Ouranoupoli (Greek: Ουρανούπολη, english: "Sky City") is an ancient city and a modern village in Chalcidice. The village is today called Ouranoupoli. The village of Ouranoupoli is situated on the coastline in the northwest part (the very beginning) of the Athos peninsula, part of the bigger Chalkidiki peninsula. It is the last settlement before the border with the monastic state of Mount Athos (the Holy Mountain). The city of Thessaloniki is about 140 km from Ouranoupoli and approximately 140 km from the city of Kavala.
The village was named after the nearby ancient city of Uranopolis that was founded by Cassander's brother Alexarchus in the late 4th century BC. and was later destroyed by an earthquake.
In the 1920s, many refugees from Turkey settled in the village and established rug manufacturing. In 1926, the old Tower of Prosforion was leased from the monks of Vatopedi to Sydney and Joice Loch who were based there till their deaths in 1955 and 1982. The tower now houses the Christian Chalkidiki Exhibition.
Mount Athos (/ˈæθɒs/; Greek: Ἄθως, [ˈa.θos]) is a mountain and peninsula in northeastern Greece and an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism. It is governed as an autonomous polity within the Hellenic Republic, namely the Monastic community of Mount Athos under the direct jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.
Mount Athos is commonly referred to in Greek as the Agion Oros (Ἅγιον Ὄρος, 'Holy Mountain'). Other languages of Orthodox tradition also use names translating to 'Holy Mountain'. This includes Bulgarian, Macedonian and Serbian (Света Гора, Sveta Gora; Svyataya Gora); and Georgian (მთაწმინდა, mtats’minda). However, not all languages spoken in the region use this name; it is simply called "Athos" in Russian, Афон (Afon); and "Mount Athos" in Romanian, Muntele Athos or Muntele Atos. In the classical era, while the mountain was called Athos, the peninsula was known as Acté or Akté (Koinē Greek: Ἀκτή). Mount Athos has been inhabited since ancient times and is known for its long Christian presence and historical monastic traditions, which date back to at least 800 AD and the Byzantine era. Today, over 2,000 monks from Greece and many other countries, including Eastern Orthodox countries such as Serbia, Russia, Romania, Moldova, Georgia and Bulgaria, live an ascetic life in Athos, isolated from the rest of the world. The Athonite monasteries feature a rich collection of well-preserved artifacts, rare books, ancient documents, and artworks of immense historical value, and Mount Athos has been listed as a World Heritage Site since 1988.
Although Mount Athos is legally part of the European Union like the rest of Greece, the Monastic State institutions have a special jurisdiction which was reaffirmed during the admission of Greece to the European Community (precursor to the EU). This empowers the Monastic State's authorities to regulate the free movement of people and goods in its territory; in particular, only males are allowed to enter.

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