Kyra Panagia

The island of Kyra Panagia is 3.5 nautical miles north of the northern coast of Alonissos. Saint Athanasios (or Athanasius) bought the island from the Byzantine rulers of Constantinople in 993 AD and used it as a dependency of the Holy Monastery of Megisti Lavra of Mount Athos. The Holy Monastery of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary (Genesiou tis Theotokou), which is still open, is noteworthy. This post-Byzantine monastery dates from the 16th century. The ruins of an older monastery are on a hill in the Agios Petros area. The island of Kyra Panagia has two natural harbors, Agios Petros in the south, and the larger and safer Planiti in the north. There are a lot of goats wandering around the island freely, since the Monastery of Megisti Lavra has given farmers permission to use the land.