๐ฌ๐ช New Athos or Akhali Atoni (แแฎแแแ แแแแแ), is a town in the Gudauta raion of Abkhazia situated some 22ย km (14ย mi) from Sukhumi by the shores of the Black Sea. The town was previously known under the names Nikopol, Acheisos, Anakopia, Nikopia, Nikofia, Nikopsis, Absara, and Psyrtskha.
New Athos Cave is one of Abkhazia's tourist attractions.
History The excavations at the Anacopia fortress which is located at the edge of the town showed that it functioned in the 5-12 centuries CE, though some archeologists date the construction of the defences to 7th century. Anacopia is associated with the fortress of Tracheia mentioned by Prokopius. Anacopia was the capital of the Abkhazian princedom in the orbit of the Byzantine Empire and then of the Abkhazian Kingdom after the archon Leon II declared himself a king in the late 8th century. Later, the capital was moved to Kutaisi.
Anacopia was ceded to Byzantine Empire by Demetre in 1033 but was retaken by Georgians in 1072 among the other territories Georgia gained as a result of the Empire's defeat at Manzikert at the hands of Seljuks.
According to a tradition Simon the Zealot died in Abkhazia having come there on a missionary trip and was buried in Nicopsis. His remains were transferred to Anacopia in the 14โ15 centuries.
Geography Located between the Black Sea and the Iverian Mountain, New Athos is 17ย km far from Gudauta, 22 from Sukhumi and 84 from the Russian borders at Vesyoloye, a village near the city of Sochi.
Monastery In 1874 Russian monks from the overcrowded Rossikon Monastery on Mount Athos arrived to the Caucasus in order to find a place for possible resettlement. They feared that the Ottoman Empire would oust the Russians from Athos after the outbreak of the impending Russo-Turkish War. They selected Psyrtskha, and the Neo-Byzantine New Athos Monastery, dedicated to St. Simon the Canaanite, was constructed there in the 1880s with funds provided by Tsar Alexander III of Russia. Eventually Russian monks were permitted to stay in the "old" Athos, and the New Athos monastery had much less occupancy than anticipated.
In 1924, during the Soviet persecution of religion, the monastery was closed. It was later used as a storage facility, tourist base, hospital and museum. Its return to the Orthodox Church began in 1994, after the end of the war in Abkhazia.
The scenic setting of the New Athos monastery by the sea has made it a popular destination with Russian tourists visiting Abkhazia. An older church of St. Simon the Canaanite, dated to the 9th-10th century and reconstructed in the 1880s, is located near the town, on the Psyrtskha stream.
Hydroelectric power station New Athos has a small hydroelectric power station and artificial lake on the Psyrtskha river, close to the old Church of St. Simon the Canaanite. The station was built by the monks of the monastery between 1892 and 1903 and repaired in 1922. It remained broken for over forty years before being repaired again โ it was re-opened on 4 June 2012. It produces an estimated 100ย kW "per hour [sic]" for the monastery which still owns it.
Cave New Athos cave is a karst cave in the Iverian Mountain, few km far from the town. Since 1975 it is served by the New Athos Cave Railway.
New Athos has a population of over 1,518 people. New Athos also forms part of the wider Gudauta District which has a population of over 38,524 people. It is also a part of the larger Abkhazia Republic. New Athos is situated 23 km from Sukhumi.
Twin Towns, Sister Cities New Athos has links with:
๐ท๐บ Arzamas, Russia ๐ท๐บ Ryazan, Russia ๐ท๐บ Sarov, Russia ๐ท๐บ Sergiyev Posad, Russia๐ง๐ฌ Veliko Tวrnovo 43.086
๐ซ๐ท La Seyne-sur-Mer 43.095
๐บ๐ธ Niagara Falls 43.1
๐ซ๐ท Saint-Gaudens 43.109
๐บ๐ธ Saratoga Springs 43.067
๐ซ๐ท Bagnรจres-de-Bigorre 43.065
๐จ๐ฆ Niagara Falls 43.06
๐บ๐ธ Grand Haven 43.05
๐บ๐ธ Gloversville 43.05
๐ท๐บ Gus-Khrustalny 40.66
๐น๐ท Kฤฑzฤฑltepe 40.583
๐ท๐บ Arkhangelsk 40.515
๐ท๐บ Michurinsk 40.483
Locations Near: New Athos 40.8167,43.0833
๐ฌ๐ช Sukhumi 41.015,43.003 d: 18.4
๐ฌ๐ช Zugdidi 41.85,42.5 d: 106.4
๐ท๐บ Sochi 39.725,43.617 d: 106.4
๐ฌ๐ช Kobuleti 41.787,41.818 d: 161.7
๐ฌ๐ช Ozurgeti 42.005,41.922 d: 161.8
๐ฌ๐ช Batumi 41.655,41.643 d: 174.3
๐ท๐บ Cherkessk 42.047,44.229 d: 161.3
๐ท๐บ Maykop 40.106,44.614 d: 179.5
๐ฌ๐ช Adjara 42,41.65 d: 186.7
๐ท๐บ Nevinnomyssk 41.93,44.633 d: 194.1
Antipodal to: New Athos -139.183,-43.083
๐ต๐ซ Papeete -149.566,-17.537 d: 17010.4
๐น๐ด Nuku'alofa -175.216,-21.136 d: 15885.7
๐ฆ๐ธ Pago Pago -170.701,-14.279 d: 15625.2
๐ผ๐ธ Apia -171.76,-13.833 d: 15516.7
๐บ๐ธ Hilo -155.089,19.725 d: 12843.9
๐จ๐ฑ Valdivia -73.233,-39.8 d: 14650.2
๐บ๐ธ Maui -156.446,20.72 d: 12703.8
๐บ๐ธ Kahului -156.466,20.891 d: 12684.8
๐จ๐ฑ Port Montt -72.933,-41.467 d: 14708.7
๐จ๐ฑ Puerto Montt -72.933,-41.467 d: 14708.7