Northern Greece - Greece - page 493

Bulgarian Moni Zografou ( tel/fax [phone]) further north. Its name, meaning
'painter,' comes from a miraculous icon not painted by human hands. The northernmost
west-coast monastery, Moni Dohiariou ( tel/fax [phone]) , slopes towards the sea

and boasts remarkable architecture.
Next down the coastal path, venerable Moni Xenofondos ( 23770 23633; fax 23770
23631) was first mentioned in 998, but probably dates to the 6th century. Although loot-
seeking pirates often plundered it, impressive mid-Byzantine marble and wood- carved
iconostases still survive in its 10th-century katholikon; its newer one, from 1838, is
Athos' largest. Finally, Moni Agiou Panteleimonos ( tel/fax [phone]; 10am-

noon) , further on, is a typically grand and friendly Russian monastery.

Sleeping & Eating
Athos' two nonmonastic guesthouses, a nameless guesthouse ( 23770 23362) and the
Ilarion Guest House ( 23770 23243) are in Karyes. Karyes and Dafni have rudiment-
ary bakeries, food shops and a cafe.
If you're staying in a monastery where pilgrims dine alongside the monks, the meal
concludes when the simultaneous spiritually edifying reading ends - so eat up!

Information
Dafni has a port authority, police, customs, post office, gift shops and card phones.
Karyes has an ATM, post office, OTE card phone, a Community Clinic ( 23770 23217;

Karyes) and a Civil Administration Office ( 23770 23314; Karyes) , for permit extensions.

All Greek mobile-phone networks operate.

Getting There & Away
The Ouranoupoli bus leaves Halkidiki Bus Station ( Click here ) in Thessaloniki (€12.40,
3½ hours, seven daily). Either take the first bus (5.30am) from Thessaloniki on the date
you'll enter Athos, or stay over the night before in Ouranoupoli. Get your diamonitirion
and ticket before the next morning's 9.45am boat. Staying overnight in Ouranoupoli lets
you rest, buy supplies and store unnecessary luggage.
The Athos-Ouranoupoli ferry leaves Dafni at noon, after a customs check to prevent
antiquities theft. The morning boat from monasteries south of Dafni is timed to catch this
ferry, which also collects passengers from the coastal monasteries north of Dafni.
The last Ouranoupoli-Thessaloniki bus leaves at 5.45pm. Unfortunately, you can't
continue from Ouranoupoli to eastern Macedonia or Thrace by bus.