Daphní

Daphni is an 11th century monastery not far from downtown Athens and located along the Sacred Way: the road from Athens to Eleusis (see another post). The monastery was actually founded in the 6th century on the side of a former sanctuary of Apollo. The monastery fell into decline until the 11th and 12th centuries when it was restored and the octagonal church was built. It fell into decline again after it was sacked by Frankish raiders (crusaders) in the 13th century.
This is another of the UNESCO sites considered masterpieces of Byzantine architecture (see Hostias Loukas post).
The 1st picture is of the facade of the church, which is itself beautiful. The rest of the pictures are inside the octagonal, cross in square sanctuary. This place is known for its mosaics, especially from the glass and gold tesserae that seem to shine.
This is not an active monastery, but it is an art and architecture treasure.Read more