The monastery of  Simonos Petras is, as it were, glued to a mountainous rock of 330 meter above sea level. Views in all directions are stunning  while standing on the balcony.

Looking to the left, a view on Sithonia , the centrally located peninsula of Chalkidiki. The balcony here is adjacent to the kitchen en the dining room. Beating the metal object will lure the monks to the meal.

When looking to the southeast the majestic cone of Mount Athos is prominent.

On this particular bright day I also looked straight ahead to the south. I zoomed in with my photo camera. A few faint outlines of islands were visible on the horizon. At that moment I had the idea that the most prominent shape had to be the isle of Skiathos, Skiathos means “ Shadow of Athos’ . But when  I was back at home and took a closer look at the map it made me doubt my first thought. It was clear that the archipelago of the Sporades were visible but which islands do we see?

My guess would be that the first arrow on the left points to the most distant island, Skiros which has the highest mountain of the Sporades, but is, in a straight line, 140 km from Simonos Petras. The second arrow in the middle could be pointing to the uninhabited rock, Gioura which is the nearest islet, 89 km. Under the third arrow on the right probably Alonnisos and Skopelos together. Skiathos with a highest point of 424 meter is not visible on this photo. This also applies for the rather flat Kyra Panagia, highest point 302 meter.

By the way, Kyra Panagia has belonged to the monastery of  Megisti Lavra since it was granted the island by the Byzantine emperor Nikephoros II Phokas in 963.

Other suggestions about the islands are welcome.

This is how pilgrims will find the way to the balcony:

Herman Voogd