Sending a postcard home was in former days a way to let friends and family know where you have been and a pilgrimage to Athos is no exception to this tradition. As early as 1905 the first postcards from Athos appear, mostly with a text in French. The early cards with photos were mostly printed abroad or I presume, in Thessaloniki. I wonder where you could buy these postcards back then, I think it would not have been easy the find them. There is one card of Iviron that gives us a clue (see below).
On our weblog we showed you in previous posts already many other postcards, for example in post 1334: 66 postcards of all 20 monasteries. Today I will present (in this part one) a few more (old) postcards, not only from all monasteries, but also from the “capital” Karyes and (later) from some skities:
00 – Karyes
On both postcards you can see that the current building of the Holy Epistatia with its white stairs, left from the old tower where the ‘Tragos’ is kept and the bell tower of the Protaton-church, is not build yet.
01- Lavra
02 – Vatopedi
In 1917 a French/Russian army occupied Mount Athos (see post 1950). Maybe this postcard is written by one of the soldiers.
03 – Ivirón
What is striking here is that this picture showes the South wall. Most pictures are from the Eastern or Northern walls. Visible is a large brown elevation (rocks?), that end at a green area close to the wall. Behind it a gap is filled up by a red wall, while at most monasteries the courtyards are completely surrounded by buildings. Nowadays this area has been cleared totally and a new building has been added at the red wall, as you can see on the aerial photo I took in 2017:
The gap in the Southern wall is clearly visible here. The old tower is, just as on the postcard below, still in ruins.
This picture shows a part of the arsanas left, the East wing of Ivirón, now with the renovated tower in the background.
04 – Chilandariou
You can read more about the artist Reinhold Zwerger and Athos-map maker in post 1339.
05 – Dionysiou
Dionysiou, date unknown, black and white: inside the trapeza
06 – Koutloumousiou
Koutloumousiou: 1899, in French: an early postcard with an overview of Athos and the top of the Holy Mountain. Also with a couple of steam/sailships, and a small image of the monastery, decorated with nice purple flowersKoutloumousiou, 1928, in Greek and FrenchKoutloumousiou, date unknown: the East and North wingsKoutloumousiou, date unknown: seen from the air. The green plants in the courtyard look like grape vines on a pergola (?)
07 – Pantocratoros
Pantocratoros, date unknown: the arsanas and the monasteryPantocratoros, date unknown: photo almost from the same anglePantocratoros, date unknown, the East wing, with red and yellow colorsPantocratoros, date unknown, Greek and French text: the North wing, with Stavronikita and the Holy Mountain in the background.
08 – Xiropotamou
Xiropotamou, date unknown: Greek postcard, with a relic and the phiale and bell/clock towerXiropotamou, date unknown, Greek: the West wing and kitchen gardensXiropotamou, dat unknown, in Greek and French nr 215: the entrance in the South wing, with a pergola with vines Xiropotamou, date unknown: aerial photo wth the extended kitchen gardens, North and West wings
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