Mt Athos (Agios Oros or Holy Mountain in Greek) on the Athos Peninsula is home to 2,300 monks who live in 20 Greek and Russian Orthodox monasteries that are governed by the Patriarch of Constantinople (similar to the pope in Rome). It is an autonomous region and off limits to females as monks feel that they disrupt their path to spiritual enlightenment. This prohibition extends to domestic animals except for cats which are used to rid the peninsula of rodents and chickens which supply the monks with eggs. There are restrictions even for male visitors – only 100 Orthodox men and 10 non-Orthodox men can enter daily, and the process of applying for a permit is like applying for a visa.
The only way for Suzie to see Mt Athos was on one of the daily sightseeing cruises that circle the peninsula. We stayed at Ouranopoli, the departure point for the sightseeing cruises and the main port for Athos’ west coast monasteries.
Ottoman tower, Ouranopoli
Although land-linked, Mt Athos is only accessible by ferry
Waiting for a ferry
On our cruise we were joined by a busload of pilgrims and nuns from Poland
Staying connected
As we passed each monastery the sisters from Poland would pray fervently and cross themselves repeatedly
The cruise took us along the western side of the peninsula and we saw a series of monasteries and ruins perched on the mountainside.
Russian Orthodox monastery
When we reached the end of the peninsula, our boat slowed to a stop. A small boat approached and two monks carrying several large packages boarded our boat.
This caused great excitement amongst the pilgrims who rushed to the lower deck of the boat. We found out that the monks were from the Dionysiou Monastery and had carried the remains of St John the Baptist on board. When we looked at the lower deck we saw the pilgrims had lined up to kiss and pray over two gold clad jewel encrusted forearms.
View of the tiny Ammoliani Island from Ouranopoli
