Kaisariani: the monastery in the pines
An 11th-century monastery in the Hymettus pine forest, a sacred spring, and the city below. This is a Claude-drafted route awaiting the editor's walk.

1. Kaisariani terminal and the road up
The bus drops you at the edge of the suburb where the tarmac turns to forest. Don't rush the climb — it's a steady walk up through pines on a quiet road, and the city noise falls away within minutes. Stretch your legs; the gradient is real but gentle.

2. The sacred spring (Kalopoula)
Below the monastery, the spring the ancients believed cured infertility still runs from a marble ram's head into a basin. Aphrodite had a shrine near here once. Cup your hands; the water is cold even in August.

3. Moni Kaisarianis (the monastery)
The *moni* (monastery) itself — an 11th-century cross-in-square church under a tiled dome, the cells and refectory around a walled court, the old olive press and bathhouse intact. Step inside the church for the 16th- and 18th-century frescoes; let your eyes adjust. Closed Mondays.

4. Frangokklisia (the Frankish chapel)
A short walk uphill, the ruined basilica the locals call the Frankish church, roofless now and ringed by cypresses. Almost nobody climbs the extra few minutes to reach it. The quiet up here is total.

5. The forest paths and Aesthetic Forest
Hymettus's lower slope was replanted into the *Aisthitiko Dasos* (Aesthetic Forest) after the war by hand, tree by tree. Follow any of the marked trails through the pines and stone terraces; you can make the loop as long as your legs want.

6. The viewpoint over the basin
Where the trees thin on the way back down, the whole Attic basin opens out — the Acropolis a small pale rock in the middle distance, the sea beyond. Sit on the wall. This is the view the monks had and the city forgot.

Kaisariani: the monastery in the pines