Christos Karastergios is an active member of Facebook group Live from Greece and his comments and posts make a good contribution to the group.

Christos lives in Ierissos, and since there is little information about Ierissos and Athos on the Internet, we will try to change that.

What’s interesting is that Ierissos is the only place on Athos where native Greeks live, while in other places people from Asia settled in.

Christos is studying the culture and history of Ierissos and its environment, and his writings about them are published in an online journal, Kittaro Ierissou. He is also editor of that journal.

Here are some of the suggestions and information that Christos has revealed to us, regarding favorite places of locals for enjoying foods and drinks.

Christos and his brother Stelios graduated from Faculty of Sport and Physical Education in Belgrade. They are the owners of famous bakery in Ierissos, called Mihalis.

This bakery is well known for bread production in a traditional way, and it often happens that Thessalonians go to Ierissos to buy homemade, white, yellow or black bread, as well as traditional pie-bread with olives and oregano, or cheese. If you fly to Athos, make sure to stop by Christos’ bakery.

According to Christos, Ierissos is known for taverns with excellent fish and seafood specialties. And prices are lower in Ierissos than in other places in Athos, and the quality is better. You can buy fresh fish in the mornings from fishermen in the harbor. If you like to visit restaurants, then you should visit Mouragio. Muragio is a favorite place of local people, there you can taste fresh fish prepared in different ways. If you want to enjoy fish and sea specialties by the sea, then you should visit the Kolatsi tavern. It has been open since 1948. Both restaurants have excellent salads, meze, homemade tsipouro and homemade wine. Kolatsi has a little bit higher prices.

In Ierissos you can buy gyros in several places, but the best gyros in the village, and maybe in the entire region is Matakos. The owners make gyros themselves, which is really rare. Souvlaki is also excellent, so do not miss the opportunity to try both at Matakos.

In the Aristotle Country store (Αριστοτελεια γη) you have a great selection of domestic products.
Honey, olives and olive oil from this region are of top quality, and you can also find tea and spices in local shops as well as in markets in the center of Ierissos on Tuesdays.

In the vicinity of Ierissos, you can pick oregano yourself in the meadows during the summer, and you can also buy it at the store.
Many families sell quality honey and olive oil that you can try on the spot before buying.

Ierissos is also known for the production of quality feta cheese, kashkaval and other dairy products. About 500 meters outside of Ierissos Petroto dairy farm is located, which produces feta cheese of the same name in a traditional way, that is considered one of the best in northern Greece. The cheese is obtained from a mixture of sheep and cow milk. Petroto cheese won gold medals for quality and taste in Italy and France.