The Friends of Mount Athos are committed to the ongoing project of clearing, restoring and maintaining the old Athonite footpaths, many of them stone-paved (kaldirimi) tracks for transporting goods by mule and dating from late Byzantine times. The project was undertaken with the active advocacy and support of His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales, who continues to be an active, working member of the footpaths team. This is an important mission statement of the Friends of Mount Athos, found on their website.
FoMA is also placing new signs to help the pilgrims to find their way on the Holy Mountain. These are on the, so called, Way of the Bey; the footpath from Chilandariou or Esfigmenou to Karyes over the hills in the middle of the peninsula.
When we walked this path coming from Esfigmenou and after passing the crossing at Chera we encountered members of the the FoMA footpaths team actually clearing the path from branches and overhanging leaves with their garden tools. We had a nice conversation and thanked them for their good work. They had permission to work the paths in the Vatopedi region. This short video shows the condition of the paths without maintenance.
The overgrown path near the Chera crossing is difficult to walk. But after Chera were the members of the footpaths team had done their work it was a lot easier to make your way.
View on Vatopedi and the exit to Konstamonitou. I will end this post with a call from the FoMA website:
New recruits to the Footpaths Team are very welcome. If you’re interested, and would like to know more about our next Path-clearing Pilgrimage, please contact The FoMA Footpaths Team.
Herman Voogd
