Pantokrator, a Belated Introduction

Today's post gives some basics about Pantokrator, the second monastery that we stayed at. "Pantokrator" means "all-powerful" or "ruler of all" and refers to Christ in that aspect.  You might say that the name of the monastery is "Holy Monastery of Christ, Ruler of All."  Xenophontos, on the other hand, has a full name something like, "Holy Monastery Founded by Xenophon (and dedicated to St. George), so the naming conventions vary, it seems.  I enjoyed my stay at this smaller monastery because of the great kindness and hospitality of the abbot and the wit and hospitality of our main host, Father Vissarian.  Anyway, on to talking about the site.

This is a telephoto shot from fair distance away.  As you can see, it has a great watch tower, the usual fortified walls, which are also the outer walls of living, dining, and working quarters, and church with domes.  The one here is unusual in being off-center in the compound, but that is because of an addition.  By the way, the tower is now the home of its museum.  Frank's decision to climb its narrow, spiraling stairs with no railings on his 91-year-old legs made me apprehensive as I helped him along, and Father Vissarian thought we were both mad, but we all made it up and down.

Pantokrator is on the opposite side of the peninsula from Xenophontos, and offers a splendid view of the actual holy mountain, Mt. Athos, the peak that give the whole peninsula its name.  His is my best shot.  The twin streaks of clouds are not jet contrails but the results of some sort of movement of air.

Pantokrator sits on a cliff right on the sea, which is much more active than at Xenophontos, where gentle wave lulled us to sleep.  It was just as well that our rooms were a little removed from the crashing of the waves here.  Still, I found myself going to places to stare at the rocks and waves.

Like all the monasteries, Pantokrator has ruins on its larger property.  Here is an old aqueduct from the fourteenth century.

My favorite visual aspect of this monastery was the stone and brick work and beautiful arcades.  This is my favorite view.

It is fairly common to integrate ceramic tiles and plates into the walls, and they did a beautiful job here.  Many of the plates are Turkish, as I think this one is.

This is the only teacup I ever saw in a wall.