Greek UNESCO WHS

In one post i've two new UNESCO sites from Greece, Monasteries of Daphni, Hosios Loukas and Nea Moni of Chios and Sanctuary of Asklepios at Epidaurus. 

The 1st card was sent from Czech Republic by Pavla and the 2nd by Elenor. 

 Harenberg | Sehnsuchts - Postkartr | Ägäis

Nea Moni is an 11th-century monastery on the island of Chios, classified as UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1990. Together with those at Daphni and Hosios Loukas, it is well known for its mosaics, which, , are among the finest examples of the Byzantine art in Greece. 

The construction of the monastery of Nea Moni of Chios is fully documented as it was linked to a major event in Byzantine history. Constantine the Gladiator, a nobleman living in exile, was told by two monks of Chios, Nicetas and John, that he would become Emperor. When Constantine Monomachos married the twice-widowed 64-year-old Empress Zoe in 1042, thus becoming Basileus, he remembered the prediction. In 1045 he founded the monastery, choosing as its site a valley on Chios on the slopes of Mount Aetos and bestowing it with possessions and privileges. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/537

Over the centuries, the monastery amassed substantial riches and became one of the wealthiest monasteries in the Aegean. At its peak, around 1300, its estates covered one third of Chios and it is estimated that up to 800 monks belonged to it. The subsequent Genoese domination reduced its wealth, but the monastery prospered again during the Ottoman era.

During the 17th century the number of monks decreased further, but recovered in the next century.

The monastery's decline began only after the destruction of Chios by the Ottomans in 1822, during the Greek War of Independence. The monastery was sacked and looted, and never recovered its former glory. In 1881, an earthquake added further damage to the main church, leading to the collapse of its dome, while several other buildings, like the 1512 bell-tower, were destroyed. In 1952, due to the shortage of monks, Nea Moni was converted to a convent. According to the 2001 census, it is inhabited by only three nuns. - in: wikipedia

© Photography spirouphotogallery

The sanctuary of Asklepius in Epidaurus was a sacred healing place devoted to Asklepius, the healer god, the god who had the power to cure people from their pain and illness. Such sanctuaries were frequent in ancient Greece and in fact, they were quite popular as people from all over the Mediterranean would come to find healing.

There were many such sanctuaries scattered along Greece, but the most famous one, visited by people from all over Greece and from other areas of the Mediterranean Sea, was in Epidaurus, where Asklepius was born, according to the myth.

In order to please the visitors of the temple and pay tributes to the gods, people in 340 B.C. built a theatre, which is nowadays known as the Theatre of Epidaurus and it is considered to be a masterpiece of architecture. Polykleitos the Younger constructed this theatre, which is famous for its great acoustics. - in: http://www.greeka.com/peloponnese/epidaurus/epidaurus-excursions/epidaurus-asklepieion.htm