The land where there were no women for more than 1,000 years

It sounds like a fantasy, but for the past 1,000 years, no woman has been allowed to visit the sacred mountain of Athos. Because the monks here believe that their greatest mission is to follow God and women would make it difficult for them to concentrate on this great purpose.

Mount Athos is a mountain in the Halkidiki peninsula, northeastern Greece, with a length of 60 km, a width of 7-12 km and an area of ​​390 km². This is home to the oldest Christian community in the world, dating back to the 9th century. This place is famous as the sacred land of a complex of 20 Orthodox monasteries with about 2,000 monks.

Athos in Greek is called Ayion Oros or Agion Oros, meaning "Holy Mountain". This is the private world of male monks since 800 AD. In 1045, Constantino Monomachos, the Byzantine Emperor at that time, granted autonomy to this mountain Athos, which officially became a national monastery. In 1060, with the aim of helping male priests to purify their minds and get closer to God, the Law of Prohibition of Women was issued. This regulation not only banned women but also banned female animals (except flying animals and cats), eunuchs or even beardless men.

But women have defied the ban to reach the peninsula. In 1953, a Greek woman disguised herself as a man to enter the island. The country later imposed a 12-month prison sentence for violators. Most recently, in 2008, four Moldovan women were abandoned on the island by human traffickers. Local police arrested them, but an official said the monks forgave them.

Today, Mount Athos only allows 100 Greek or Orthodox tourists to visit each day, and they must have a permit registered in advance. The quota for foreign tourists is 10 male tourists per day, and must be booked one month in advance. In addition, these tourists must have a gentle and honest appearance, and before going up, they must take off their clothes to be strictly checked to avoid cases of disguise.

Of the 20 monasteries in this complex, 17 are Greek, the remaining 3 are Russian (Agiou Panteleiminos), Serbian (Hilandar) and Bulgarian (Zografou). Mount Athos was recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1988.

The monasteries on the island are very ornate because this is where the monks practice, live and work. When eating, the monks must keep silent and listen to prayers. Their food is mainly vegetables, sometimes fish and water or wine. Most of the daily food is grown on the monastery farms, and the monks also have vineyards to make their own wine.

Prayer takes up most of the time, mostly at night when the monastery is quietest. Every morning, the monks will light candles and pray, believing that this is the time when they are closest to God and their prayers can be heard. In addition to prayer, the monks spend time cleaning the guest house, making wine, preparing dinner, and building and renovating the monastery.

The monks remained united even in death. Their remains were washed in red wine according to ancient Greek custom and placed in the chapel. They believed that leaving this life was peaceful if they believed they were living for God and dying to the outside world.

Some monks live in isolation, rather than staying in the monastery to avoid disturbances. This isolated place is called Karoulia, with houses perched on cliffs. They believe that they are closer to God there. Most of the houses here are not easily accessible, and supplies of food and firewood are brought in by carts attached to pulleys. If the house is too inaccessible, one monk will raise a flag for other monks to visit when they need help.

Visitors wishing to visit the islands can register by sending a copy of their passport to the Pilgrims' Office, then travel by ferry from the two nearest ports in the city of Ouranoupoli and the town of Ierissos.

My Tong