Mount Athos Chalkidiki Peninsula
Founded in 963 AD at the time of the Byzantine empire, it is the oldest monastic community existing in all the way. It occupies most of the last phalanx of the Chalkidiki running from south east to the Channel of Xerxes (purposely built by Serse to allow its ships to pass to enter Greece), wide from two kilometers on the channel up to eight , with reliefs from five hundred to 2000 meters (the snowy peak in the winter period surrounded by white clouds is an incredible sight).
On the slopes of Mount Athos, there are the twenty monasteries of the Agion Oros the Holy Mountain where monks guarding the Orthodox religion have lived since the times. Mythologically speaking, it is said that the name derives from one of the two giants who challenged the Gods of Olympus. The Monastery was built in honor of the Virgin Mary who, according to the story through these areas, was so fascinated by the beauty of nature that she expressed the desire to have a sanctuary dedicated to her for all those who wanted to meditate in prayer.
The peculiarity of this sacred place, however, is the fact that access to women (both human and animals except cats) is forbidden because the monks claim that the presence of the fairer sex would induce them into temptation by failing to take the votes. This ban is harshly criticized by the European Parliament as it is considered a violation of gender equality but the monks do not care so it is and so it remains as from 1046 when this law came into force, broken only once in history when a woman managed to sneak in disguised as a man but as soon as she was discovered expelled from the convent. Let's console women, we can still contemplate it at a minimum distance of 500 meters.
Therefore access only to boys and the only way to visit it is to have a scientific or religious purpose. The procedure to do in order to have the permit is a request made to the "Diamonitirion" with a duration of 4 days for the price of € 30 about. A maximum of 100 men are admitted of which only 10 foreigners. If you want to live the monastic life totally by staying in one of the twenty monasteries, it is absolutely necessary to abandon your habits and submit to the monastic life which consists in having lunch at 11.00 and having dinner at 5.00 pm all together for no more than 15 minutes.
I understand that it is an extremely "limiting" thing but I also think that if it was born this way, it should remain and even if it is worth visiting from a distance.