This is probably the first picture of Stavronikita.  From the same series as we showed before by  Ernest de Caranza & Emile Charles Labbé. This picture was taken in the year 1853.
It is the first picture in this series with life being portrayed: here we have three mules. A rare image.  With this then revolutionary and brand new technique the picture had to be exposed for 10 to 30 seconds. So the mules stood very still and concentrated on their food.
The big iconic cypress tree is not visible yet.There are not that many structural changes, as compared to Simonos Petras. Here it is mainly the renovation, to a level of perfection and tidiness that strikes me the most. “It’s almost too perfect to be true. Far beyond a postcard beauty”, I wrote in an earlier blog. Though we are looking at a building which is 6 generations older, it looks brand new, quite unlike the early picture.Stavronikita from its sturdiest side. The “M” shaped building faces the sea. The monastery turns away from the sea, from the danger, from the outer world.This picture is taken from the cemetery and ossuary. Not too many structural changes, I stated before. But here we see that an extra floor has been added on the top of the “M” shaped building, behind the cupola.

Bas Kamps