Ouranoupolis webcam (again)

It always make me feel good to get a glimpse of the Ouranoupolis harbour from where almost every boat to Mount Athos leaves. It reminds me of all the times, after getting the Athos passport, the Diamonitirion, we embarkened the ferry to start our pilgrimages. Always an exciting moment. This is a still of the camera aiming on the pier, the little chapel, the flags and the parkinglot on the beach! And in the background the only inhabited island of Chalkidiki: Ammouliani.

The camera itself is on a high pole near the restaurants. It also has a microphone.

It is not only nice to watch the activities on the peer and the beach but it also brings you back to Ouranoupolis ambiance because you can hear the familiar sounds of the seagulls, sometimes pigeons and the swallows of the Ouranoupolis tower. People. mostly men, talking while sitting in the covered restaurants .

The camera is next to the famous Ouranoupolis tower which for centuries was the only building in the surroundings. Ouranoupolis was founded in 1922, when approximately 50 families, Greek refugees from Asia Minor arrived under the auspices of the League of Nations, looking for a new home. The land was provided by Mount Athos and each family was given a one bedroom house, an arid plot of land and ten sheep. Without a road to connect it to the rest of the world the village remained isolated and life was hard. In 1947 the locals took shovels and spades and cut a crude dirt-track road which ended the isolation and brought the very first tourists to the village.

In 1932 when Ouranoupolis was 10 years old there were hardly any buildings yet.

In 1944 it is still a small village with even some people on the beach.

In 2015 there are even houses on the hills behind the village.
But back to the camera:

The best time to watch the live footage is in the morning when the pilgrim boats are leaving for Mount Athos (at 7.00 and 10.00 o’ clock Greek time). In the front, a tourist boat.

Herman Voogd