On the way to Karakallou we came across four surprising things that I would like to share with you. Remarkable, both in terms of architecture, flora and fauna. A medieval bridge, a kellion with golden domes, cyclamen and a stray donkey. All experiences that are so characteristic of the Holy Mountain. And they all make it such a special place in the world.
Timious Stavros, close by and far away.
We walked around the kellion and took some pictures. We found no monks there. They were probably resting and we wanted to continue our walk. The work is clearly still in progress, a lot still needs to be done, but the golden domes shine exuberantly, even without the sun. The golden domes were a Russian present. (See post 1652 for that story). The last two photos of Timious Stavros were taken from the roof terrace of Karakallou, when the evening fell.
A hidden bridge.
Between Timious Stavros and Karakallou lays a beautiful monopati under large trees. At the point where a stream falls down (ultimately to the arsanas Agiou Artemíou) an old, medieval bridge appears. Native cyclamens grew on the bridge. The bridge itself is difficult to photograph, because it is not easy to get a lower perspective on the arche.
Minor Road works.
Not far from the monastery, at the end of our journey from Lakkou, we found work on the path. They were uncovering the old stones of the path. What a great initiative to restore the path to its former glory! Hopefully this good work will also be picked up in other places. This work is much more intensive than what we did with the Friends of Mount Athos. With them we mainly cut away the overhanging branches with loppers. But here the path itself is being seriously taken care of. We wondered about the results of this project. Has anyone taken pictures of the new situation?
A stray donkey.
Even closer to the monastery we found a donkey on the path. The beast had no burden to carry on its back. There were also no other signs that it would be used as a pack animal. No saddle or bit. Het animal looked still young. It didn’t pay any attention to us and just stood there and only turned his head in our direction. He was, as befits a donkey, imperturbable. And probably stubborn too. We stayed near him for a while. We know that they can lunge backwards with their hind legs. We ended up passing right by him on the trail. He wasn’t very interested in us otherwise.
Shortly afterwards we walked through the entrance gate of Karakallou. Next time I will show more pictures of that Holy Monastery.
Bas Kamps