Ιερά Μονή Παναγίας

The church is located on a mountain, the more surprising it is to find the cemetery right outside the gate. It’s not so easy for one to climb, let alone a funeral procession. Her age is given only by the frescoes. The façade looks pretty new and there is a beautiful view of the city from the top.

This church is located on the top of the hill, on the old Dhermi village. The village has been recently renovated and it's a really nice place to visit, so don't miss it if you're going to Dhermi beach. The village is up the hill so you'd have to do a bit of a hike, like 20-30 minutes up to the church. I'd recommend to visit it on the afternoon, before the sunset and watch the sunset from the church, it's an amazing view from there.

The name of the church must be in official language of the country it belong to.

One of the oldest church. It is situated in a pick of mountain

The church of Panagia (Our Lady church) was fisrt build in the XVI century and is located on the top of a klif overlooking the old village f Drymades (Dhermi) within what used to a monastery. The last Nun was forced to leave the monastery in 1967 when the communist regime closed the churches and the monasteries in the region of Himara and in Albania. The church has had many reconstruction and it's walls are covered in colorful frescoes which are in very good shape in the most part of it. The frescoes inside the altar are more impressive but heavily damaged, also this part is the only part of the church where access and photos are not aloud to visitors. The last lay of frescoes is believed to be from the beginning of xix century, around 1810 and is of a lower quality compare to the old lay underneath which can be distinguished from the bright colors and the extensively used blue color. The wall facing the altar has the most impressive fresco which represent stories from the old bile, which is a rare subject in the Byzantine Orthodox iconography. In the lower part of the wall you will notice graphic naked figures of people suffering in hell, depending on the sin they are beeing punished for. Prepare for low light but do not use flash cameras which may damage the frescoes. The car will take close to the church, but the last part of the trail which is about 300 meters uphill you will have to walk and the view in front of the gate of the monastery will reward your efforts of walking up the hill. Best pictures can be taken in the first part of the day but the sunset view in the sea is also unique. Keep in mind that this is a religious functional site and and church and the yard of the monastery is serving as a cemetery, so appropriate behaviour and dressing is recommended.