The face of the southwestern side of Mount Athos seems harsh. The horrific featured many, because it creates indeed the ferocity of horror. It is the Athoniki Desert, the place where the hermit life finds the harder and higher expression. That’s why getting to know this place is a challenge for every pilgrim but also for every thinking man, trying to understand the «unintelligible.” It is an area that cannot be conquered by «amateurs» of the spirit, but only by «professionals” capable of spiritual offs.
Here are the retreats of hermits who live like wild birds, while beneath their feet is the absolute vacuum, and hanging like some trees from the rocks at the edge of avysou. It is a rocky, arid and very rugged area. The Desert is the most spiritual part of Mount Athos, since here they have become the most sacred revelations.
