Exploring Greece

Athos is a republic of monks founded in 963 AD by the monk Athanasios. In 970 the Byzantine Emperor John I Tsimiskis issued an imperial Bulle which guaranteed the autonomy of the republic from Greece. To this day Athos is ruled by an elected body of four abbots, a governor represents Athens. This parchment Bulle, exhibited in the Meghistis Lavra, makes Athos the oldest, chartered autonomous republic in modern times.

Geographically it is the eastern most peninsula of the Chalkidiki, east of Thessaloniki in Northen Greece

To enter Athos one needs two separate permits, one from the secular authorities in Athens or in Thessaloniki, which is issued on the basis of a letter of recommendation by one's embassy, and a ecclesiastical authorities in Thessaloniki which entitles one to board the boat from Ouranoupolis to Limin Daphni, the harbor of the islands administrative town Karyes.