Vlatadon Monastery, Byzantine monastery in Upper Town, Greece

The Vlatadon Monastery stands in Ano Poli, about 80 metres from the walls of the Heptapyrgion, at an elevation of roughly 120 metres. Its katholikon, dedicated to the Transfiguration of the Saviour, is a stone-and-brick church with a red-tiled roof, a central dome and a taller octagonal drum pierced by small arched windows. A three-arched porch on pale columns shelters the west entrance, added in 1907 in neoclassical style, and a 14th-century domed chapel with Palaiologan frescoes stands nearby.

The monastery was founded between 1351 and 1371 when two brothers established it as a new religious center. One of the founders later rose to a leadership role in the local church community.

Locals still call it Tsaus Monastiri, a name from the Ottoman period. The monastery is dedicated to the Transfiguration of the Saviour, and beside the catholicon stands a 14th-century domed chapel with frescoes from the Palaiologan era. Tradition holds that the site is where the Apostle Paul preached or stayed during his visit to the city.

The monastery is open daily but requires appropriate clothing with covered shoulders and knees. Visitors should come in the morning to enjoy the best light for viewing the artwork.

In 2005 a manuscript of Galen's Peri Alypias was found in the monastery library. The library also held 93 codices and the monastery archive, moved to Iviron Monastery on Mount Athos for safekeeping during World War II. The monks' cooperation with the Ottoman besiegers spared the monastery from pillage in 1422-1430.