Believe it or not, but beside men’s toilets, gentlemen’s clubs and certain temples, there is actually an entire peninsula in northern Greece, now a semiautonomous republic of Eastern Orthodox monks, which for over 1,000 years has banned women from entering its borders.
Jutting out into the Aegean Sea, residents of Mount Athos are privileged in more ways than one. Covered in Mediterranean forest, the slopes of Mount Athos (also known as Holy Mountain) are home to twenty stunning monasteries and other smaller religious constructions with views over the coastline. It has been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Meanwhile the Athos mountain, from which the peninsula takes its name, rises up to 2,033 meters (6,670 ft). According to Greek mythology , the mountain was created when Athos threw a massive rock at Poseidon. While monks began to settle in Mount Athos in the 5th century, the Great Lavra Monastery was the first to be founded in 963 AD by the Byzantine monk Athanasius the Athonite with the support of the Byzantine emperor.
Mount Athos is known as the Garden of the Virgin Mary since Athonite Christians claim that the Virgin Mary and John the Evangelist ended up due to bad weather. Mary seemingly fell so in love with its beauty that she asked that it be gifted to her. A voice then echoed; “Let this place be your inheritance and your garden, a paradise and a haven of salvation for those seeking to be saved.”
Paper icon entitled “Descending of Virgin Mary on the Mount…
