The Ultimate Pilgrimage: Join the 1,000-Year Prayer on Mount Athos, Greece

For over a thousand years, monks here have spent eight hours a day in prayer and study. Women are barred from the peninsula, not even within 500m of its coast, as they are considered a distraction that can tempt the monks away from celibacy to sin and be an undue competition for the Virgin Mary, the only female on the territory.

Mount Athos, commonly known as the Holy Mountain, is a self-governed territory in Greece, considered one of Orthodox Christianity’s holiest sites and the spiritual capital of the Orthodox Christian world. The spiritual center, located in the remote peninsula of north-eastern Greece, consists of 20 monasteries which have approximately 2,000 monks between them. It is the oldest-surviving monastic community in the world. The mountain is the largest piece of land (130 square mile radius) in the world from which women and female animals are prohibited from entering.

For over a thousand years, monks here have spent eight hours a day in prayer and study. Women are barred from the peninsula, not even within 500m of its coast, as they are considered a distraction that can tempt the monks away from celibacy to sin and be an undue competition for the Virgin Mary, the only female on the territory.

The reason for this gender-exclusive rule is connected to the origin of the mountain’s status as Holy Ground. According to Dr. Graham Speake, author of the book Mount Athos: Renewal in Paradise, it is believed that the Virgin Mary was blown off-course while sailing to Cyprus and landed instead on an unknown land. She liked it so much that she prayed to her son that she should be given ownership of the land. He granted her wish and it became hers. That land, sometimes called “the garden of the mother of God”, was Mount Athos. It is dedicated to Mary and in a bid to honour her, she is accorded the privilege of being the only female on the island.

Should you want to visit Greece with your female partner, and then choose to explore this beautiful and sacred land, you would have to say goodbye to her at Ouranoupoli, itself a charming village that attracts a lot tourists, before boarding the boat to the Holy Mountain.

The monasteries in Athos feature a rich collection of well-preserved artifacts, rare books, ancient documents, and artworks of immense historical and cultural value, and has been listed as a World Heritage site by UNESCO since 1988.

Despite the fact that there is no hotel, bar, store, internet, television or swimming allowed, Mount Athos still remains one of the most popular cruising destinations in Greece as it attracts many visitors and pilgrims from around the world. Each day, the mount receives 100 Orthodox and 10 non-Orthodox male pilgrims for a three-night stay in one of its 20 monasteries to attend services, pray and receive blessings.

So, if you are male, spiritual in nature, respectful of tradition and adventurous at heart, then this is a good tourist location to consider for your next vacation.

Booking a cruise has to be done early due to the huge amount of pilgrims and tourists who apply for visas to  visit Mount Athos, and the small daily quota of people allowed into the Mount. For more information, visit their website.