In northern Greece, lying off the larger Chalcadiki Peninsula is a place that's unique on earth.

It only is a population of about 2,400 people scattered across 20 settlements and some random people living by themselves.

What makes this area unique is that all 2,400 of its citizens

are monks and men, and women are not allowed to enter.

Learn more about the monastic Republic of Mount Athos. and women are not allowed to enter.

Learn more about the monastic Republic of Mount Athos

on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. This episode is sponsored by the Travel Photography Academy.

In 2007, I sold my home to travel around the world.

I bought an expensive camera that I didn't know how to use and took a bunch of terrible photos.

Several years, a hundred countries, and tens of thousands of

photos later, I had improved my photography to the point where I was winning national

awards, being named Travel Photographer the Year three times in North America.

I created the Travel Photography Academy. Travel Photographer of the Year three times in North America.

I created the Travel Photography Academy so you don't have to spend the many years that I did to improve your photography.

Even though we can't easily travel right now, you can still work on improving your photography at home and in your own community.

Just go to travel photography academy.com or click on the link in the show notes to start improving

your photography today.

As you might expect from most places in Greece, there's a lot of history around Mount Athos.

The name Athos itself comes from Greek mythology. Athos was the name of one of the giants which challenged the Greek gods on Mount Olympus.

The Peninsula has a mention in the Iliad by Homer. Herodotus mentions that the entire Persian fleet was destroyed off its coast in the year

492 BC, sinking 300 ships and killing 20,000 men.

The Persian king, Xerxes I,

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