The original Byzantine design of the perimeter of the Xenofontos Monastery does not seem to have had a large, fortified tower corresponding to other well-known Athonite examples. The walls which surround the Monastery were simple, and there was only one small tower at the southeast corner of the exterior perimeter, which protected the then-entrance to the Monastery by threatening (from opposite the entrance) the backs of the invaders.
Today, there are two tower-like structures which dominate the entrance to the Monastery. These structures, where were built in later times, are considered to be the ‘towers’ of the Monastery: The interior structure is the tower of St Stefanos, and the exterior is the tower of the Holy Apostles. The tower of St Stefanos is the taller of the two.
