Sights

Mount Athos is a mountain and peninsula in northeastern Greece and an important center of Eastern Orthodox monasticism. It is governed as an autonomous polity within the Hellenic Republic. Mount Athos is home to 20 monasteries under the direct jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.

The Aristotle’s Park, a unique theme park of Halkidiki, is located at Stagira in a most beautiful area with a marvelous view towards the Gulf of Ierissos and the whole peninsula of Athos.

Mende (Ancient Greek: Μένδη), also Mendae or Mendai (Μένδαι), or Menda (Μένδα), or Mendis, was an ancient Greek city located on the western coast of the Pallene peninsula in Chalkidiki, facing the coast of Pieria across the narrow Thermaic Gulf and near the modern town of Kalandra.

The Meteora is a rock formation in central Greece hosting one of the largest and most precipitously built complexes of Eastern Orthodox monasteries, second in importance only to Mount Athos. The six (of an original twenty four) monasteries are built on immense natural pillars and hill-like rounded boulders that dominate the local area.

The sanctuary of Zeus Ammon at Kallithea, Chalkidiki is situated by the sea, in a beautiful, forested area of the western peninsula of the Chalkidiki. The site was discovered in 1968, when illegal building activities destroyed part of the foundation and the crepidoma of a monumental building, which afterwards proved to be a temple. The rescue excavation that followed from 1969 to 1970 brought to light a temple which was attributed to Zeus Ammon, following the discovery of a votive inscription to the god.

The Petralona cave (Greek: Σπήλαιο Πετραλώνων) also Cave of the Red Stones (Greek: Σπήλαιο ” Κόκκινες Πέτρες “), a karst formation, is located at 300 m (984 ft) above sea-level on the western foot of Mount Katsika, about 1 km (0.62 mi) east of the village of Petralona, about 35 km (22 mi) south-east of Thessaloniki city on the Chalkidiki peninsula, Greece. The site came to public attention when in 1960 a fossilized archaic human skull was found. The cave had been discovered accidentally only a year earlier (1959) after erosion had left clefts in the rock.

The Tower in Nea Fokea, also known as St. Paul’s Tower holds a dominant position on the hill at the right side of N. Fokea’s port. It’s 17m high and it’s an old Byzantine fortress that is likely to have been built in 1407, and partially destroyed by fire in 1821. Its purpose was the protection of farmers working in the “metochi” of St Paul’s Monastery.

The Tower of Stavronikitas, also known as Tower of Sani dates from 1543 and was built to protect the “metochi” (dependency) of the Stavronikita Monastery. The tower is in an excellent state of repair; it is 8 meters high, but the archaeologists believe that an upper floor is missing, and the original tower was much taller.