Never Set Eyes on a........

Can you imagine a male living to the age of 82 and never setting eyes on a female, not even his mother?

Greek Orthodox monk, Mihail Tolotos lived in a monastery on the Mount Athos peninsular.  The peninsular in Northern Greece has 20 monasteries and around 2,000 monks.  In 1060 AD  the monasteries passed a law banning women and female animals.  This rule helps enforce their celibacy (as far as women are concerned).

Mihail was handed over to the monks after his mother died during childbirth.  Born in 1856 he grew up in the monastery, never left, and died in 1938 at the age of 82.  He knew about women only from books and the icons of the Virgin Mary on the walls of the churches. 

He lived his entire life in the seclusion of the monastery and was given a special funeral by the monks who believed him to be the only man who lived without seeing someone of the opposite sex.  

A few women have managed to smuggle themselves in.  In 1953 a greek woman dressed as a man entered and stayed 3 days.  After that the Greek Parliament also passed a law prohibiting women from entering The Holy Mountain, as it is known in Greece.  They are not allowed within 500 metres of the coast. 

The ban also applies to female animals, except cats which keep the rat population down.  So the story goes.

In present times, the monastery is inhabited by around 1,400 to 2,000 monks who live in seclusion from the world and its women. They grow and cook their own food, work on renovating and cleaning the monasteries, and do every other task that needs to be done to keep the place running.

Just like their lives, their clocks are unsynchronized from the world. It's the only community on earth that measures time according to the standards of the Byzantine Empire. Their new day starts at sunset, resulting in a six-hour time difference.

Though Mount Athos is mostly known for probably being the largest place on earth where women are not allowed, it is also on UNESCO's list of world heritage sites.