On our first day with the Vatopedi path clearing FOMA-team we descended from the Way of the Bey back to our monastery. Father M. was so kind to give the group of seven a ride to the ridge at about 450 meters altitude. There are three monopatia from the Way of the Bey towards Vatopedi. (The Way of the Bey is the old Turkish route on the backbone of the Holy Mountain.) That day we took the middle one. We cleared the path  with our loppers bearing the instruction: “a rather large monk on a mule should be able to pass without obstacles” in our mind. Quite close to the outskirts of the monastery Vatopedi the path reaches a stream called Platanára, and we had to cross the stream. I looked back upstream. From a distance and I saw a bridge half hidden behind large trees. I was excited by this find of a hidden bridge.

We walked along the stream back to the bridge. Despite a very dry Summer (during the whole Summer only 0,2 mm of rain had fallen but there were storms in august) it was still filled with some running water. Getting closer to the stone structure it became clear that it wasn’t a bridge but an aqueduct, like you can find on several places on the Holy Mountain. According to Father M. this aqueduct is not particularly old, say late nineteenth century. But still, we experienced the sudden excitement of an historical discovery, that was hidden in the lush forest.

See also post 2270

Bas Kamps