Who ever wants to visit the Holy Mountain and is not of the Orthodox faith, has to get his name on the “list of 10”, because only 10 non Ortodox pilgrims are allowed on the Holy Mountain every day. You can make a reservation 6 months before your planned date of arrival and you first have call 0030-2310-25 25 78 and here if there are still places available. Mr Alexander Gikas will give you the answer and he will ask you to fax 2310 – 22 24 24 your personal information (your complete name, date of birth, passportnumber + issue and expire date, and a copy of it), or write to the following adres:
The Holy Executive of the Holy Mount Athos
Mr. A. Gikas
Egnatia Odos 109
GR-54635 Thessaloniki
Greece (look here if it is still up-to-date – in German: Merkblatt 03-2008 German Consulate) NB. The possebility to contact the Bureau by e-mail has been cancelled.
In Greece you never know if things are still the same, because Vasilis informed us yesterday that this building Agioritiki Estia was hit by Molotov-cocktails last friday during heavy riots in Thessaloniki and it might have caught fire.
The historical Agioritiki Estia building under attack is the yellow/white builing: – Via Egnatia/Thessaloniki may 2007
I did try to find the office in 2007, but I did not find any entrance at nr 109 (or did I?).
Sign at door of Egnatia Odos 109 Thessaloniki
But in fact there is no reason to go to Thessaloniki, besides that is a beautiful place to be, because the trip from the airport to the busstation where the busses to Ouranopolis leave, is short and it saves a lot of time.
But Thessaloniki is worth to visit, I’ll show you why in the near future.
Thessaloniki – may 2007
Wim, 11/3
The historic building of Agioritiki Estia has been attacked by anarchists at least 5 times since the December riots. The reason that it attracts such an unwanted attention, is that these people view it as a symbol of corruption ever since the Vatopedi scandal.. How on earth a beautiful and historic building which only serves as a simple religious bookshop, can be hold responsible for the dealings of one abbot and a few politicians, is beyond my comprehension… It is really a shame and a pity and there is absolutely no excuse for damaging artistic and historic structures.. The good news is that it was quickly repaired and a couple of days ago they installed special security shutters that will hopefully prevent any further damage from vandals.
It’s really good news that the damage appeared minimal and the building was repaired quickly.
Thanks for your reaction, I am glad to hear that nothing seriously happened (Dimitris, I removed one of your reactions because they were identical, oke ?) Wim
On Keliotes’ blog you may see some pictures of the damaged building. Scroll down to nr 164. http://agioritikesmnimes.pblogs.gr/
By the way does anyone know where exactly the
diamonitirion can be extended in Karyes?
Aleksandros, the site of The Friends of Mount Athos gives us this information:
Extending your visit
A diamonitirion normally expires after four nights spent on the Mountain. If you wish to prolong your stay, you should apply to the Holy Community in Karyes where, if a good reason is given, permission will generally not be withheld. It occasionally happens that members of the Friends are asked to show their certificate of membership in support of their application, so it is worth carrying this with you. Sometimes an extension can be arranged through one of the monasteries.
See: http://abacus.bates.edu/~rallison/friends/PilgrimsGuide/guide_visit.html
Succes ! Wim
Thanks.