Sheltered on the mountainside in central Provatas Chios, Nea Moni stands in place for a thousand years. The monastery, while it is invisible from the sea, but what controls the narrow sea passage between Chios and the coast of Asia Minor opposite.

The new monastery was founded during the Byzantine Empire in the mid-11th century. Emperor in Constantinople was then the handsome Constantine from the family of the Gladiators, married to the Empress Zoe, generation of the proud kings of Macedon.

In the monastic tradition, three hermits from Chios, the winner, John and Joseph prophesied that Constantine, who was then in exile at Mytilene, would soon rose to the throne. He, in return joyous prophecy promised that would build a magnificent temple in the same position in which the monks had found a picture of Mary hanging from a myrtle in Provateio term.

The prophecy was verified and Constantine kept his promise.

The 1049 inauguration of the temple, but the work was completed after his death, in times of Queen Theodora, in the 1055 to 1056.

Gladiator, Constantine, and the emperors that followed, endowed the monastery with special annuities, estates and the right has yet to ship.

The result was the New Monastery to become one of the most famous and richest monasteries in the Aegean.

During its history, New Abbey suffered many disasters. The worst of all happened in the 19th century.

In the Greek Revolution of 1822, the monks and civilians who had fled as a suppliant at the monastery were massacred by the Ottomans.

59 years later, in 1881, the devastating earthquake of that year left irreparable damage to the buildings of the monastery.

Of the original band of the 11th century, now preserved in the Catholic, the bank, the cistern, the defensive tower and west of the monastery cemetery church dedicated to St. Luke.

The precinct, the high wall surrounding the New Monastery, the monks isolate from the outside world, but also protect them in case of raids or similar risks.

The defensive tower was the ultimate raid shelter and for some time housed the library. Now stands in ruins, but, in spite of the times, is always imposing.

The Cathedral, the main church of the monastery follows the architectural style of the octagonal church, where the tall dome supported by eight niches. It is dedicated to the Virgin Mary is celebrated on 23 August.

It consists of three parts built in successive stages in the 11th century: the nave, the outer narthex and inner narthex.

The entrance to the church today is through bilateral annexes covering the space between the church and the tall bell tower, built in 1900 to replace an older one of 1512.

The luxurious mosaic decoration, due to the generosity of Constantine Gladiator, is the work of artists from the capital of the empire, whose names were handed over to oblivion.

The main feature of the art of mosaics of Nea Moni is the expressiveness of shapes and simplicity in composition, I omitted anything secondary. The golden valley occupies much of the paint layer and as the natural light reflected on it emphasizes the transcendence of the performances.

It is thought that the facial features of Constantine Gladiator assigned to form the wise King Solomon in the representation of the Resurrection.

The Bank, the area of common focus of the monks, was the second building was built in coenobitic monasteries, immediately after the construction of the Catholics.

The long, built table that dominates the space, keep the marble surface, which are artistic creations of the 11th century, a demanding technique that was developed and dear to the artistic circles of Istanbul.

The cistern, ie the storage tank of rainwater, built immediately after the founding of the monastery to address community needs in water.

In the evocative interior, eight columns in two rows, fifteen blind trouliskous support.

The rainwater collected at the level of the roof Cistern and channeled inside the holes of which were opened at intervals in the tiling.

The reverse process, ie the pumping of water from inside the tank inlet from the well was located in a corner of the roof.

The wings of the cells are in poor condition, especially after the damage caused by the earthquake of 1881.

Excavation work of Byzantine Antiquities third in recent years have revealed the remains of the cells of the east wing.

Two museum sites currently operating in New Abbey.

The museum's collection since 1992, housed in a restored cell to the west of the Catholic and contains relics of the monastery, what perisothike ie from the disasters of the 19th century.

And the Bank since 2011, that contains detached frescoes from different parts of the Catholic and the Bank, vessels from the roof of the Cistern and stone architectural members from the Catholic.

Chios is fortunate to host a glorious monument of Byzantine art. New Monastery represents the courtier art of Constantinople at a time when the empire was at its zenith of power and shine.

Recognizing the value of Unesco, in 1991 entered the list of world heritage monuments, which are important for all mankind in the history of art and architecture.