Karyes, Greece
Mount Athos
A self-governing Orthodox peninsula of twenty monasteries where the Byzantine calendar still runs and no woman may enter.
Biblical significance
The Holy Mountain has been monastic since the ninth century and autonomous under Byzantine, Ottoman and Greek rule alike. Twenty ruling monasteries plus sketes and hermitages house around 2,000 monks. Time is kept Byzantine-style from sunset, and the avaton rule barring women has stood for over a thousand years. The libraries hold irreplaceable Greek manuscripts and the treasuries some of the greatest surviving Byzantine art.
Scripture
Loading the passage…
Open in YouVersion →Loading the passage…
Open in YouVersion →Excerpts from the World English Bible. Full text opens in the YouVersion Bible app.
Best time to go
Spring or autumn; permits are scarcest in summer.
Visitor notes
Men only. A diamonitirion permit must be arranged weeks ahead through the Pilgrims' Bureau in Thessaloniki; ten issued to non-Orthodox per day.
Coordinates
40.1572, 24.3264
On the map
Open the world atlasPlan your pilgrimage
Getting to Mount Athos
Everything you need to turn this holy place into a journey. We may earn a commission from these partner links, at no extra cost to you.
Share this page
Nearby in this category
3/5 SignificanceKalambaka, Greece
Meteora
Six surviving monasteries balanced on sandstone pillars three hundred metres above the plain of Thessaly.
5/5 SignificanceSaint Catherine, Egypt
Saint Catherine's Monastery
The oldest continuously inhabited Christian monastery, guarding the Burning Bush and a library second only to the Vatican's.
3/5 SignificanceBethlehem Governorate, Palestine
Mar Saba
A fifth-century lavra hung on the cliffs of the Kidron gorge, still lit by oil lamps and still refusing women at the gate.