The Mountain Outside Time

Some places look as if they belong to a different era. Mount Athos, on the peninsula of the same name, is one of them.

From the sea, it looks almost unreal. It rises more than two kilometres straight out of the water, its summit disappearing into the clouds; the rest of the peninsula barely fits in the frame. But perhaps the most striking thing is this: for more than a thousand years, the mountain has lived by its own rules.

The peninsula has a special autonomous status. Monks still live here, following a way of life that has changed surprisingly little over the centuries. And this is not an open-air museum — people actually live and work here.

And all of this is happening in one of Greece’s most touristy corners. While people are lounging on the beaches of the neighbouring peninsulas and wandering around in the evenings looking for the best taverna, right next door is a place you simply can’t enter as an ordinary tourist. In fact, if you’re a woman, you can’t enter at all.

From a distance, though, none of this is visible. Just the mountain, the sea and the clouds — and the feeling that time really does move differently there.

Chalkidiki, Greece.
June, 2016.
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