Monasteries in Greece

This lesser-visited World Heritage site in Athens boasts an impressive ensemble of medieval gold mosaics.

A martyred saint built a nunnery and school for girls here known as the "Parthenon."

A hilltop monastery on the Greek island of Hydra.

This 13th-century monastery chiseled into the side of a mountain is equipped with a bridge that can be lifted to protect against raids.

This 11th-century Greek monastery has renowned mosaics and relics of a brutal past.

The heads and relics of 179 monks slaughtered by pirates are on display within this Ceonobic Monastery.

After being destroyed by two separate fires, this monastery is now home to a small zoo and relics from dozens of saints.

The oldest standing Byzantine church in Athens is tucked within a monastery in the middle of an upscale shopping district.

The nuns here cultivate silk to weave some of the finest scarves in the world.

A lonely medieval monastery on an uninhabited island.

Scores of wax baby figurines add an unusual mood to this beautiful church on the Greek coast.

The hermits of Karoulia protect their asocial lifestyles by living on the vertical face of a treacherous precipice.

Monasteries on rock pillars, once accessible only by frayed ropes.