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.