Patmos – Πάτμος

On our third day on the cruise we got to visit Patmos, a small Greek island in the Aegean Sea. We were told that in 1999 the island’s historic center Chora, along with the Monastery of Saint John were declared ‘World Heritage Sites’ by UNESCO.

According to one of the legends within the Greek mythology, Patmos’ original name was ‘Letois,’ name given after the goddess Artemis. It was believed that Patmos came into existence thanks to her divine intervention.

As we rode up the hill in our tour bus, we were given information about the place we were about to visit. We were told that Patmos is mentioned in the Bible in the Book of Revelation. It is said that John, was on Patmos when he was given a vision of Jesus. It is said that John the Apostle wrote the Book of Revelations while being on a cave on Patmos. As we made our way through the cave, we saw various religious objects around the room. It was dark and humid, but the view from the little windows was amazing.

The next stop was the Monastery dedicated to Saint John, which was also on top of a hill. The structure of building resembled a castle, and it also had many arches in the main square. There were lots of paintings and silver chandeliers in each room. At the very top of the Monastery there was a museum in which we were able to see an exhibition of Saint John’s belongings.

As we walked down the hill from were the Monastery was located, we were able to stroll trough the little town and see lots of sale stands. Most of the merchandise in these places was religiously oriented, since Patmos has become a destination for Christian pilgrimage.

Kusadasi - Turkey

On our second day on the cruise we were told that the next city on the list was Kusadasi, which is actually in Turkey. This got us really excited because neither of us had been in that country before Plus, we were going to have time to go the local markets, or agoras, to enjoy ourselves. As we drove into the mountains from the port we got a glimpse of Kusadasi. It looked beautiful! It had many Middle Eastern traits. We were told that Turkey is a great producer of olives and figs.

Our first stop was the House of the Virgin Mary – Meryemana in Turkish, located in a nature park between the ancient cities of Ephesus and Seljuk. It is believed that this was the last residence of the Virgin Mary. It was highly interesting to know that this site is sacred to both Christians and Muslims, and is visited year round by tourists and pilgrims. It is a small stone structure with one bedroom and a kitchen. They have kept the inside of the structure quite simple with an altar, candles and images of the Virgin Mary. As we walked outside of the room, we realized there was a wall in which people had hung hundreds of tissues; we were told that this was a prayer wall and people usually write wishes or small prayers on tissues and hang them on the wall. There was also a particular place in which pilgrims could collect holy water. As we left in our tour bus and headed towards our second destination, I think we all realized how lucky we had been to be able to visit such ancient and sacred places.

Ephesus was our second destination. This was certainly one of the most amazing places visited in the trip. Most of the structures within the complex were pretty much standing, so it gave us all a better view and perspective of how things used to be. In ancient times, Ephesus was established as a port, and it became the most important commercial center. In 356BC the Greeks built the Artemesium – a temple dedicated to their Goddess Artemis. This later became a part of the seven wonders of the ancient world. During the 2^nd century BC, it also became famous for the Library of Celsus and its medical school. We got to sit on the amphitheatre where according to the Acts of the Apostles (19:23-4 1); the theatre was the site of the ‘riot of the silversmiths’ in which those who made silver figures of Artemis rioted because St. Paul’s preaching was bad for business. It truly was an amazing and unforgettable experience!

Mykonos – Μύκονος

In Greek mythology, Mykonos was the location of the battle between Zeus and the Titans. The island was named in honor of Apollo’s grandson Mykons.

The island is composed primarily of granite, and is known to be one of the most cosmopolitan islands in Greece. Its nightlife is extremely popular, but Mykonos’ main attractions are its sandy beaches and windmills.

The view this island offers is simply breathtaking! Upon docking at the port, we all took a nice walk along the seashore till we got to the main town. What was remarkably beautiful, was that every piece of architecture in the island is relatively small and painted white with blue shutters. This particular detail is what best describes Mykonos and what amazed me the most.

The windmills are located at the far end of the port, but everything is at an accessible distance. The windmills are what give this island a beautiful touch and we were told that they have been there since around the 16^th century.

The best part of this excursion –besides that it was the most relaxing one- was that we had the opportunity to see the sunset while listening to a native musician playing a very traditional Greek song.  As he played his ‘guitar’ and said "Opa" every now and then, my best friend and I danced to the tune, yelled Opa and saw the sunset from Mykonos – I’m pretty sure we scared some of the residents with our much enthusiastic 'OPA' move =).

All photo right reserved to Neda M.R.