CBS Documentary - A Visit To The Holy Mountain ATHOS, Greece

For more information, you can access any of these links: en.wikipedia.org www.mountathos.gr athos.jassas.net The Holy Mountain Athos (The Garden of the Mother of God) was created by ancient Byzantine emperors to be the spiritual capital of Orthodox Christianity. Millions of Orthodox Christians believe it is the most sacred place on Earth. There are 2000 Anthonite monks living in what is the most unique monastery complex in the world; most pray all day. Some monks even tell that they pray while they sleep -- and they only get about three hours of sleep a night. The monks divide their day into three parts: They spend about eight hours a day in church, and when they're not resting their time is dedicated to the work needed to keep the 20 monasteries running. Mt. Athos is also beautiful and has probably changed less than any other inhabited place on the planet. Some of the monasteries here are perched high on cliffs above the Aegean Sea, with sylvan hills as a backdrop and architecture that could have come out of a medieval fairytale. It was the architecture that first attracted a young boy from Winthrop, Mass. "It was just so impressive and I turned around and I said to him, 'Dad, you know, I don't think I am going to believe that somebody lives in that building until I step on those balconies myself," says Fr. Iakovos, one of three monks originally from the US He came to Mt. Athos 25 years ago and he points out that it's not just the way of life that hasn't changed, neither ...