Ouranopolis, Greece: attractions, photos and reviews

Aion-Oros, or Saint Athos, is a state in the state. It is not enough to have a Schengen visa to get there. Only the males are allowed to enter St. Athos, and not all of them. Pilgrims, in order to sail to the monastic republic, requires diamonitirion. This document in common parlance is called "Athos visa". But what does the uranopolis (Greece) have to do with it? And despite the fact that it is in this city that they issue this written permission to visit the monastic republic. And ships are sent to Saint Athos from the pier of Ouranopolis. In translation from the classical Greek language, its name means "Heavenly City". And he deserves to be familiar with it, rather than perceive it as a transit point. Although now the city is called "Gateway to Heaven" (because of the "checkpoint" with Athos), but it is also a first class sea resort. And in this article we will tell you about its sights.

City `s history. Antiquity

Ouranopolis (Greece) can not boast of such an ancient origin as Athens or Crete. But we know for sure who, how and why founded this city. In the three hundred and fifteenth year BC, the philosopher Alexarchus, the son of King Antipater and younger brother of Cassandra, set himself the idea of building an ideal policy in which representatives of various states, free and slaves, lived on an equal footing. To realize his dream, he asked a small piece of land from his elder brother, the ruler of Macedonia. Cassander, accustomed to the eccentricities of his brother, gave him a site of thirty stages in a circle. The landfill for the "Celestial City" was in Halkidiki, near Mount Athos, on the isthmus where Xerxes once ordered to dig a canal.

Alexarchus ordered the inhabitants of Ouranopolis to speak a special language, which he himself came up with. Being a polyglot, he took roots from oriental languages, and grammar and endings of words - from the western. In the city they minted their coins, on which Aphrodite Urania was depicted. The attempt of linguistic syncretism, as well as the management of the city-state through the Council of Philosophers, failed. Cassander called his brother crazy. Alexarch, offended, moved his ideal city to Pamphylia (modern Turkey).

The Middle Ages and Modernity

After the Romans conquered Halkidiki in the hundred and sixty-eighth year of the year, for the remaining residents of Ouranopolis times of economic decline came. On these lands very early began to spread Christianity. But the settlements were seriously damaged by the invasion of the Goths, Huns and other conquerors.

The first hermits built their monasteries on Mount Athos in the ninth century to hide from the political and military squabbles of the lower world. Gradually, the Orthodox monastic republic began to occupy most of Aion-Oros - the peninsula, which hosts and Ouranopolis (Greece). The modern resort lies a little away from the ancient city. It was formed around the Byzantine tower on the former lands of the monastery of Vatoped in the thirteenth century.

Ouranopolis (Greece): attractions

The proximity to Kareya, the capital of the monastic republic on Mount Athos, is not the only tourist attraction of the city. "Visiting card", a certain symbol of Ouranopolis is the watch tower of Prosforia, which was erected in 1344 on the site of the old building of the monastery. Inside now is the exposition of the Archaeological Museum.

Near the border with Athos, you can see the ruins of the city-monastery of Libra (Frank Castle). It was founded in the tenth century and was surrounded by a wall with gates and towers. Despite such powerful fortifications, in 1198 the monastery fell under the onslaught of the troops of Vasileus Alexis III.

Another attraction of Ouranopolis is the Xerxes Canal. It was dug in the four hundred and eightieth year BC to shorten the path to the ships following from the Bay of Aion-Oros to the Aegean Sea (otherwise they would have been able to circumambulate the peninsula). This channel can be seen near Nea Roda. This village is also famous for its excellent sandy beach. The channel is not functioning now.

Nature

How does Ouranopolis (Greece) look like? Photos show the city on the isthmus of the peninsula. Women are on the way to Mount Athos ordered. From the west the peninsula is washed by the Bay of Aion-Oros, and from the south and the east by the Aegean Sea. It is quite mountainous and wooded, and the Mediterranean climate makes it even more beautiful.

A hundred and thirty-two kilometers north-west of Ouranopolis, the second largest city in Greece, Thessaloniki, rumbles, but bucolicians reign here. The resort loves to relax fans of quiet sandy beaches and comfortable hotels. But they also prefer to go to Amoliani. This is the only inhabited island in Halkidiki. He is connected to Uranopolis by a ferry. Amoliani shakes with its miraculous beauty, and its coast is dotted with unparalleled beaches. Not far from it were six "Donkey" islands - Drenia. Get to the beaches where you can feel like Robinson Crusoe, perhaps only on a boat from Amoliani.

Hotels in Ouranopolis (Greece)

The resort is popular not only with pilgrims. According to the reviews, it is loved by the people of Greece who come to spend the weekend on the clear sea away from the hustle and bustle of Thessaloniki. Therefore, the offer of housing here is truly huge. Here you can easily choose five-star hotels and budget hotels. The reviews are very praised by the chic complex "Feoksenia" (from four thousand rubles per room per night). The most popular hotels in Ouranopolis (Greece) are those with balconies that have a fascinating view of the monasteries of Mount Athos or on the island of Amoliani. The praise of tourists was awarded to Macedonia, Ouranopolis Princesses, Arkhodariki, San Set and Avra.

Beaches

The city of Ouranopolis (Greece) is a lucky owner of the sandy coast and a shallow, well-warmed bay. Perhaps, in terms of linguistic syncretism and equalization in the rights of all people, the project of the philosopher Alexarchus was fiasco, but he chose a place for the future resort. The reviews say that almost all the coast in the city is owned by taverns. They can order meals, but also use the sunbed and shade from the umbrella.

You can also find a free public beach. It is also landscaped, as well as those that belong to hotels and taverns, just people there are more. Well, if you want to luxuriate on the sand away from the crowd, despite the high tourist season, the reviews are advised to go to the Donkey Islands or Amoliani.

Entertainment

Ouranopolis (Greece) is located too close to St. Athos, the monastic republic, and this imposes a certain imprint on the range of tourist services. There are few night clubs and discos. But on the beaches there is an opportunity to enjoy active recreation: water skiing, catamarans, windsurfing, yachting, fishing. In some hotels of the city there are mini-water parks, for an additional fee available to all comers. If the water slides of hotels did not cause you to adrenaline rush, you can try your luck at the Waterland, which is located in Tagarades, near Thessaloniki. The reviews are full of references to various delicacies served in the Greek taverns of Ouranopolis.

Excursions

A foreign tourist, even a male, has little chance to visit the Republic of Athos. Of the one hundred and ten guests who can foot on the holy mountain every day, 100 must be Greeks. Order "Athos visa" is needed at the pilgrimage center in Thessaloniki. But everyone, including women, can freely navigate around the peninsula of Aion-Oros, on the isthmus of which is Ouranopolis (Greece). The reviews say that seven of the twenty monasteries on Athos can be seen during this tour . Ancient Thessaloniki will be borrowed from curious tourists all day long. In this city there are many historical and cultural attractions. Not far from Thessaloniki is the cave of Petralona, where traces of the Cro-Magnonians' presence are found. You can also make an exciting excursion to the monasteries of Meteora, of which two are feminine.