During my week-long stay at Vatopedi Monastery with the FoMA footpath clearing team last year, I had time to walk around the monastery and take photos of the outer walls and towers (on September 28 and 30, 2022).

Let’s start with a map of the monastery made by Mylonas in 1980: the red arrows indicate the direction I was walking.

The walk around the monastery started at the entrance of the monastery, with its characteristic stained glass windows.

Vatopedi entrance: in the gallery with photos below you will find the wall paintings that can be seen in the dome

Opposite of the entrance is the kiosk, a place to rest (and to smoke).

On the right side from the entrance: the start of the walk at the west wall, with a garden with olive trees and vines, and part of the west wing is being renovated (see the scaffolding in the photo below).

A road and a parking place for taxis/busses, wit another kiosk in the background.

The second kiosk, with a water well.

Behind the second kiosk and behind a high wall, the vegetable garden with olive and fruit trees begins – it can be reached by a staircase. The tower -Ek on the map above- is a defence tower.

The vegetable garden with fruit trees, with the typical chimneys of the west wall.

Detail: the chimneys of the west wall

Although this part of the west wall has clearly not yet been renovated, it has its own charm.

Looking back at the west wall, at the corner of the south wall.

The beginning of the south wall, with and airco, pipes and electrical cords, not an interesting place.

The same part of the corner of the west/south wall, now seen from a higher place/plateau

The south wall with its impressive tower (Ea on the map above/the tower of Christ’s Transfiguration): the cells here are inhabited by monks (among others by father Mathew, who was our contact this week).

The road along the south/east wall. If you look on the right side of the road you will see these buildings:

The south wall and the large tower.

The south wall: the tower on the right side of this photo markes the turn to the east wing (with the tower of The Three Hierarchs, which has a chapel with the same name inside). Below: two more pictures of teh south wall.

The tower of The Three Hierarchs.

The east wall.

The Tower of Kantakuzinos (Ey on the Mylonos plan). The wood is ment for some kind of oven(?). the building in front of the crane was (or is?) the hospital.

The hospital building (nr K and K1 on the plan).

Looking back at the east wing (with the chapel of Ag. Thomas in the middle).

The corner where the hospital building is (K on the plan), with the chapel of Ag. Panteleimonos.

The hospital building with the chapel of Ag. Panteleimonos.

The hospital building and the Pamteleimonos chapel seen from the other side.

The hospital building with, on the right, the tower of the Mother of God at the corner of the east and north wall (E delta on the plan). There used to be a library in this tower, now the new library is in building Z1).

the hospital building – north side

The tower of the Mother of God – at the corner of the north wall

The roof of the trapeza was being renovated at the time of our visit and the crane moved the lead from the roof to this place outside the walls.

The north walls

The balcony of the tower of the Mother of God

The buildings of the north wall, with another second crane because of the renovations of the roof of the trapeza.

The tower of the Synodikón (E epsilon on the plan).

This part of the north wing is relatively new, because this photo from 1976 shows that building activities were still in progress.

The new building on the left has an elevator to lift goods from the harbor to the monastery.

the last part of the north wall – going west.

The corner of the north and west walls, with the pond where Koy-carpers swim, and the kiosk in the background. We almost finished our tour around the monastery!

The beginning of the west wall, near the main entrance.

The west wall and the main entrance: on top of this huge wall runs a path that connects the two parts of the archondariki.

The entrance and the pond, with:

lots of colorfull Koy-carpers!

This ends the photographic tour around the walls of the monastery. For another tour around a the walls of a monastery -Chilandariou – have a look here.

Wim Voogd, July 20th 2023