Hello folks,
We dropped anchor in the harbor of Patmos, Greece shortly after sunrise this morning. The Greek Parliament has declared Patmos a "sacred island," because of its connection with Saint John and the writing of the Book of Revelation.
Weather here this morning was much better than expected. We had some very strong thunderstorms overnight and were expecting more rain today. It is raining very lightly at the moment as we are about to sail away. But the weather was nice while I was ashore.
Patmos is a very small island. The island has only a few villages, the largest being Skala, pictured below, and its population is less than 2000 people.
Our first stop this morning was at the Grotto of Revelation. We were not allowed to photograph the interior of any of the holy places we visited today. Below is the entrance to the entrance to the Grotto and Cave of the Apocalypse.
Next we saw the nunnery of Zoodohou Pigi and visited the 300-year-old Simantiri House, the oldest mansion on the island. After that we climbed up to the Monastery of Saint John the Theologian which was founded in 1088. It was full of priceless art, chalices, icons and manuscripts. You can see the monastery atop the hill in the picture below.
There was a nice view of the surrounding islands from the top of the hill.
Our last stop was at a taverna where we were treated to wine, mezze and dancing.
Tomorrow it is back into Asia where I will spend the day in Turkey.
Tim
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