| We started our second week in the Dodecanese by visiting the island of Patmos, 11 nautical miles southwest of Arki. In 95 AD Apostle John had been banished to Patmos from Ephesus, and while on the island he wrote the Book of Revelations. Because of this book�s religious significance, many people made pilgrimages to Patmos. So after a week of little tourism, we were once again greeted by cruise ships and hydrofoils as we entered the harbor. Sunday, October 8, we took a taxi up to the 12th century Monastery of St. John towering over the port and island. It had been built like a fortress for protection against pirates. Here remarkable 12th century frescoes were revealed in the Chapel of the Pangaea after a 1952 earthquake. They had been painted over centuries earlier. Afterwards we took the Byzantine path back down to the harbor, stopping halfway along to visit the Holy Cave of the Apocalypse where St. John received his divine revelation and where he wrote the Book of Revelations. |
