Mount Athos- The Sacred Mountain of Greece - SLICE TRAVEL - FULL DOC.

Athos, the sacred mountain. Here is what for centuries was the holy place of the Orthodox East, the holy mount where the Virgin is said to have a secret tomb. Today, only monks and hermits live on this legendary peninsula, beyond the world and almost beyond time. An isle of spirituality given over to prayer, a remnant of ancient Byzantium where women and female animals are still banished. There's nothing to distinguish Athos from the rest of Greece, except that here we are no longer really in Greece. The flag that this monk is waving, this disturbing two-headed eagle, is that of a territory quite apart in Europe, a republic. The monastic republic of Athos. There, we have all been blessed. There are no roads here, just dozens and dozens of paths and tracks running between the monasteries. Looking out to the west, suspended between earth and sky, 200 metres above the waves, is the most audaciously constructed monastery, the Simonopetra Monastery. It looks like a medieval fortress. You reach it over an arched bridge. Walkways run over every wall, with monks like shadows. Some, as if their privacy had been invaded, hide their faces. In the 18th century, Athos was a centre of orthodox theology. Today, the peninsula still houses some 20 monasteries. Luxuriant colours, fantastical architecture, exuberant buildings. In summer, silence and a beating sun. In winter, silence, snow and freezing cold. A multitude of fireplaces to heat those enormous buildings. These monasteries spread out all along the peninsula over some 50km. They stretch out over every hillside at lesser or greater distances from the sea, some looking to the east, others to the west. Beside the large monasteries, there's Daphne, a semblance of a village with houses or hermitages that house smaller groups of monks. Athos lives with its secrets and guards them well. Nobody, starting with the Greek authorities, is able to give a precise figure. Are there 2,000, 5,000, 10,000 of them? How many monks, how many popes, how many laymen, painters, masons, gardeners work in these monasteries? A mystery. The monks come not only from Greece, but from Turkey, Bulgaria, Serbia and the entire orthodox world, and above all, from Russia. To the south of the peninsula, the Russian monastery of St. Panteleimon is one of the most surprising on Athos. It looks like a town. But officially, it is intended for a mere 50 monks. On Athos, the clocks set to the sun's course. Here, when the sun goes down, it's midnight. In any case, here, time remains an alien notion. Only one thing disturbs this quasi-self-sufficient life, the passage of boats, the only link with the rest of the world. Apart from their religious commitment, some are also fishermen, nurserymen or wine growers. Their activities sometimes take them into the outside world. After several years on Athos, alone with the Aegean Sea, you can imagine the shock, at least as big as that experienced by those rare lay and male visitors who are tolerated a few days each year in the incredible monasteries of the Sacred Mount.