Mount Pantokrator
Encyclopedia
Mount Pantokrator is a mountain
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...

 located in north-eastern Corfu
Corfu
Corfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the edge of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is administered as a single municipality. The...

. At 906m (2,972 ft) it is the highest mountain on the island. At the summit the whole of Corfu can be seen, as well as Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...

 which lies a short distance from the island. On particularly clear days it is also possible to see Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 despite it being around 130 km (80.8 mi) away. At the top there is a café
Coffeehouse
A coffeehouse or coffee shop is an establishment which primarily serves prepared coffee or other hot beverages. It shares some of the characteristics of a bar, and some of the characteristics of a restaurant, but it is different from a cafeteria. As the name suggests, coffeehouses focus on...

 for tourists, a telecommunications station, whose largest tower stands directly over a well http://www.dxradio-ffm.de/Pantokrator7.JPG, and a monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...

. The first monastery on the site was Angevin
Capetian House of Anjou
The Capetian House of Anjou, also known as the House of Anjou-Sicily and House of Anjou-Naples, was a royal house and cadet branch of the direct House of Capet. Founded by Charles I of Sicily, a son of Louis VIII of France, the Capetian king first ruled the Kingdom of Sicily during the 13th century...

, built in 1347 but then destroyed sometime around 1537. The current church on the site dates from around 1689, and the current facade was built during the 19th century. It is dedicated to the transfiguration of Christ. To get to the peak, you can either drive to Mount Pantokrator up a series of windy roads from the coast, or walk to the top. If you choose to walk, one of the best places to start is in Old Perithia http://www.old-perithia.com, Corfu's Oldest Village where it takes approximately 2 hours round trip. Wear boots and trousers and take some bottled water. The village of Old Perithia dates back to the 14th century and the 'Perithians' helped build the original monastery using local wood and limestone. The village of Old Perithia (and the now abandoned village of Sinies) can be seen from Pantokrator and with its 130 house and 8 churches Old Perithia is said to sit at the foot of Pantokrator, 'The Almighty.' The walk to Pantokrator is also part of, The Corfu Trail an established walking guide around the island of Corfu.

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