Pendeli Monastery

(Local Name: Moní Pendéli) Leaving Athens by way of Leofóros Kifissiás and going northeast, we pass through the suburb of Chalándri and come in another 8km/5mi to a village with a poplar-shaded square (restaurant) in which is Pendéli Monastery, founded in 1578 (alt. 430m/1,410ft).

The monastery buildings are modern. In the basement, which is entered from outside, visitor are shown various sacred books and one of the "secret schools" in which monks taught children during the period of Turkish occupation. A flight of steps to the right leads into the monastery courtyard with its beautiful little church and ranges of cells. The road continues past the monastery to a square surrounded by cafes, where there is a small church set among trees. From here can be seen the marble quarries which disfigure the hill and the modern technical installations on the summit. Below the square, among the trees, is a little country house which belonged to the Duchesse de Plaisance; the house is now surrounded by modern bungalows (in Leofóros Dukíssis Plakentías).