Tag: Holy Monastery of Patmos

Video perspectives of Patmos island

This is one of two aerial videos that the Municipality of Patmos released in early March to promote the charming isle, located in the Dodecanese chain of islands. The municipality’s other official film appears below.

Simply delightful: We have enjoyed every island we have visited in Greece, but some simply feel more comfortable, delightful and memorable than others. Patmos is one of them.

Although we have been to Patmos only once, for four days in May 2010, it feels like it was just yesterday — our memories of how the island looked and felt remain razor-sharp and almost palpable.

Those feelings got tweaked a little last week when the Municipality of Patmos released two official videos to promote the island for 2016. The aerial film of the island’s beautiful sights and scenery included views of many places we saw six years ago, along with others we didn’t have enough time to visit. Surprisingly, the light and shadows in some of the video scenes looked the same as when we were there — particularly when the camera captures locations bathed in the golden glow of the setting sun.

The clips include views of the island’s port town, Skala, the fortress-like Monastery of St John, Chora village, Grikos Bay, Kalikatsou Rock, and several of the island’s beautiful bays and beaches.

Watching the films has been a reminder that we’ve got to get back to Patmos to re-experience its charms and enchanting atmosphere. And to enjoy another serving (or two or three) of the absolutely amazing roasted chickpeas from Flisvos Taverna ….

March 12, 2016
Pic of the day: A mosaic at the Patmos monastery

This mosaic icon of St John the Theologian greets pilgrims passing through the entrance (below) to the Monastery of St John on Patmos island

September 17, 2013
Island landmark: The Holy Monastery of Patmos

The biggest building on Patmos just happens to be the island’s biggest tourist attraction — The Holy Monastery of Patmos, seen towering above the houses and mansions of Chora. Also known as the Monastery of St. John, it was built around 1088.

Another view of the imposing fortress-like monastery, the number 1 sightseeing destination for tourists whose cruise ships make brief calls into Skala port at Patmos

The monastery dominates the Patmos landscape even when viewed from sea

A zoom view of Chora and the monastery, shot from a ferry departing Skala port

February 27, 2013
Greece holiday pic of the day

The Monastery of St John looms large above Chora village on Patmos

April 1, 2012
Greece holiday pic of the day

A cobblestone street in Chora near the Holy Monastery of Patmos

September 26, 2011
Greece holiday 2010: Patmos

A horse on a hillside near Chora on Patmos

Island gem: Patmos was the second destination on our 2010 island-hopping holiday in Greece, and one of our favourite Greek islands so far. What a gem! It offered the things we enjoy best about Greek islands: spectacular scenery, great hiking and walking routes, beautiful beaches, friendly locals and wonderful food. Our only regret was that we didn’t schedule more time to spend on this island, since there were a lot of places and things we didn’t have a chance to see. But that give us a great reason to go back!

What we liked most about Patmos:

The food. We dined at tavernas in the Grikos Bay area, where we stayed, and enjoyed every meal. The food was excellent, especially the home-cooked meals at Flisvos Taverna. Their roasted chick peas were incredible.

The scenery. Patmos is a very pretty island, with gorgeous views of the sea, the coastlines, beaches, bays, and hillsides.

The hiking. We never took a bus on Patmos because we walked everywhere we went. Literally. We hiked up the mountain to Chora several times, and hiked into the port village of Skala several times, too. And we hiked up to the village of Kampos. Next time we visit Patmos, we’ll rent mountain bikes so we can see even more.

The views from our hotel. We stayed at Hotel Golden Sun, which sits on a hillside overlooking scenic Grikos Bay. We had incredible views from our room’s seaview balcony, and each morning got to enjoy fantastic views from the hotel’s outdoor breakfast terrace.

The people. Personable and friendly, but very laid back.

The animals. We met a friendly horse and donkey, and saw more cats, goats and sheep than we did people.

At some future date I hope to post a more detailed report on our visit to Patmos. For more information about the island in the meantime, check out the PatmosWeb online guide.

A view of Chora and the Holy Monastery from a ferry approaching Patmos

Sapsila Bay on Patmos, between Skala and Grikos

The crystal-clear waters of Sapsila Bay

Approaching Grikos Bay on the road from the port in Skala

The Hotel Golden Sun on the mountainside high above Grikos Bay on Patmos

On the balcony at our room at the Hotel Golden Sun…

…where we had an amazing panoramic view of Grikos Bay

The Hotel Golden Sun’s breakfast terrace view of gorgeous Grikos Bay

I never got bored of looking at peaceful Grikos Bay and Traonisi Island. Occasionally, we could hear some of the goats that live on the island

Stormclouds move past Patmos the morning after a violent overnight thunderstorm thrashed the island with heavy rain and non-stop lightning strikes.

The curved sandy beach along Grikos Bay

We had the best meals of our holiday at Flisvos taverna at Grikos Bay…

…where the home-cooked specialty, oven-roasted chickpeas, was delicious

Petra beach and bay are just a short walk past Grikos Bay

The water is gorgeous but there’s no sand at Petra beach — just stones. Ouch!

Stayrou bay and its beach are just a short walk from Petra beach

A donkey carries bales of hay on a farm near Stayrou Bay

We saw this goat while climbing up the mountain from Grikos to Chora

Another local resident we encountered while hiking up the mountainside from Grikos to Chora

A peek at Petra Bay beyond a terraced mountain slope below Chora

The view toward Aspri bay and Meloi bay from the hillside below Chora

Approaching Chora and the Holy Monastery of Patmos (the Monastery of Saint John the Theologian), which was constructed starting in 1088

A mountaintop view toward Skala, the port and main town on Patmos

A mule on a hillside overlooking the town of Skala on Patmos

Churches along a street in Chora on Patmos

A view of Skala, the port and main town on Patmos

A goat and a tree high above the sea on Patmos

Skala harbour on a cloudy afternoon following a rainshower

A cruise ship dominates views of the port in Skala

Overlooking Agriolivadi Bay from the highway between Skala and Kampos

There were only two people on Agriolivadi beach when we passed by … perhaps from the sailboat anchored in the bay

Looking out to sea from a hillside above Agriolivadi Bay and beach

Yet another scenic bay and beach area on Patmos, Kampos Bay

A late afternoon traffic jam on the road near Grikos

May 10, 2011
Greece holiday 2010: Kos to Patmos ferry trip teases us with peeks at Kalymnos, Leros & Lipsi

Ferry transport offers a teasing peek at places we might want to visit in future

We took the Dodekanisos Pride, a highspeed catamaran ferry operated by Dodekanisos Seaways, to travel from Kos to Patmos

The port village of Pothia on Kalymnos

Houses on the hillside above Pothia harbour at Kalymnos

Arriving at Agia Marina port on Leros

Taverna Milos and a windmill on the water at Agia Marina harbour on Leros

Arriving at the port village on Lipsi

A fishing boat passes our ferry in Lipsi harbour

Calm deep waters in the sheltered harbour at Lipsi

Entering the bay where the port village of Skala is situated on Patmos

From the ferry dock, you can see the island’s biggest attraction, the famous Holy Monastery of Patmos, on the mountaintop in the distance

Dozens more photos can be viewed in the From Kos to Patmos album on the mygreecetravelblog.com Facebook page.

May 10, 2011