I ended post number 1775 with pictures of the lovely lunch we had in the trapeza of Maroudá. Today we will take a closer look at the refined and extraordinary paintings on the trapeza walls.Pilgrims Jitze and Gert Jan enjoying a lovely lunchAfter lunch I took time to have a closer look at the paintings, and to my surprize they showed some scenes not common in Athonian trapezas.The first scene puzzled me: it is obvious that the event shown took place in 1280 AD and that a saint called Agios Osomatos Cosmas is in the centre of the scene. On the left a group of six people, an Orthodox Emporer (Michael VIII Paleologos ?) and his queen are looking at two knights with red crosses on their chests (Latin crusaders?), together with with two Roman Catholic priests! The knights seem to threathen the Holy man in the centre (Cosmas?) and the group of nine Holy Fathers behind him, while a Holy man in front of the knights begs for mercy.

In the meanwhile a church in the background, that bears resemblance of the Protaton church in Karyes, is on fire! Might it be the martyrdom of the 26 Martyrs who were burned by Latin crusaders in October 10, 1280 in the old church of Sografou monastery? For more information look here.

The two pictures above show us scenes from the life of Saint John of Damascus. He was born about the year 680 at Damascus, Syria into a Christian family. Because of a dispute with the Iconoclast emporer Leo III the Isaurian, the Caliph ordered that St John be removed from his post and that his right hand be cut off. The story continues:

“That same evening, they returned the severed hand to St John. The saint pressed it to his wrist and prayed to the Most Holy Theotokos to heal him so that he could defend the Orthodox Faith and write once again in praise of the Most Pure Virgin and Her Son. After a time, he fell asleep before the icon of the Mother of God. He heard Her voice telling him that he had been healed, and commanding him to toil unceasingly with his restored hand. Upon awakening, he found that his hand had been attached to his arm once more. Only a small red mark around his wrist remained as a sign of the miracle. Later, in thanksgiving for being healed, St John had a silver model of his hand attached to the icon, which became known as “Of the Three Hands.”Detail of the Icon with three hands.A cubboard in the corner of the trapeza, with the famous pre-iconoclasm icon of Jesus Pantocrator (with one dark eye) from the Catharina monastery in Sinai – EgyptThe story continues on the next wall: the icon is brought by mule to the monastery Chilandariou (thanks Alex for your comment). This text might reveal the meaning of the scene:This next scene is also interesting:It shows the building of Maroudá church by monks in 1653 by Igumenos Victor of Maroudá (overseeing the monks on the left). The next scene is more colorfull and obviously painted by a different artist. In the middle an icon of Axion Esti, with an angel to the left and a worshipper to the right (“to fauma en tou adain” – the miracle of Adain?).The Last Supper – the photo is not quite sharp, sorry -, with the 12th apostel Judas leaving the room, on the right.The next scene (in a better quality) shows three saints, from left to right: Agios Kyrill 1566, Agios Damastinos 1771 and Agios Onoufrios 1818On the left side of the wall three Saints, all with churches in their hands: Stefanos 1321, Lazaros 1389, again Stefanos 1331. On the right side of the wall: Agios Savvas, Agios Simenon and Agios Stefanos.Above the entrance door you can read a text with the years 2009 and 2014 in it, probably the years of restauration or the year of painting. On the right again Saint Savvas.

When you leave the trapeza you will see the following scenes outside, painted on wooden walls:An angel playing a lute

Wim Voogd, 6/2

Edward Lear is an artist who we encountered a few times on this blog. He visited Mount Athos in september 1856 and made then some 50 drawings of the monasteries and landscapes of the highest quality. Researcher Stephen Duckworth is a specialist on Lear and will talk about Lear’s stay on Athos in november 2016 during the Autumn lecture organized for the Friends. But he is still researching and looking out for drawings and new documentation such as the exact location, the date, past owners of the drawings. Duckworths website shows his findings on Lear’s drawings of Crete.
Please react if you know more about the Athos drawings. Here are the ones that can be found on the internet:

Lear already sailed along the mountain in 1839 when he was on the boat from Saloniki to Kavala.

A distant view on the mountain (29th august) probably drawn on Sithonia.

Docheiariou 1856. Exact date unknown. Here a photo from 1980 from almost the same position.
        
Near Pantokratoros (2 sept) and view on Stavronikita.

Filotheou, 3rd september 1856.

I think this is Filotheou too because it is also the 3rd of september.
       
Karakalou in the direction of the sea and to the mountain. (4 sept)

Lavra, 6th sept
         
Arsanas Lavra, named Mandraki. Here on a short film I made.
On the right drawing the island of Thassos in the distance. Date: 8th sept.

Paulou with the river in front who is recently canalized.
                             
Simonos Petras (11 sept) and Karyes (12 sept).

Konstamonitou (16 sept) from a private collection.

Sografou

Sografou 17 sept

Chilandariou
         
Near Niacoro (Neochori) and from above Iscoro both dated 21 september 1856.

Herman Voogd

Looking back towards the entrance of Esfigmenou. The clock, guarded by two flagpoles, shows Athonian times. The palm tree will have a visitor in a couple of months, the ladder is already placed at its foot for the harvest of dates in November or December. A monk at the gate is working. The monks in Esfigmenou seem to be working all the time. Their autarky drives them industrious. Just left of the palm tree is a nice pool, which reflects the walls of the monastery. A peaceful spot for contemplation.The last view of whole complex of Esfigmenou in its full splendour, with a dramatic sky. The black zealot flag is waving us goodbye, wishing us a save pilgrimage to Vatopediou, where we hope to sleep this night. A Greek flag is hanging out of one of the windows. There are quite a lot of chimneys coming out of the windows of monk cells. It seems to be another example of their improvisational talent and creativity. If the old inside chimney is not working anymore, they just build one out of the window with a very long pipe overlooking the roof.
                
It is not the route with the clearest signs. We really tried to figure out where this sign would lead us to, but we couldn’t. An unreadable sign is a bad sign. There is some work to do for the friends of Mount Athos on this route. We had to open a large gate, which said in Greek and English: “Close the door please, there are horses”. We wouldn’t see any horses, unfortunately, but we did close the gate.
The dirt road became smaller until it dissolved on the top of a hill. It was quite a climb from Esfigmenou in retrospect. We were confused. There were all kinds of little tracks, but not a clear path. They were like sheep tracks. But there are no sheep on Athos, of course. So we followed a route that stopped after a while between the shrubberies. We went back to the top of the hill and tried another path. That also lead us nowhere. The long day started to take its toll; we started early this morning in Zographou. Now we lost our good path. These were no paths, these were loose stones like gravel on a sunburnt hilltop. At last we were lost. We had an intense discussion what to do. Go back through the gate? Go back to Esfigmenou? We had several looks at our Zwerger map. But we couldn’t figure out exactly where we were. That map, which has been so helpful all those pilgrimages, is not precise when it should be precise. We went down the hill, the way we had come, but we didn’t find an alternative route. So we went back to the top where we had seen a dirt road in the distance but no proper path towards it. We decided to try to get on that road that would lead us, with a huge detour, to our goal. Going down the hill the bushes became thicker and thicker and the slope steeper and steeper. We slipped and fell to the bottom where there was a little stream that had made this dense vegetation possible. We crossed it with some difficulties and crawled up on hands and feet to reach the dirt road. There we counted our scars, wounds and shared our relief.

As expected the dirt road soon paralleled the track we had missed and we could cross over. We were really excited that we found our way. From here it was an easy way down to the sea.This is probably the sign we had missed, we found out later, when we looked at the pictures. We had seen it, but misinterpreted it. It’s arrow pointed forward and so we went forward. But there must have been the start of a monopati somewhere opposite the sign. No matter how big the sign, some people will miss it.The rather noisy waves in front of Vatopediou, our final destination for the day. Still quite a walk to go, all along the coast. But up and down over land tongues. This beach was, like all others on Athos not very clean. The tourist industry from Thassos and beyond leaves its remains here. So many plastics are dropped on the Athonian beaches. And nobody cleans the beach, because it is of no interest to the monks and there are no tourists to take offence.A big tree, stripped of its bark, had found its peaceful last resting place on the beach.Pilgrim Herman on the monopati with Vatopediou in sight.Pilgrim Jacques on the last ascent to the main gate of Vatopediou. The kiosk is on the right. The sun was already setting for the night. We were late for dinner, but received a full meal in the refectory with some other pilgrims who were late while several monks were cleaning the place. In our guestroom we met a happy young French pilgrim who was baptised just today. We slept a fulfilled sleep right under the roof.

Text and photo’s Bas Kamps, short film by Herman Voogd

This might be the spot where things went wrong for Herman, Bas and Jacques, see the red X on Google maps:The picture below is taken on the dirt road, where the monopati starts, at spot X.On the map below you can see where this picture is taken, see the light blue pin:

The following picture shows the dirt road leading to Esfigmenou:And the next three pictures are shot on the monopati that leads towards Vatopedi: Also have a look at the recent comment of nanahcubja: he tells us about a new Athos map that wil published soon (www.filathonites.org). The publisher promised me to sent an example of this map, so I hope to share my findings soon on this blog!

Wim, 13/2

Although it was announced that Simon Reeve would show his journey to the Peloponnese tonight, to my surprize ended up in the North of Greece, where he filmed his visit to the Holy Mountain. First he takes the ferry at the Athos West coast, but in the second part he pays a visit to the Holy Mountain (2.44 min) , but not in the usual way!

What I expected for a some years was shown by Simon tonight. The monks of Esfigmenou (and Simon Reeve) use the hole in the fence at Komitsa beach to cross the Mount Athos border illegal ! This summer I took these pictures of the fence and border at Komitsa:

Wim Voogd, 14/2 (I filmed the broadcast from a television screen)

Yesterday I received two recently published Athos maps by Filathonites. The maker is Peter Howorth from New Zealand. The map is also compiled by Roland Baetens from Belgium, a FoMA footpaths specialist and Dimitris Bakalis from Greece.

John Arnell of FoMA told me already last October that a new map was about to be published, so I have looking foreward to get hold of this map, hoping that it be the ultimate map for pilgrims who like to walk the monopati’s of Athos.

Two maps are published: one booklet (35 pages) with Gazetteer (20 pages), with a scale of 1:25.000, and a flat map, scale 1:40.000 – see pictures above.The Gazetteer contains a list of all the features of the Holy Mountain, and locations of these.

Lets start with my opinion about these maps, and especialy the booklet: this is what we have been watiting for for so many years! Finally a detailed and acurate map is available for us pilgrims who like to wander over the beautiful Athos landscapes and NOT get lost everytime! The main monopati’s are drawn in a clear red color, while the dirt roads are in modest white tone. The maps show many details and almost every kelion is named, as the individual houses in the skites and in Karyes.The booklet was a handy format. The additional advantage of the gazetteer has to prove itself when walking on the Holy Mountain. Maybe telephone numbers can be added a version 1.2?

By showing the same area (right from Vatopedi) on different maps I want to give our readers a possibility to judge themselves, so I will show you the examples of Athos maps I posses:map 1: Lectus, 1:66.000, comes with a booklet with a description of the pathsMap 2: Road Editions 1:50.000
Map 3: “the golden oldie” Zwerger map, 1:50.000Map 4: Mount Athos by Terrainmaps, 1:50.000, 2015 editionMap 5A: Filathonites/FoMA, the flat map 1:40.000Map 5B: Filathonites/ FoMA, the booklet 1:25.000

Need I say more? These last two maps clearly overclass all previous Athos maps, both in details, information and layout, no doubt about it!

There is one thing I have to be critical about: the booklet will cost you € 38,00 and the flat map (wthout Gazetteer) € 23,00 (with € 29,50), so the prizes are relatively high. But hey, you spend three nights including meals for only € 30,00 on Athos, so who can complain? And if it means you will never get lost again, than the prize is really OK.

There are some minor details that I noticed: at page 27 of the booklet 25 names of Nea Skiti are mentioned, but on the map you can see 33 houses, so 8 are missing.On the new maps the Athos-border houses are missing and Zygou lies at the other – wrong – side of the road. This is how it should be (picture from Google).The Chromista vinery and buildings could have some more detail.and the short cut we took in post 1696 on our walk from Lakkou skiti to Provata is missing, but again, this is a minor detail and work is in progress, because this is only version 1.1! (Roland says in a comment: “The errors you have found will be attended to immediately! This is the advantage of ‘print on demand’, and comments from users on and off the Holy Mountain will enable the map to be improved all the time”).

Dimitris, Roland and Peter, keep up the good work and if need assistence with something, just ask!

You can order the book here. And rumour says that a cheap version of the map be made available on the Holy Mountain itself ??

Wim Voogd, 18/2/2016

With the help of the new Athos map  – as mentioned below in post 1794 – I updated the online Athos-map on Community Walk (also see Links in the right column of this blog).

Wim Voogd, 21-02

Click on the following link to see the Pemptousia interview in Vatopedi with John Arnell, who recounts about the history of the foothpath project and how meets Prince Charles twice (who even helped clearing the paths, who has a picture of this??).Koutloumousiou, 24/09/2015: Dutch pilgrims (and fans of Athos foothpaths!) meet John Arnell, who is about to give me his FoMA card. When is the next project planned and where?

Wim Voogd, 24/2/2016

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia is expected to visit Mount Athos, in May 2016, on the occasion of festivities marking the 1000th anniversary of Russia’s presence on the Holy Mountain.

“Mount Athos is expected to be in May. The dates have not yet been set,” chief of press service of patriarch Priest Alexander Volkov said at a press conference in Moscow on Wednesday” (24-02-2016).

His statement implied that the patriarch’s trips to Mount Athos and to Crete, the venue of a Pan-Orthodox Council meeting, will not coincide.

It was reported earlier that Patriarch Kirill would travel to Crete in June. The Pan-Orthodox Council is set to convene on June 16-17, for the first time in more than a thousand years.

source: orthodoxpost.com

Thanks to our reader Hadrian. He says: “Because of this visit it is therefore possible that the Pilgrimsbureau soon sets a more stringent quota limitation for number of visitors to Athos, including those for the clergy. His advice is: if you want to visit Athos in May this year and you do not have a Diamonitirion yet: try to get a reservation as quickly as possible”!

Wim Voogd, 26/2

We started walking in the early morning from Vatopediou. We didn’t want to wait for the morning mass to finish. And we could not find a monk to give some food for the road. But we still had plenty of food. Just outside of the monastery it started to rain slightly so we decided to have our breakfast in an open metal workshop, which gave us shelter. The can of dolmas which we purchased in Ouranopolis turned out to be a real treat.
The monopati to Pantocratoros can be quite steep from time to time. It ascents from sea level to about 300 meters. Here the pilgrims Herman and Jacques climb a steep stretch where the monopati is walled by the mountain and almost disappears in a trench.

We nearly missed a monopati again. The two pilgrims were totally involved in a lively conversation which was accented with big gestures. So they missed the monopati sign. Luckely I was a bit behind today, taking photographs so I could – to my amusement – observe how they missed the sign, missed the monopati and walked further down the dirt road. This time it was the excitement of a involving conversation that distracted.Just after the pass there is a lovely overview of the monasteries on the northern shore. Pantocratoros below and Stavronikita in the distance. The Kaliagra Tower and Iviron can’t be seen from this angle. Due to the sea breezes and the lack of rain the vegetation changed from woods into mainly shrubberies. The early morning sun reflects in a restless silver sea. The Holy Mountain was covered in a thick blanket of clouds and would not uncover itself today.To our surprise we found an old aqueduct on the north site of Pantocratoros. We could only see it when we left the path on a peninsula to take a picture of the monastery. The bell tower is not very old; it is a 19^th century fortification.We saw the remains of another aqueduct looking inland to the west. In the background the skiti of Profitou Elias, a dependency of Pantocratoros, glows in the September sun.

It is known that the ancient city of Thyssus is nearby. But we didn’t find any traces of pre-Christian buildings.The view from a workman house. A game of chess was laid out on the table. I remembered I once played chess in Mylopotamos against a Georgian worker, surrounded by many interested fans. The potential opponents were probably working now. In the distance we see the kiosk, above the rocks and opposite the entrance of the monastery.
In front of a shed there was a chaotic collection of storage jars, amphora’s, and a bronze kettle as if they were left there in a hurry. In the background the skiti of Profitou Elias.
The entrance of Pantocratoros looking back to the kiosk. Pantocratoros, 7^th in the hierarchy, was founded in the 14^th century. The founders of the monastery, two brothers: Alexius and Ioannes, gave the icon of Christ Pantocrator to the monastery. Nowadays that icon is not here but in the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg. Wouldn’t it be great if the icon returns home?

A strong dry wind blew from the Aegean sea. Leaving this northern site of the peninsula on lee shore. We had not seen a boat from Ierissos yet. Would they sail today?

Photos and text

Bas Kamps

In post 1618 I told the story of the grapes of St. Simeon at Chilandariou: it is believed that the dried raisins have wonderous results and help women with fertility problems.One of our readers got hold of the dried raisins and asked us for our help because the instructions are in the Serbian language and in Cyrillic. Who can help translating the following texts in English? or is there an English version available?

St. Simeon  (Stefan Nemanja)

Wim Voogd, 9/3

When we entered Pantocratoros after our stroll from Vatopediou, we found the monastery in deep rest. We conquered the monastery without being noticed. Nobody in the courtyard. The church was closed. Opposite the church we heard the sound of dishes. We just missed the lunch, but a very friendly hospitable monk invited us to the empty trapeza. He quickly served us a wonderful meal which we ate gratefully, in silence. The nutritious vegetarian meal contained stuffed bell peppers with noodles, a salad with cucumbers, slices of bread and peaches for dessert. There was no wine.

Because we were alone in the trapeza so I felt free to take a few pictures there.The ceiling shows a bright orange and yellow geometrical pattern. It contrasts with the parade of saints on the walls. It was all so clean, bright and shining inside. Outside as well. It must be a well organised and well managed monastery.

In post 1234 Wim explains the fresco on the left: the deathbed of Efrem the Stylite from Syria, who died probably June 9^th 373.  He was a great teacher of asceticism. It reminded me of that other famous Stylite: Simeon. He stood on pillars for fourty years when he finally lied down. His pillars were of progressively greater height. The last one being 15 meters high.

In Syria Simeons pillar can still be seen, if the site is not damaged by the war.
A still live just opposite the entrance of the trapeza. I found the similarity between the painted black cloth and the recently left cowl on the table striking. Only later I saw that part of the fresco, just above the marble floor, was damaged to make a socket for the vacuum cleaner or whatever electric machinery. Yes, even inside a trapeza, progress is on its way.The cupolas of the catholicon; the church of the Transfiguration. John Julius Norwich writes about the colour of the church: “..of the deepest, purplish red, almost loganberry”. The Loganberry is a crossbreed between blackberry and raspberry.The quiet reflections of the glass in wood on the marble floor of the exonarthex from a very low perspective.
A glance at the kiosk in front of the entrance of the monastery. It feels save behind the heavy iron doors. Though they did not stop the Turks in 1386.

The entrance building is in the lower part of the lower Medieval tower.This photo from Fernand Cuville shows Pantacrator in 1918. Behind the kiosk is the entrance with the heavy iron doors. I find his colour pictures (Autochromes) of Cuville of an extreme serene beauty. The faded and distorted, impressionistic colours add to the alienating effect. It’s like a pointillistic painting. We are looking into a scene from almost a century ago. His pictures deserve a big exhibition.Pilgrim Herman contemplating the forces of nature. The waves collapsed with great force on the pier. The entrance to the arsanas of Pantocratoros is very narrow and hard to enter even with relatively mild wind. Or as John Julius Norwich put it sharply: “Pantocratoros, …., occupies the top of a rocky promontory overlooking a Lilliputian harbour.” Sometimes Norwich can exaggerate a bit, I think, but this time it is a correct description.

We had not seen a ferry or a kaïk, yet. It is time to move on to Iviron, but our first next stop will be Stavronikita.

Photos and text

Bas Kamps

Almost all paintings and fresco’s in Athos show us religious scenes: the live of Christ, Holy Saints and stories from the Bible are told on the murals. You will not find any secular images, because Athos monks focus on their spiritual life and their connection with God.

But there is one exception. Last September we visited the kelli Maroudá and we received a warm welcome of father Makarios. When I had closer look at this beautiful kellion my attention was drawn to a corridor with paintings. To my surprize the paintings did not show religious scenes, but they showed the complete life of Alexander the Great, the famous Macedonian king, who conquered his enemies in the East and who started the Hellenistic civilisation. Let’s have look:Behind the bells: the frieze with the Alexander paintingsThe long corridor with the life of Alexander: it starts at the far end of the corridor with the birth of Alexander.Born in Pella in 356 BC, Alexander succeeded his father Philip II to the throne at the age of twenty. On the left you can see baby Alexander in the arms of his mother Olympias. On the right Alexander rides his favourite horse Bucephalus.Scenes from his youth: Aristotles teaches Alexander philosophy. Above the scens you can see the people who played an important role in Greek history, like Diogenes and on the right philosopher Platon (with the Parthenon below).Here the famous campaign of Alexander starts: the defeat of the Thracians by crossing the river Lyginus. After restoring peace in Greece Alexander could set out on his Asian campaign from Amphipolis (see the Lion monument).334 BC: Alexander crosses the Hellespont and he  throws a spear into Asian soil, giving a clear massage to the Persians what his intent was. On the right he  cuts  the ‘unsolvable’ Gordian Knot.From the famous mosaic in Pompeii: the battle of Issus, battleling the Persian king Darius III.Alexander in Tyros: in the left upper corner Perikles.Alexander conquers Egypt (piramides) and he founded the city Alexandria, with the light house and library, which would become the prosperous capital of the Ptolemaic Kingdom after his death (with  Herod and Augustos in the round medallions). An extraordinary painting!The fire in the palace of Xerxes in Persepolis: a deliberate revenge for the burning of the Acropolis of Athens during the Second Persian War by Xerxes I?Alexander entering Babylon and a fight with elephants during the Indian campaign.More details of the Indian campaign, with the heads of ancient Byzantine emperors above it (Constantine and Ireni, Justin and Nicephoras Phokas).The dead of Alexander, 10 or 11 June 323 BC, in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar II in Babylon, at age 32.This is an interesting scene: here the ancient saint Agios Sisois from Egypt mourns at the grave of Alexander, thus ‘usurpating’ the Hellenistic culture in the Greek Christian world. Might he have seen Alexander’s grave in Egypt and is there still a chance that Alexander’s grave once will be found in the deserts of Egypt?And here the frieze ends with the planned statue of Dinocrates of Alexander on Mount Athos and with contemporary Greek heroes.

The paintings are made in 2015: does the mermaid on the right maybe predict the boat refugees from Syria who would seek asylum in Europe starting last year? Who kowns….It gives my the opportunity to express my deep respect to all Greek people who helped the refugees, who tried to find a safe place to live in our ‘peacefull’ Europe.

Epilogue: allthough secular scenes are very  hard to find on Athos, I found similar secular paintings of Greek philosophers in a monastery in Meteora last summer!

Wim Voogd, 24/3/2016

Jan Paul ten Bruggencate has been a frequent visitor in the kelli Maroudá. He offered to show us around in the premises and to be our guide.The wooden entrance to main building of Maroudá, with the chapel on the right.The wooden entrance seen from inside and the old doorsAbove the door: the Panaghia and the child Jezus with the Saints Onofrios and Peter the Athonite. The building/painting is from May 9th 1796 (thanks Vasilis).

The room we entered gave acces to the church: this room is decorated with a beautiful ceiling with the word “Paradeison” carved in it.Let’s go into the church, with Jan Paul leading the way.The iconostasisThe dome with the Pantocrator, surrounded by angels,  looking down at us.

In the four corners of the dome: the Apostels Matheus, Ioannis (Saint Prochoras), Lukas and Markos.A painting of the young Theotokos/Maria with her mother Anne and her father Joachim (thanks Alex).The Dormation of the Panaghia: above her Jezus holding a baby (Jezus?) wrapped in linen with wings. The baby is the soul of the Theotokos whom Jezus received personally after her repose (thanks for your commend Roblesd56).

This painting is of outstanding quality and the Dormation scene is depicted in a way that you seldom see.Above the entrance of the church: the birth of Theotokos, again an image with a highly artistic value.Jan Paul contemplating in the beautiful churchNext visit is the library, with fresh cookies!Going down the stairs,to visit another chapel, looking at …the dome and its paintings.

The iconostasisThe chapel, with Gert Jan en Jan PaulThe adjacent roomWe ended up in this room with many fine icons, all over the place.

Leaving the room: a coat rack with old jacketsThe tour ends here in this bright coloured corridor, leading to a terrace.

Wim Voogd, 25/3 (photo’s also thanks to Jitze)

We waved goodbye to Pantocratoros where we enjoyed so much hospitality and a very good meal. We followed the wonderful monopati along the coast. It is a bit hilly but not too strenuous.

The monopati is completely covered from time to time. As a circular hollow path. Robert MacFarlane would love this. And later it opens up for seascapes and mountain views. We walked our own pace in silence. The wind and the waves were the aural companions.One of the nicest signposts on Athos is this one. It shows the way to Stavronikita. An interesting positioning of letters. A ”T” sits on an “A”, two times. Stavronikita, the smallest of Athonian monasteries, is a monastery that has experienced the forces of nature, as we will see.

The approach of the monastery. Heavy reinforcements are made just under the building in the rocks to withstand the elements. These structures were built because a series of earthquakes severely damaged the rock on which the monastery was erected. There were serious concerns about the stability of the structure. It could fall off the cliff. The heavy earthquake of 1905, 7,5 on the Richter scale, of which the epicentre lay close to Stavronikita under the sea, is described by Herman in this weblog.
From this aerial view the impressive reinforcements are clearly visible.

And suddenly after a bend the majestic tower of Stavronikita appears. It’s history goes back to the 10^th century. It was abandoned a couple of times. First in the early 13^th century, due to pirates and the impact of the fourth crusade. Then in the beginning of the 19^th century because of the Turkish invasion. And most recently towards the end of the 20^th century when only a eight monks lived here, when Norwich was around in 1964. In 1968 is was abandoned again (Speake, 2002).

After the events in the 13^th century Stavronikita became a skete, belonging to Koutloumousiou and later to Philotheou, until 1536 when it became Athos twentieth and last and smallest monastery.

The enormous cypress must be hundreds of years old. It survived many fires.
This photo from Fernand Cuville shows Stavronikita in 1918 after the earthquake but before the restorations. The cypress is already challenging the tower in height in 1918.
The iconic entrance of the monastery that is dedicated to Saint Nicolas. Under the aqueduct, build in 1770, are pools with waterlilies and goldfish. The water supply was a gift from the prince of Wallachia, Serban Kantakouzinos, in French also known as Șerban Ier Cantacuzène (1640 – 1688). This prince is not to be confused with that other prince from Wallachia and fierce fighter against the Turks: Vlad III The Impaler alias Dracula (1431-1476).

Quality restauration works by the Archaeological Service have been completed in the last few years. It’s almost too perfect to be true. Far beyond a postcard beauty.
Ripe grapes hang down. The bougainvillea flowers abundant. Never closer to perfection. Time for a look inside. We will see that this monastery is only lit by candles. The only monastery on Athos that has no electric light until now. Despite the two great fires, in 1607 and in 1741, that burnt it to the ground and the other big fires from 1864, 1874 and 1879 that produced considerable damage. So Stavronikita has been tortured by fires and vibrations. But it survived it all in great splendour.

Photos and text

Bas Kamps

Herman Hissink (1915-2011), on the right on the photo above,  worked as a teacher on a renowned Christian high school in The Netherlands. He wrote many diaries and letters during his lifetime. Some of these have been recently assembled in a book by the writer Gerard Koolschijn, a former student of his. During is life Hissink made a lot of travels through Europe, on which he always invited pupils and friends to accompany him. In all his years of travel, there must have been almost a hundred different people in his company. He was particularly interested in Greece. Hissink visited the country forty times. On twelve occasions he rented donkeys to carry his own luggage and that of his fellow travellers to be able to hike on ancient paths (monopatia) from village to village. Hissink introduced Koolschijn to the Holy Mountain of Athos in the 1970s. The book ‘God exists, naturally’ (‘Natuurlijk bestaat God’) contains some stories about Athos.
In this post I combine some of Hissinks texts about Athos with pictures, some made by another former pupil of his: Wim Oudshoorn. The images have been copied from the Athos photo album of Gerard Koolschijn. Many thanks to Daan den Hengst, also a former pupil of Hissink, for the translation in English and Gerard Koolschijn for his text corrections.
De boottocht naar Dafni was een lentevaart langs bremgele bergen. Omdat de monnikenbus niet kapot was, waren we snel in Karyes en drie kwartier later hadden we onze passen.
The boat trip to Dafni was a vernal voyage along mountain covered in yellow broom. The bus of the monks was not broken down this time, so we reached Karyes quickly and had our passes within 45 minutes.
Het steile pad vanuit Prodromou bereikte juist bij onze befaamde col het oude pad. Rugzakken af is hier een onontkoombaar gebod. Zitten, uitkijken over de steile steenlawines naar de zee in de diepte. Een plek om deel te krijgen aan het ongeschapen licht.
The steep path from Prodromou joined the old path close to our noted col. ‘Backpacks off’ is a strict order here. Sit, look out over the steep landslide to the sea below. A place to be part of the pristine light.
Wij wisten hem (een beter wetende monnik die met het gezelschap mee liep HV) te bewegen het monopati te blijven volgen. Bij een splitsing bestond voor ons beiden geen probleem, dankzij jouw advies: hoogste pad kiezen. Maar wat doe je als een monnik de blik hemelwaarts richt, een kruis slaat en met een Openbaring-stem zegt, omlaag wijzend: ‘Das ist königlicher Weg!’ Enfin, we liepen vast in de wildernis, moesten terug, struinden door het struweel weer bergopwaarts en bereikten ten slotte een prachtig bospad, waar de grond overdekt was met viooltjes en vergeetmijnietjes. Na een halfuur was er een wegwijzer: Karyes!
We managed to persuade him (a know-it-all monk who joined them HV) to stay on the monopati. At a crossroads the two of us did not hesitate thanks to your advice: choose the way up. But what can you do when a monk looks up towards heaven, crosses himself and declares with a voice from the Apocalyps, pointing downward: ‘Das ist königlicher Weg!’ So we got stuck in the wilderness, had to turn back, browsed uphill through the shrubs and, finally, reached a wonderful forest trail, where the soil was covered with violets and forget-me-nots. After half an hour a signpost: Karyes!
Opgelucht wandelden we het schemerende Karyes binnen, waar ons uit de herberg aangenaam werelds gedruis tegemoet kwam. Even later zaten we voor een bord met gort met inktvis.
With a sense of relief we entered Karyes at twilight. The tavern received us with a pleasant worldly noise. Minutes later we had a plate of groats and squid before us.

Zondag keerden we terug naar de wereld. Bij de skala van Zografou was de zee zeldzaam mooi door fel licht en krachtige wind. De bootreis overtrof alle andere! Het barkje steigerde een uur lang, met veel overspoelend water. Ik was koud, nat en gelukkig tot op het bot.
On Sunday we returned to the world. At skala Zografou the sea was wonderfully beautiful with sharp light and a strong wind. The boat trip was the best ever. The tiny barque reared  a whole hour and we were drenched. I  was cold, wet and happy to the bone.

’s Middags wacht het mooiste panorama van onze lange reis. Alle drie de schiereilanden van Chalkidiki zijn duidelijk zichtbaar, in het westen Kassandra, dan Sithonia en als grote verrassing de Agion Oros, de Athos, prachtig licht vangend op zijn top, in zo’n onaantastbaar isolement dat ik beter dan ooit de legenden begrijp die de monniken eromheen weefden.
In the afternoon the most beautiful panorama of our long trip awaits us. All three peninsulas of Chalkidiki are clearly visible, in the west Kassandra, then Sithonia and as a great surprise the Agion Oros, Athos, its top catching a marvelous light, in such a majestic isolation that I understand better than ever before the legends woven around it by the monks.

Aan Gerard
De magistrale zuidhelling van de Athos is voor mij nog steeds de plaats waar ’s nachts in de steile kloof bij het monnikengehucht Verbrande Hutten de nachtegaal zong. Momenten van zeldzaam geluk. Steeds sterker word ik ontroerd door de gedachte dat die zang al tientallen miljoenen jaren doorgaat.
To Gerard
For me the forbidding southern slope of mount Athos is still the place where at night in the steep chasm near the monks’ hamlet Burnt Cabins the nightingale sang. Moments of rare delight. More and more I am moved by the idea that this song has been heard for tens of  millions of years

Aan Eduard
Je gaat weer naar Athos. Zelden heb ik meer ontspannen gereisd dan over de Heilige Berg. Prachtige voettochten. Het is moeilijk kloosters aan te bevelen. Elk heeft zijn eigen bekoring – wat ook afhangt van de ontvangst.
To Eduard
You go to Athos again. Rarely I have travelled in a more unhurried manner than over The Holy Mountain. Wonderful hikes. It is difficult to recommend monasteries. Every single one has its own charm, which also depends on the way in which they welcome their guests.
 
Het grote Russenklooster is bijna verlaten en in romantisch ruïneus verval. Van ontvangst zal daar geen sprake zijn, de laatste monniken zijn stokoud en ziek, wellicht stervend. Indertijd hebben we in de immense keuken zelf het een en ander gekookt. Het was er geheimzinnig, wat spookachtig. Op de slaapzaal vlogen de vleermuizen in en uit.
The large monastery of the Russians is almost deserted and in a state of romantic decay. You will not be welcomed there, the remaining monks are decrepit and ill, possibly dying. When we were there, we cooked something in their immense kitchen ourselves. It was mysterious, a bit spooky. Bats flitted in and out of the dormitory.

Herman Voogd

Today we wil take a closer look at the exterior of kellion Maroudá. The kellion lies on a 20 minutes walk from Skiti Andreou, as you can see on this image from Google maps:

The image above shows the plan of the kellion.

The first picture above shows the gate. The other picture shows the car parking: behind it the monopati to Skiti Andreou starts.The entrance with pilgrims Jan Paul, Gert Jan and Jitze. The red wall is painted with abstract Christian symbols and a modern painting of St George.

 The terrace, with Skiti Andreou behind the cross.The stairs that go down from the entrance.Behind the front door: the right part of the kellion.The left side of the kellion.The stone wall right is the ossuary.

The ossuary.The rooms for guests: left a painting of Alexander.The Alexander frieze.Paintings on the outside walls of the kitchen, flowers and the ark of Noach.An angel playing a harp.

Maroudá: the outside of the building. On the right: a large round mill stone.The balcony, with Jan Paul and the webmaster.Jan Paul and Wim.

The balcony: solar cells provide energy.The view from the balcony.The kitchen gardenThe monopati to Karyes.View from the monopati: the churchView from the monopati: the East side of the kellion.Maroudá kellion: a panoramic view.

Wim Voogd, 6/4/16

This short film (in German) is published on July 24th 2015 by the WDR/Actuelle Stunde -Bustour 2015. The reporter interviews the German monk Theodosius from Simonopetras, who had been living on Athos for more than 30 years. Theodosius takes care of the water supply,the IT and the solar energie of the monastery. He calls himself a “spiritual practitioner”. Unfortunately I did not meet him last September, when we visited Simonopetras.

The camera man brought a drone to film the monastery from above, with beautiful scenes of Simonopetras as a result.

Wim Voogd, 10/4 (thanks to the Dutch Athos Facebook site: “Vrienden van de Heilge Berg Athos” of Vasilis – a private group)

Mount Athos that passeth the clouds.

“The Voiage and Travaile of Sir John Mandeville”, knight of St. Albans was a very popular travel book in the fourteenth century. The real identity of the author, Sir John Mandeville, is still unclear. He might have been a monk from Liège. The book inspired Christopher Columbus, he took it with him on his adventurous travels. Some claim that the book was inspired by Marco Polo.

It is a tale of a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and the Sinai (and far beyond to Egypt, India, Indonesia, and the Far East). In fact the whole, then known, world is covered. The long travels, it took more than 30 years and lead him also to Mount Athos and Mount Olympus. The book is well known for its inaccuracies as we will see. The author probably never left Western Europe and used all kinds of different secondary sources. There is no mention of any monastic life on Athos.

It was written in medieval Anglo-Normandic, and translated in all the west-European languages. The most translated book of its time, except for the Bible. In 1895 a modern English version was published. The illustrations in this version are by Mr. Arthur Layard.

The ”Saint Sophia“ in Constantinople is described as the most noble church of the World. After mentioning the philosopher Aristoteles, who was born in Stagyra, on Chaldikidi, the work continues:

 “In this Country be right high Hills, toward the End of Macedonia. And there is a great Hill, that man call Olympus, that parteth Macedonia and Thrace.  And it is so high that is passeth the Clouds. And there is another Hill, that is clept Athos, that is so high, that the Shadow reacheth to Lemne, that is an Isle, and it is 67 miles between. And above at the top of the Hill is the Air so clear, that man may find no Wind there, and therefore may no Beast live there; and so is the Air dry.”

 And then follows in de Medieval version:

And Men seye in theise Contrees, that Philosophres som tyme wenten upon theise Hilles, and helden to here Nose a Spounge moysted with Watre, for to have Eyr; for the Eyr above was so drye. And aboven, in the Dust and in the Powder of tho Hilles, thei wroot Lettres and Figures with hire Fingres: and at the zeres end thei comen azen, and founden the same Lettres and Figures, the whiche thei hadde writen the zeer before, withouten ony defaute.
(And Men say in these Countries, that Philosophers some time went upon these Hills, and held to their Noses a Sponge moisted with Water, to have Air; for the Air above was so dry. And above, in the Dust and in the Powder of those Hills, they wrote Letters and Figures with their Fingers. And at the Year’s End they came again, and found the same Letters and Figures, the which they had written the Year before, without any Default.)

This passage is followed by a theological description of the differences between the Roman Catholic and the Orthodox faith.

Monks or astronomers, writing letters in the dust is already shown in this post.  That picture is drawn from an later fifteenth century medieval version of the Mandeville book. There have been many versions of this work.

Much later Pilgrim Herman proved that there is at least birdlife on the top of Mount Athos. And despite the warnings we reached the dry summit of the Holy Mountain in 2011 without the help of watery sponges or other aids. The philosophers were gone. We didn’t see any on the top.

The book can be downloaded for free via the Project Gutenberg: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/782

Bas Kamps

30 years ago I began my second Athos pilgrimage: after recieving our Diamoniterion in Karyes we started out to reach the monastery of Karakalou.Looking back at Karyes and KoutloumousiouOn this spot we took a rest and drank some water from a well, not knowing that on this day the Tjernobyl nuclear accident did occur. We thought we drank the most pure and healthy water you could imagine, while walking on the Holy Mountain, that was preserved against development for over a 1000 years.

Remember that 1986 was a pre-internet and cell phone time, so only a week afterwards we heard about the disaster. Luckily the wind did not bring much of the fallout to Greece/Mount Athos, but it showed how fragile we are with nuclear technology. 

But even on Mount Athos, where time stands still, many things changed since 1986: What about the Zygou monastery near the border, then called Frankocastro?And the border near Zygou looked very different.The border at the other side, Komitsa in 1986.And the harbour of Sografou.And what about the Panteleimonos monastery at that time, nowadays almost completely renovated because of the celebrations in 2016.And here, in the Epistatia building, you had to get your Diamoniterion and collect your ID/passport.Blacksmith-monks (near Filotheou) gave us a fantastic lunch – together with Pieter Voorn.Bread, olives, cheese, peppers, lettuce and wine, who needs more?Tsipourou at Dionysiou – photo Pieter VoornMonk and cat at Dionysiou 1986 – photo Pieter VoornDafni 1986

Wim Voogd,26/4