The Monastery of Aya Yorgi, Büyükada

Istanbul · Turkiet · Monastery

A shepherd dug where a bell rang in his dream — and to this day thousands climb the Road of Torment barefoot and in silence.

On Büyükada's highest hill, two hundred and four metres above the sea, stands the monastery of Aya Yorgi. The legend tells of a poor shepherd who dreamed three nights running that Saint George asked him to climb the mountain and dig where he heard a bell ring. On the third dream he set out, barefoot and without speaking a word the whole way up. He heard the bell, dug, and found the icons Byzantine monks had buried in the earth to hide them from raiders. It happened on 23 April, Saint George's day. The path up is called Azap Yolu, the Road of Torment, and twice a year thousands walk it in silence, many barefoot, unrolling a spool of thread behind them with a wish knotted at the end. The slope is then covered in thin threads all the way up.

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Where is The Monastery of Aya Yorgi, Büyükada located?

The Monastery of Aya Yorgi, Büyükada is in Istanbul, Turkiet.

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