The Monastery of Xeropotamou (tel. +30 377 61251)
It is located on the south-west side of the Athos peninsula and is dedicated to the Forty Martyrs. The monastery was founded towards the end of the tenth century, probably by the monk Pavlos Xeropotamenos.
It occupies the eighth rank in the hierarchical order of the twenty Athonite monasteries. It is inhabited by 40 monks (1990) and is idiorrythmic.
The monastery's katholikon was built by Caesar Dapontes between 1761-1763 and has the typical plan of all the Athonite monasteries. The wall murals date back to the time of its creation and are still maintained today in an exquisite condition.
The library contains 409 hand-written codices and 4,000 volumes of printed books. Also, the monastery features invaluable treasures, such as a fragment of the True Cross and relics of many saints.
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