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Patmos Paradise for family vacations

The fondest memories of my life definitely spring from our family’s vacations in Patmos.

In the morning, after a yummy and highly nutritious breakfast comprised of local, pure products, we head off for the beach.

Depending on our mood, we can choose any shore we feel like, sandy, rocky, remote, popular, adjacent or afar, because we know that all of them are magnificent and ideal for children and adults alike, with crystal clear waters and hospitable environment.

After the swim, we either return home for lunch or visit one of the more than fifty local taverns and enjoy fresh fish or meat, salads and numerous other delicious, traditional recipes.

In the afternoons, we usually relax with a short siesta or lounge about the pool and, right before and during sunset, we take a refreshing stroll along Patmos’ dreamlike pathways.

At night, we enjoy a romantic, candlelit dinner served indoors or outside, next to the pool and the various villa’s verandas. We can also simply decide to tour the island’s attractions such as the port of Skala, the medieval castle monastery of Chora, the picturesque villages and many seafront restaurants and bars.

It is impossible to describe in such a small note the magic that a family vacation in Patmos offers. A more detailed description can perhaps be found in the «25 reasons to come» list,  published earlier in this blog.

Yet, the best way remains, simply, to come and see for yourselves…

Welcome!

 

Νιπτήρας

Easter in Patmos, Thyme and Incense, Poetry and Resurrection

Easter in Patmos can undoubtedly prove to be a unique and mystagogical experience, if you can truly allow your soul tune into the finer energies of the island.

After all, very few places in the world are so closely linked to religious worship and constitute such a celebrated spiritual beacon throughout the eons.

The wild and awe-inspiring natural beauty combined with an eternal historical aura of profound devoutness, have indelibly marked the land, where the Beloved Disciple of Christ, Saint John the Theologian had his tremendous vision of God and composed the “Apocalypse”, the ultimate prophetic Book of the whole Bible.

The majestic Patmos Easter customs, events and surrounding atmosphere celebrating the Pathos and Resurrection of the Lord, are unequaled in creating a fascinating, profoundly warm hearted experience to be cherished forever.

As Nobel prize laureate poet Odysseus Elytis elegantly recounted from his childhood memories of visiting picturesque, remote little chapels scattered amid the Aegean countryside, “the blending aroma of thyme and incense” had ever since come to animate inside him “the union of the physical and the metaphysical”.

 

More info http://www.bluestarferries.gr/site/img/spring%202010/pdf/patmos.pdf

Patmos Easter panoramio 21508664

ΠΑΣΧΑ ΣΤΗΝ ΠΑΤΜΟ, ΘΥΜΑΡΙ ΚΑΙ ΛΙΒΑΝΙ, ΕΛΥΤΗΣ ΚΑΙ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ

To Πάσχα στην Πάτμο μπορεί αναμφίβολα να αναδειχθεί σε μια αξέχαστη, μυσταγωγική εμπειρία, ιδίως αν αφήσετε την ψυχή σας να εμβαπτισθεί στη μοναδική ενέργεια του νησιού.

Υπάρχουν άλλωστε ελάχιστα μέρη σε όλο τον πλανήτη τόσο άρρηκτα συνδεδεμένα με την λατρεία του Θεού, ώστε να λάμπουν ως πνευματικοί φάροι στην διάρκεια των αιώνων.

Η απαράμιλλη φυσική ομορφιά του τοπίου σε συνδυασμό με την αρχέγονη ιστορική αύρα βαθιάς κατάνυξης έχουν σημαδέψει ανεξίτηλα, το μέρος, όπου ο ηγαπημένος μαθητής του Χριστού, ο Άγιος Ιωάννης ο Θεολόγος οραματίσθηκε την “Αποκάλυψη”, το έσχατο, ακροτελεύτιο προφητικό βιβλίο της Αγίας Γραφής.

Η Ανάσταση του Κυρίου γιορτάζεται στην Πάτμο με έθιμα παμπάλαια και μοναδικά, μέσα σε μια ατμόσφαιρα ειλικρινούς και βαθιάς κατάνυξης, ιδανική για να μπορέσει η καρδιά σας να ταξιδέψει στον απόμακρο αλλά απολύτως υπαρκτό και σαγηνευτικό χώρο του αγίου.

Όπως ο ίδιος ο Οδυσσέας Ελύτης τόσο γοητευτικά περιγράφει, ανατρέχοντας στις παιδικές του επισκέψεις σε απόμακρα, γραφικά Αιγαιοπελαγίτικα ξωκκλήσια,  «από τότε η μέθεξη του αρώματος από θυμάρι και λιβάνι κατάληξε να συμβολίζει μέσα μου την ένωση του φυσικού με το μεταφυσικό»

Περισσότερες πληροφορίες για το Πάσχα στην Πάτμο στο link http://www.bluestarferries.gr/site/img/spring%202010/pdf/patmos.pdf

 

patmos-villa-sofia-24

PLACE NAME AND ORIGIN

Patmos – which in ancient inscriptions is often mentioned as Patnos – owes, according to some historians, its name to the word “Patna” = manger and by others to the neighbouring mount Latmos of Asia Minor, which in ancient times was a worship place for goddess Artemis and hunting hero Endymion and from which arrived the first inhabitants of the island, bringing with them the worship of the goddess.

MYTHOLOGY:
According to ancient mythology, the island was first named Litois, in honour of the Goddess Artemis who was also called Litoida because she was the daughter of Lito.
Legend mentions that the island sunk into the sea and that Artemis, with the help of Apollo, managed to persuade Zeus to bring the island back to the surface and, as a proof of devotion, the inhabitants of the island named it Litois.
According to the myth, Patmos was a present from Zeus to his daughter Artemis, goddess of hunting and young women and certain historians believe that she was worshipped here in antiquity, and the monastery of St. John was built on her temple.

Deer-huntress Artemis frequently paid visits to Caria, the mainland across the shore from Patmos, where she had a shrine on Mount Latmos and there, she used to meet up with the moon goddess Selene, who cast her light on the ocean, revealing the sunken island of Patmos.

Chiliomodi island

Selene was always trying to get Artemis to bring the sunken island to the surface and, hence, to life and she finally convinced Artemis, who, in turn, elicited her brother Apollo’s help, in order to persuade Zeus to allow the island to arise from the sea.

Zeus agreed, and the island emerged from the water, the Sun dried up the land and brought life to it. Gradually, inhabitants from the surrounding areas, including Mount Latmos, settled on the island and named it “Letois” in honour of Artemis.

Patmos is also connected to another legend, the one of Orestes. It is said that he fled to the island after murdering his mother Clytemnestra, and was hunted by the Erynies.

HISTORY:

ANCIENT TIMES

Entrance to kastelli

The island of Patmos has been inhabited since 3,000 BC, but the identity of its first inhabitants is still unknown. The earliest remains of human settlements in Patmos date to the Middle Bronze Age (c. 2000 BC) and consist of pottery shards from Kastelli, the most important archaeological site so far identified.

Patmos is seldom mentioned by ancient writers and, therefore, very little can be conjectured about the earliest inhabitants.
Some believe that the Kares, the Leleges and the Pelasgoi were the first settlers while others claim that the Dorians were the first inhabitants, followed by the Ionians.
In the Classical period, the Patmians prefer to identify themselves as Dorians descending from the families of Argos, Sparta and Epidaurus, further mixing with people of Ionian ancestry.
Finds have excavated various buildings, cemeteries, fortresses and evidence of an ancient acropolis, testifying the existence of a densely populated area in the past. During the Peloponnesian Wars, the Lacedemonians came to the island to escape from the Athenians and ruins testify about the flourishing of the island during this period.

Judging from archaeological finds, Kastelli continued to play an important role on the island throughout the Ancient Greek period (c. 750 BC-323 BC) and during the 3rd century BC, the Hellenistic period, the settlement of Patmos acquired the form of an acropolis with an improved defense through a fortification wall and towers.
So, essentially, as the rest of the Dodecanese islands, it paid tribute to Athens in the 5th century BC, belonged to the Macedonians in the 4th century BC, and was taken by the Romans in the 2nd century BC.
The island of Patmos declined when the Romans conquered it. It was used as a place of exile for convicts and this is how Apostle John came to Patmos, exiled by the Roman Emperor Titus Flavius Domitianus in 95 AC. The prophet was ostracized from Miletus by the Roman governor for preaching the Christian faith and stayed in Patmos for two years.

Kasteli 3

Once on the island, the Apostle conveyed the inhabitants to Christianity and wrote the Book of Revelation, the Apocalypse. Patmos then became a place of worshipping and pilgrimage and actually the culture and history of Patmos is strongly connected to the Apocalypse of Saint John.
Patmos is mentioned in the Christian scriptural Book of Revelation. The book’s introduction states that its author, John, was on Patmos when he was given and recorded a vision from Jesus. Early Christian tradition identified this writer John of Patmos as John the Apostle. As such, Patmos is a destination for Christian pilgrimage and visitors can see the cave where John is beleived to have received his Revelation (the Cave of the Apocalypse), and several monasteries on the island are dedicated to Saint John.
After the death of John of Patmos, possibly around 100 and the division of the Roman Empire in 284 A.D. though, Christianity was officially recognized and the Byzantine Empire flourished.

BYZANTINE TIMES
During the Byzantine times, a number of Early Christian basilicas were erected on Patmos and among these was a Grand Royal Basilica in honor of Saint John, built c. 300-350 at the location where the Monastery of Saint John the Theologian stands today.
Early Christian life on Patmos barely survived Muslim raids from the 7th to the 9th century and during this period, the Grand Basilica of Saint John was destroyed.
In 1085, though, a zealous Byzantine monk, the Reverend Father Christodoulos was forced by the Turks to abandon his temple in Asia Minor and went to the island of Kos were he founded a monastery. There, he met the monk Arsenios Skinouris who asked him his help to build the Monastery of Saint John in Patmos.
The construction of the monastery started in 1101, after the permission of the Byzantine Emperor Alexios Komninos the 1st, who gave to Christodoulos the complete authority over the island of Patmos. As a result, the Monastery’s power was to extend over the island’s borders, to such a degree that the island was never occupied by neither Turks nor Venetians and the only attacks came from pirates there and then.

Kasteli area

The fame of the monastery grew, a settlement started to expand around it and during the end of the 12th century, the island of Patmos was transformed into a large commercial center.
In 1207, the Venetians conquered Patmos and the reign was given to the Duke of Naxos. Supported by him, the island became a semi-autonomous monastic state and gained great wealth and influence.
In 1340, the Knights of Saint John who had seized Rhodes conquered the island of Patmos and, in the following centuries, population was expanded by infusions of Byzantine immigrants fleeing the Fall of Constantinople in 1453, and Cretan immigrants escaping the fall of Candia in 1669.

OTTOMAN EMPIRE TIMES
In 1522, the Turks came to the island and appointed a representative but, after a while, they left just forcing it to pay some taxes. Later, when the Turkish-Venetian Wars ended, tranquility returned to Patmos and the island flourished, becoming once again an important commercial center. Massive fortifications were built around the monastery as a protection from the pirates. In 1655, Patmos was in essence governed by the monks and prospered again but its growth stopped in 1659, when Francesco Morozini, the leader of the Venetians, conquered and destroyed the island.

Kasteli 2
Through shipping, commerce and the efforts of the inhabitants, Patmos soon regained its lost nobility, glamour and prosperity so that during the early 18th century, the island’s wealth was separated into secular and monastic entities. The Patmian School was founded by Makarios Kalogeras in 1713 near the cave of the Apocalypse but the Russians conquered the island in 1770, after the Turkish-Venetian War.
Generally, the island remained under Ottoman Empire influence for almost 300 years, but it enjoyed a certain degree of respect and certain privileges, mostly related to tax-free trade by the Monastery, as certified by Ottoman imperial documents held in its Library.

Seaside Chapel

MODERN HISTORY
The Greek Revolution erupted in 1821 and managed to achieve independence for the new state by 1832. Nevertheless, the relevant treaty signed in London did not include the islands of the Dodecanese as part of the newly built Greek State, and all twelve islands fell again under Turkish occupation, even though one of the three founders of Filiki Etaireia which initiated the Greek Revolution was Emmanuel Xanthos, who descended from Patmos.
In 1912, in connection with the Italo-Turkish War, the Italians occupied all the islands of the Dodecanese, including Patmos and remained there until 1943, when Nazi Germany took over the island.
In 1945, the Germans left and the island of Patmos remained autonomous until 1948 when it joined the rest of independent Greece as part of the Dodecanese Islands.

Chora street

ARCHITECTURE
The architecture of Patmos is strongly related to the foundation of the Monastery of Saint John, the most notable medieval architectural marvel in Greece. Its highlights can be seen in the beautiful settlement presenting a plethora of whitewashed mansions and Aegean style houses that embrace the fortified monastery in Chora.
Due to the constant pirates attacks, the Chora settlement was fortified, not with walls but according to the structural plan of the houses that allowed no openings and no special appearance.
In Patmos, there are no more white & blue villages (as in the Cyclades) but there are more white & brown, as they are built mainly in stone, though the walls keep the white color.
A typical Patmian house is divided in two parts, serving basic needs of the locals with a lovely flourishing garden and storage areas in the basement. The Byzantine structural elements which are often seen in the capital testify to the island’s historical importance, throughout the ages. Following the financial development of Patmos island, we see the appearance of two-story luxurious houses and mansions that very much resemble each other. Most of the later villas and lodgings have respected the traditional architecture.

patmos-villa-sofia-9

25 Reasons to Visit Patmos island

25 REASONS

TO COME TO PATMOS

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We have taken the liberty of presenting a few of our favorite things to do on the island, in celebration of a quarter of a century of coming here annually, in the hope that you may perhaps be encouraged to try some of them and find them enjoyable. We also deeply wish that you will discover on your own some other delightful things to do in Patmos and we will definitely cherish sharing them with us.

1

Drive to Lambi Beach on the north, preferably on a windless day, swim, admire the beautiful pebbles and enjoy lunch or early dinner at the seaside tavern, ordering fresh fish or the more economical grilled meat variety, greek salad and flaming fried cheese {saganaki flambe)

2

Reserve in time a dinner table with Susan at Bennetos Restaurant (0030 2247033089) which is located only a mile from the villa and is considered one of the best places to eat on the island. We can make the reservations if you want. Just tell us a few days earlier because it is really very busy.

Psili Ammos' beach view from the old pathway

3

Take the little boat which leaves from Skala port at about 10.00 in the morning and sail to Psili Ammos or drive and walk there if you are more adventurous. After swimming and enjoying the famous sandy beach, you can eat at the seaside taverna under the trees ordering the local goat with tomato sauce (katsikaki kokinisto) or, if they are out of it, just a simple omelet with fresh eggs from the nearby poultry.

4

On a different day, hop on the other boats from Skala port at approximately the same time and embark on a daily excursion to surrounding islands Lipsi and Arki Marathi. The sea there has a tropical sapphire color and there are picturesque tavernas with fresh fish or more economical local specialties.

Arki_(Patmos)_Spalathronisiwikimedia

5

Visit the St John Theologian Monastery Museum and Library with a 1.000 years of history and manuscripts dating back many centuries. Just be cautious to dress a little conservative because it is a religious establishment.

6

Visit the Cave of the Apocalypse where St John had the tremendous vision about the destination of Mankind included as the ultimate eschatological prophetic book of the Bible

Small alley in Chora

7

Have dinner and drinks at the restaurant and bar on the little plaza in the center of the traditional settlement of Chora, considered a world heritage site by Unesco.

8

Have a quiet dinner at the nearby fishing village of Grikos and maybe enjoy a refreshment at the adjacent five star Patmos Aktis Hotel bar.

Ducks on grikos beach

9

Have dinner at Loza restaurant up in Chora enjoying the panoramic view of all the island and enjoy a cocktail at the Astivi 1671 bar or the picturesque plaza bars.

10

Visit Kambos beach, swim and enjoy water sports.

11

Visit Agriolivado beach, lounge under the umbrellas and try the local restaurants and bars

Nice rock near Agriolivado

12

Visit the Koumana sanctuary in Skala with its nice garden and collection of pets, parrots etc. (may be more interesting for children)

13

You can also take the children to the playing ground in Hohlaka in the back side of Skala. There is also an authentic Italian restaurant there.

Hohlakas beach near Skala

14

Enjoy ice cream and local pastries at Christodoulos Koumanis’ pastry shop opposite the bus stop on the port of Skala. You can order the “pougi” local specialty there or at the Haris pastry shop in the center of Skala

15

Have dinner at the Kima restaurant by the seaside outside Skala near Koumana enjoying the view of Chora and trying fresh fish or the more economical seafood (kalamari, shrimps etc)

16

Order Pizza or spaghetti delivered to the villa from Kellari restaurant, popular with the locals. (We can do it for you if you want)

Patmos view of island south from Mount Elijah 2

17

Visit the NUNNERY OF THE ANNUNCIATION (Evangelismos in Greek) behind Chora and eventry to climb up the nearby Hill of Prophet Elijah’s Chapel, which is the highest point of the island about 269 meters

Skala port marina

18

Go for a nice promenade along the marina with yachts and the Skala port and have coffee of a drink at the central Arion bar.

19

Swim at the Petra beach near Grikos and explore the many nearby exquisite rocky coves.

Exquisite small coves outside Grikos

20

Try the local specialties like rabbit with tomato sauce and onions (lagos stifatho) at the nearby Petra restaurant near the Patmos greenhouse.

21

Rent a little boat and do some diving outside the Grikos Bay near the area known as “Navagio” where you can see the impressive wreckage of an Italian airplane from the 1943 air battle with the British at the nearby Leros island and an another older ship. Just make sure to negotiate the prices with the local boatmen or ask us to do it for you if you want.

22

Drive to the Livadi Geranou beach on the north. It is one of the best on the island with excellent water and offers a very nice view of the Monastery and the island while you are swimming. Furthermore, while you are in the area, you can visit the Geranou Bay little church which located on the farthest point of the island with a very beautiful sunset.

Patmos beach

23

A series of very nice adjacent beaches to visit on the north include Vagia, Liginou and Didimes. They are all great in their own different way and the ride or walk on the local pathways in enjoyable.

24

If you like folk dancing and greek bouzouki live fun perhaps you might enjoy on Wednesday or Saturday dinner with live music and local dance shows at Aloni (telephone (+30) 2247031007. If you want, you can get an idea what it is about atwww.aloni.patmos.eu or even watch indicative youtube videos athttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArbqttXuGHM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOPrHbftJl4

Grikos Bay under full moon

25

Go out in the balconies or the roof or anywhere else in the estate of Villa Sophia on a calm night, with the lights switched off and using only candles, and enjoy either the incredible moonlight or the starry nocturnal sky with an incredible view of our Galaxy.