Chalkidiki
Kassandra, Sithonia and Mount Athos are the three "fingers" that make
up Chalkidiki. Land and sea, tranquility and eternity, forests of
beeches, chestnuts, willows, cypresses and plain trees, beaches and
beguiling coves, golden sand, picturesque villages. Potidea, Olinthos,
Stagira, Aristotle's birthplace, each town has its own history and
its own ancestral glory, and Mount Athos, the Holy Mountain of Orthodoxy.
Poligiros
Chalkidiki's charming capital (69 km from Thessaloniki) built like
an amphitheater up the foothills of Mt. Holomodas. There is an archaeological
museum here containing sculptures and pottery, as well as a few neighborhoods
little changed from the past century.
Kassandra
The westernmost of the three prongs of Chalkidiki, Kassandra is remarkable
for its extensive beaches, pinewoods and small villages. Bound together
as one entity, they unfold before the visitor's eyes as a different,
pure and beautiful world, which might well have been created in accordance
with the realm of one's dreams. Words can scarcely describe the extent
to which this area preserves the natural beauty of the Greek countryside,
the limpid sea and the tranquil picturesqueness of the whole setting.
Well equipped for catering for tourists, the entire Kassandra prong
has several major hotels and organized camping grounds, in among the
pinewoods, close to sandy beaches. Among the charming villages are
Petralona, Nea Moudania, Nea Triglia, Dionisiou, Zografou, Nea Potidaea,
Nea Fokea, Afitos, Kallithea, Kriopigi, Polihrono, Pefkohori and more.
Sithonia
The middle prong of the Chalkidiki peninsula offers similar natural
beauty in its countryside with fine, sandy beaches, picturesque small
harbors, peaceful fishermen's hamlets and well-wooded expanses. In
these surroundings the visitor has a unique opportunity to appreciate
the beauty of nature at its best. Among the charming villages and
beaches are Olinthos, Gerakini, Ormylia, Vatopedi, Metamorfossis,
Nikitas, Agios Nikolaos, Pirgadikia, Sarti, Sikia and Neos Marmaras.
Mount Athos
The land of Mt. Athos, which forms one of the most beautiful parts
of Greece, lays before the visitor all the grandeur of Nature. The
landscape is varied with small valleys and gorges, well wooded mountains
interspersed with bare and precipitous rocks and occasional views
of the coastline. Mountain scenery on one hand and the sea on the
other create that essential framework of isolation in a different,
strange world chosen by the hermits for their monastic state. It is
a community of monks, which, for more than 1000 years, has lived the
daily life and religious practice of the Byzantines. The oldest monastery
on Mt. Athos is that of Megisti Lavra, which is also the wealthiest
in treasures and relics. It was founded in the 10th century by Ossios
Athanassios. However, even prior to that date, monks and hermits had
begun to retire to that area. The beneficent activity of Byzantine
emperors soon made it possible for the number of monasteries to multiply
to 40 and their inmates to 40,000. At the moment, only 20 monasteries
are functioning and the total number of monks does not exceed 1,700.
Basic Conditions for Admission to Mount Athos
In accordance with a "Chryssobul" (edict) issued by the Byzantine
Emperor Constantine Monomahos in 1060 AD, which still remains valid,
conditions for entering the territory of Mt. Athos are as follows:
- A permit is required for both individuals and groups. This is
issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Directorate of Churches
(at No 2, Zalokosta Street, in Athens, Tel: 3626894) or by the
Ministry of Northern Greece, Directorate of Civil Affairs at Diikitiriou
Square in Thessaloniki, tel. 031/270092.
- Women are not admitted into the territory.
- Overnight stay is forbidden except for those who have proven
religious or scientific interests in the area and are over 18
years old.
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Chalkidiki - Kassandra
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