The Monastery of Canals, dedicated to the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, has been founded on the north-eastern side of Mount Olympus at an altitude of 820 m. It is located at the entrance of the strait through which the small river Sys or Ziliana descends from the plain of Karya to Pieria, while it is surrounded by idyllic green landscape with running water. You will find the monastery at the 70th kilometer of the provincial road Karyas-Leptokaryas. The name of the Monastery comes from the water channels that existed in the area.
It is a Byzantine monument of inestimable historical and religious value with a rich religious history and rare hagiographic masterpieces that adorn the Catholic and the cemetery church.
According to church tradition, the monastery was founded by the monks Damianos and Joachim in the 11th century.
The construction of the church of the Genesis of the Virgin, which constitutes the monastery's catholicon, probably dates back to the 16th century. while the mansion is a bit later, it was probably built in 1680.
However, according to an old document, in 1638 the narthex of the Catholicos of the Monastery was renovated and its iconography was done. In the year 1668, the small church of All Saints, in the cemetery of the Monastery, was painted.
The Monastery celebrates every year on September 8.
Editor: Fotini Anastasopoulou