Monastery of Panagia Hozoviotissa

The Hozoviotissa is one of the most dramatically sited buildings in Greece — a white monastery plastered against a 300-metre cliff on the southeast coast of Amorgos, above the deep blue of the Aegean. From the water it looks like an architectural illusion: a building that shouldn't exist in a place that shouldn't allow it.

Inside, the monastery is tiny: a series of small, dark rooms built into the cave of the cliff, thick with incense and hung with icons. Monks still live here and offer visitors a small glass of ouzo and a piece of loukoumades (honey fritters) on the way out. Dress modestly — long sleeves and covered legs are required. The path down from the road to the monastery entrance takes about 20 minutes on foot.

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A story
The monastery was founded in the 11th century, built to house an icon of the Virgin Mary said to have floated ashore from the sea. The building is essentially a white box pressed into a vertical crack in the cliff face — there is no ground around it, only 300 metres of rock below. It was constructed by Byzantine monks who somehow managed to haul building materials up the sheer face.

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