Athos

This is Mt Athos, Holy Mountain. It's 125km away and today I can see it and the snow upon it as clear as anything, a very rare treat. The little camera however does not have a clue what it is supposed to be looking at. I squeeze it and coax it but it still thinks I want experimental photography blur, which I don't. Ever.

This is likely the best shot I will ever get of it, I am surprised to discover that when I am in Thessaloniki I am fractionally father from it than I am here, and I am never likely to get closer than that thanks to the wishes of the BVM. Yes, really!

From Wikipedia
"According to the Athonite tradition, the Blessed Virgin Mary was sailing accompanied by St John the Evangelist from Joppa to Cyprus to visit Lazarus. When the ship was blown off course to then-pagan Athos, it was forced to anchor near the port of Klement, close to the present monastery of Iviron. The Virgin walked ashore and, overwhelmed by the wonderful and wild natural beauty of the mountain, she blessed it and asked her Son for it to be her garden. A voice was heard saying "Ἔστω ὁ τόπος οὖτος κλῆρος σὸς καὶ περιβόλαιον σὸν καὶ παράδεισος, ἔτι δὲ καὶ λιμὴν σωτήριος τῶν θελόντων σωθῆναι" (Translation: "Let this place be your inheritance and your garden, a paradise and a haven of salvation for those seeking to be saved"). From that moment the mountain was consecrated as the garden of the Mother of God and was out of bounds to all other women."

"Although Mount Athos is technically part of the European Union like the rest of Greece, the status of the Monastic State of the Holy Mountain, and the jurisdiction of the Athonite institutions, were expressly described and ratified upon admission of Greece to the European Community (precursor to the EU). The free movement of people and goods in its territory is prohibited, unless formal permission is granted by the Monastic State's authorities, and only males are allowed to enter."

"Female animals, chickens, cows, ewes, nanny-goats, mares, and sows are also barred except for female cats, female insects and female songbirds."

And therefore this peninsular of holy nitwits is entirely dependent upon a city full of normal people who service it; women with hens and cows and ewes and nanny goats and sows no doubt provide much of their food which is brought to them by men.

I see kittens are allowed, awww, how sweet!