whose edicts continue to be respected. For men, visiting monastic Athos requires cosiderable advance planning (see tab Entering Athos for how to get Permit). Visits are restricted to four days, though they can be extended with special pemission. Experiencing the monasteries, set amid unsullied nature, is wonderfully peaceful – and tiring. You follow the monks’ lifestyle, eating with them, attending services with them (even at 3.30 in the morning) and generally HISTORY Ever since early Byzantine times, ascetics were drawn to rugged, inaccessible Athos. Gradually, a loose community formed. A chrysobull of Emperor Basil I in 885 confirmed Athos’ special status. In 943, the monastic territory’s extent was officially mapped. Some 20 years later the Holy Mountain was formally dedicated, when Emperor Nikoforos II Fokas funded the Megistis Lavras, which was the biggest, if not the first, monastery. As the monastic community continued to flourish under imperial patronage, it also expanded, sparking a reaction from conservative monks who feared traditions were being diluted and that monasteries were becoming too commercially involved. Their grumblings prompted corrective imperial edicts, which reaffirmed prior ones; the most famous is that of Constantine IX Monomahos in 1060, which barred entry for women, female domestic animals, beardless persons and eunuchs. Today, women are still banned, hens are tolerated for their eggs, beards are no longer mandatory, and eunuchs are not readily available. Athos submitted to Ottoman rule with Thessaloniki’s capture in 1430, but managed to retain its semi-independent status throughout Ottoman times. In 1542, the last Athonite monastery, Stavronikita, was founded. During the Greek War of Independence (1821–29), monasteries were plundered and entire libraries burned by Turkish troops. The Russian Revolution would cause a drastic decline in Russian participation and patronage during atheistic Soviet times. Nowadays, there are 20 ruling monasteries and several dependencies and hermitages. Athos’ modern constitution dates from 1924, and was guaranteed in the 1975 Greek Constitution. Athos is part of Greece: monks, regardless of origin, become Greek citizens, while the Holy Council (Iera Synaxis), composed of one representative from each monastery, is responsible for internal administration. About 1600 monks currently live on Athos. GETTING THE PERMIT Plan ahead: advance booking of up to six months is required for summer (though in winter it’s easier). Only 10 non-Orthodox adult males and 100 Orthodox men may enter Mt Athos daily. Those under 18 must be accompanied by their father or, if visiting with a group leader or guardian, will need written permission from their father. You must formally declare your wish to be a pilgrim in writing, stating your preferred visit dates. Send a passport copy to Thessalo-niki-based Mt Athos Pilgrims Bureau (2310 252 578/2310 222 424; pilgrimsbureau@c-lab.gr; Egnatia 109; h9am-2pm Mon-Fri, 10am-noon Sat), just west of Ka-mara. There you can start the permit process. While you should double-check in advance, in some cases pilgrims can also just book by email/fax, then print out the confirmation reply email/fax and go directly to Ouranopoli. Ordained clergymen need written permission from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (in Turkey 90 212 534 9037) to visit Athos. With your reservation secured and written/printed confirmation from the Pilgrims’ Office, go to Ouranopoli to obtain your final permit (diamonitirion). ENTERING ATHOS In Ouranopoli, go to the Pilgrims’ Office (23770 71422/23770 71450; h8.10am-2pm), on the right-hand street just before a Jet Oil station. Look for the black-and-yellow Byzantine flag. Officials will check your passport and booking confirmation, and issue a three-night (four-day) diamonitirion: students pay €10, Orthodox believers €25, and everyone else €30. Free entry is granted on a case-by-case basis to the poor, the sick, and so on. Video cameras aren’t allowed, but cameras are fine. Travellers with a vehicle can park at the lot (per day €7.50) on Ouranopoli’s south side. Alternatively, if you’re going to east-coast Athonite monasteries, drive or take a bus from Thessaloniki directly to Ierissos: get your diamonitirion here and then board the ferry. From Ouranopoli, the first boat to Athos’ main port of Dafni is the Agia Anna, which leaves at 8am and 11am Monday to Saturday, and 8.30am Sunday (€6). The Axion Esti leaves Ouranopoli at 9.45am (€4.50). The ticket office (23770 71248) is on the waterfront. Get your diamonitirion sorted out early, as well as your ferry ticket, as queues are common. The voyage takes two hours, with intermediate stops at several monasteries. In Dafni, a bus continues to the administrative capital of Karyes (€2.60). Alternatively, take a fast Ouranopoli–Dafni water taxi (69740 60744), fitting eight passengers (€140). Once in Karyes, head to your chosen monastery. You stay free, but technically you’re supposed to spend only one night in each. The diamonitirion can be extended in Karyes for another two days at the end. Try to book your monasteries in advance, especially in summer. ORIENTATION & INFORMATION Athos’ main port of Dafni has a port authority, police, customs, post office, shops selling food and locally produced religious items,and a café. Cardphones are available, and all Greek mobile networks operate. For internet information on Athos, visit www.mountathos.gr, a very detailed and visually attractive Athos site. Karyes hosts the monastic community’s Civil Administration Office (23770 23314), police station (23770 23212), Agrotiki Bank, post office, OTE, community clinic (23770 23217), bus stop and rudimentary shops, including a bakery, and a public telephone. Athos’ two nonmonastic guesthouses, a nameless one (23770 23362) and the Ilarion Guest House (23770 23243) are here too. In the northern part of the Athos Peninsula, the landscape is thickly forested; the south is dominated by the stark, soaring peak of Mt Athos (2033m). Since there’s neither industry nor hunting, monastic Athos is practically a nature reserve. You won’t find monks swimming around Athos’ breathtaking, craggy coast, though you may hear tales of the occasional spearfishing, scuba-diving ascetic. Be aware that if you’re staying in a monastery where pilgrims dine with the monks, the meal concludes as soon as the simultaneous spiritually edifying reading ends – so eat up! EXPLORING ATHOS Although you can take monastic vehicles, local taxi (23370 23266) or boat, walking is the best way to experience Athos’ serenity. You’ll be travelling on paths passing through tranquil forests, where the only sounds are the rustling of leaves, chirping of birds and the occasional passing monk, rhythmically reciting his prayers. Boat travel (around €1), provides another view of Athos. A caïque leaves Agias Annis daily at 9.45am for Dafni, serving intermediate west-coast monasteries or their arsanas (assigned landing areas) and returning from Dafni every afternoon. A less-regular, east-coast caïque travels three times weekly between Ierissos and Mandraki (the harbour for Megistis Lavras). Another service around the south connects Mandraki and Agias Annis. While in Karyes, visit the 10th-century Pro-taton, the basilican church opposite the Holy Epistasia. Its treasures include paintings by Panselinos, the master of the so-called ‘Macedonian School’ of ecclesiastical art. Karyes to the Southeast Coast Monasteries & Mt Athos To start the grand tour of southeastern Athos, and perhaps hike the mountain, first head northeast from Karyes by foot to the coastal Moni Stavronikita (%/fax 23770 23255; hnoon-2pm) or, just under it, Moni Iviron (23770 23643/23770 23248; hnoon-2pm). The latter was founded by Georgian monks and contains a library of over 2000 manuscripts, including 100 rare Georgian-language parchments. From Iviron, continue by coastal paths or by caïque and foot to Moni Filotheou (23770 23256/23770 23674). Filotheou is also accessible from Karyes, along a shady path with available spring water (3½ hours). Beyond Moni Karakallou (23770 23225/23770 23746) the old Byzantine path becomes a road; from here it’s a 5½-hour walk to Megistis Lavras, though you may catch a lift in a monastic vehicle. Moni Megistis Lavras (23770 23754/23770 23013) is Athos’ biggest monastery and the only one never damaged by fire. Incorporated in 963, it contains treasures like frescoes by The-ophanes of Crete and the tomb of St Athana-sios, its founder. A caïque leaves Megistis Lavras at about 3pm for Agias Annis Skiti (23770 23320), a hermit’s dwelling. Alternatively, get there via the wilderness path around the peninsula’s southern tip; it passes first Timiou Prodromou Skiti, then Agias Triados on the coast (off the main track), then Kerasia and finally the hospitable Agias Annis. Kerasia or Agias Annis are good bases for climbing Mt Athos (2033m). The hike is not easy; inform someone that you will do it, and don’t go up alone. Take food and water and extra clothes, since it gets cold up there. There’s a well with drinking water below the summit, at the chapel of Panagia (Virgin Mary). You can return to Dafni from Agias Annis by caïque. Karyes to the Southwest Coast Monasteries Alternatively, start west from Karyes towards the coast, site of spectacular clifftop monasteries like Simonos Petras and Dionysiou. The first monastery you will reach, just west and then south of Karyes, is the friendly Moni Koutloumousiou (23770 23226/23770 23731). West of Koutloumousiou near the coast is Moni Xiropotamou (23770 2325123770 23733; h12.30-2.30pm), which boasts comfortable, oil-lit guest rooms. Somewhat unusually, food and drink is served to guests separately from the monks. Walking south, the path leads to Dafni; you can follow the coastal path or take the daily caïque, which leaves for Agias Annis at 12.30pm, calling at Simonos Pet-ras, Osiou Grigoriou, Dionysiou and Agiou Pavlou. Alternatively, wooded paths in the peninsula’s centre, accessible from Moni Koutlomousiou or Moni Filotheou, also reach Simonos Petras. Moni Simonos Petras (Simopetra23770 23254/23770 23707; h1-3pm), fronted by wooden balconies jutting above a cliff, is Athos’ most-photographed monastery. Here and at the other cliff monasteries, standing in the dark under a sky teeming with stars, with the sound of the sea below, is almost a religious experience in itself. From Simonos Petras the coastal path branches off the trail to the ar-sanas at a small shrine, bringing you to Moni Osiou Grigoriou (23770 23668/23770 23671). This seafront monastery has a comfortable guesthouse by the harbour, outside the main monastery building. The coastal path from here south climbs and descends three times before reaching the sublime Moni Dionysiou (23770 23687/23770 23686), another cliff-hanging monastery especially ethereal at night. Dionysiou’s katholikon (principal church) contains a very important wax-and-mastic icon of the Virgin and Child. Legend says that in the year 626, facing a grim combined Persian and Avar siege of Constantinople, the patriarch carried the icons round the walls and the city was miraculously saved. The icon is considered to be the oldest in Athos, and though its features are no longer visible, the dark shape indeed resonates with a strange power in its ornate silver case. After Dionysiou, the coastal path continues to Moni Agiou Pavlou (23770 23741/23770 23355) and Agias Annis Skiti. Karyes to the Northern Monasteries Taking the path north from Karyes towards Moni Vatopediou, Moni Xenofondos and Moni Konstamonitou, the first monastery is the sprawling Skiti Agiou Andreou (23770 23810). Once home to Russian monks, it was largely abandoned during Soviet times but is currently being revitalised. Although it doesn’t figure in the tourist guides, humble Agiou Andreou is actually at the very forefront of Mt Athos’ current cultural and artistic endeavours. The skiti hosts projects by Restaurateurs San Frontieres (www.rsfturkey.org), a leading international organisation that has, in the last decade, carried out expert restoration work on over 600 icons and 400 sq metres of wall paintings at a dozen Athonite monasteries, including Iviron, Stavronikita, Koutloumousiou and Dionysiou. Agiou Andreou itself now has a cultural centre, where artists, photographers, writers and musicians inspired by the Holy Mountain exhibit their works. Like-minded pilgrims or other art-lovers should definitely visit this unusual monastery. After Agiou Andreou, continue to the coastal Moni Pandokratoros (23770 23880/23770 23685), or take the long, lovely forest path to Moni Vatopediou (23770 41488/ 23770 41462 h9am-1pm), further along the northeast coast. Although not exactly unorthodox, Vatopediou is unique in that it follows the modern Gregorian (Western) calendar. Vatopediou’s sumptuous main church is a must-see, with a jaw-dropping collection of treasures. From Vatopediou, a coastal path leads to Moni Esfigmenou (23770 23229). Further on is Moni Hiliandariou (23770 23797/ 23770 23108), a very hospitable and friendly Serbian monastery. In March 2004, a fire burned half the monastery; nevertheless it remains open. Donations for repairing Hiliandariou can be made through the British-based Friends of Mt Athos. The humble, pretty Moni Konstamonitou (/ 23770 23228) is worth visiting, but the Bulgarian Moni Zografou (/ 23770 23247) further north is more famous. Its name, meaning ‘painter’, comes from a miraculous icon not painted by human hands. The northernmost west-coast monastery, Moni Dohiariou (/23770 23245), slopes down gently to the sea and boasts some of Athos’ best architecture. These west-coast monasteries are served by the Ouranopoli– Dafni ferry. Next on the coastal path is Moni Xenofondos (23770 23633/ 23770 23631), first mentioned in 998, but probably dating to the 6th century. Its seafront position made it a target for pirates and it was frequently plundered. Nevertheless, Moni Xenofondos has impressive mid-Byzantine marble and woodcarved icon-ostases in its older, 10th-century katholikon (principal church of a monastic complex); its newer one, completed in 1838, is Athos’ largest. Continue on to Moni Agiou Pandeleimonos (/ 23770 23252 h10am-noon), the friendly Russian monastery, which at time of writing was closed. Over 1000 monks once inhabited this enormous facility.Mt Athos (Agion Oros)
HISTORY
ENTERING ATHOS
EXPLORING ATHOS
