The Holy Mount Athos is an Orthodox monastic republic, which is located on the same eastern finger of the Halkidiki peninsula in the east of Greece.
It has an autonomous state under Greek sovereignty. The Republic is one of about 2,200 monastic inhabitants and covers 336 square kilometers.
On the peninsula there are 20 large monasteries, which is a UNESCO world heritage. Near the monasteries on Mount Athos there are also the so-called sketes. These are rural settlements where the buildings are laid around a monastic central building.
