Landmark· Amorgos· Greece — Cyclades
Hozoviotissa Monastery
36° 50.1′ N · 25° 54.6′ E
A brilliant-white Byzantine monastery wedged into a sheer cliff high above the sea on Amorgos's east coast, founded in 1088 under Emperor Alexios I Komnenos to protect an icon. It has eight storeys yet is only about 5 m deep.
Practical
About 1.5 km outside Chora (amorgos.gr), about a half-hour walk (sailingissues); the last part is a long stairway up the cliff. Sailingissues gives the height as 367 m on the rock face; George Yachts says some 300 m above the sea. Built early in the second millennium to protect an icon dating from 812, which tradition says came from Hozovo near Jericho; dress rules apply, and three monks lived there in 2012 (Wikipedia). There is a library of manuscripts and icons and a terrace with a sea view. The monks are welcoming. Dress code: long trousers for men; a knee-length skirt or wrap for women (Grecosailor); shoulders covered. Opening hours as mapped on OpenStreetMap: 8am-1pm and 5pm-7pm (verify locally, as hours can change with the season and with services). Go in the morning before the heat. No drones near the monastery (Grecosailor). The monastery is visible from seaward on the run from Astypalaia. Feast day 21 November (amorgos.gr events).
Best for
The great sight of Amorgos, and one of the Aegean's
Season
Year-round; feast 21 Nov