AGION OROS ATHOS
Photography by HIROHITO NAKANISHI
July 1 - Aug. 4 Main Bar
The Halkidiki peninsula is located in Northern Greece where it protrudes out into the Aegean Sea. The peninsula is 45 km long and 5 km wide. The mountain rising from the center is named Mount Athos and is listed as a World Heritage Site. It is a sacred place the Greek Orthodox Church and called "AGION OROS" ATHOS. According to tradition, the Virgin Maria landed in there after encountering a storm and it is known as the Garden of Virgin Mary.
The first monastery was built in 950 and it is currently home to 2,000 monks who inhabit one of the 20 monasteries scattered throughout the peninsula. Seventeen of the monasteries are Greek and the other three are Russian, Bulgarian, and Serbian. The residents follow Byzantine time which designates that the hour 0:00:00 begins at sunset. The monks live an ascetic life and spend most of their waking hours in prayer. They are isolated from the modern civilization and not much has changed in the last thousand years.
Greek constitution grants the council of Orthodox monks self-governance and they decide who can or cannot visit "AGION OROS" ATHOS. In 1406 a law was passed forbidding women from entering the peninsula that is still enforced today. Forms must be filed in advance to obtain permission to go to there and everyday 100 Orthodox and 10 non-Orthodox males are allowed to visit. In my case, I was required to get special permission to go there for the purpose of taking photos. It is an amazing place to see especially for a photographer. I felt like I had traveled in a time machine back to the Middle Ages.
Biography
Hirohito Nakanishi was born in 1979 in Tokyo.
He specializes in taking culture, entertainment, fashion, and beauty. Nakanishi's photos can be seen in magazines, books, advertisements, and throughout the internet. He first began covering AGION OROS ATHOS in 2014 and has visited there five times. This series has been exhibited the Canon Galleries and introduced in National Geographic (Japan), Bungei Shunjyu, Geijyutsu Shincho SEKAI. For more information about his photography, visit his website.
www.hirohitonakanishi.com
The Exhibition Committee