Monastery of Simonos Petra

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Monastery of Simonos Petra

The legendary Monastery of Simonos Petra or Simonopetra is an extremely imposing seven-floored building, situated on a bluff cliff of the southwestern side of Athos. The monastery itself is an architectural miracle, the most peculiar and special building in Mount Athos, with a view over Athos from the southeast and the superb colours of the sun and the sea from the west. The monastery was founded in the 13th century by Simonas Myrovlytis, who, according to tradition, was driven to this rocky area by a light he saw on a night at Christmas time! There, he managed to build this monastery, which is considered an architectural miracle. He named it New Bethlehem, but in the end the monastery was named after the stone he used to build it: Simonos. The monastery is dedicated to the Birth of Jesus Christ and celebrates on the 25th of December / 7th of January.

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