Impressions Of Patmos, Greece

September 1, 2009 by Darren Alff

Patmos is a tiny Greek island in the Aegean Sea. It has a population of approximately 3,000 and an area of just 34 km (13 square miles).

On the second day of my cruise through the Aegean, I jumped off the ship in a tiny harbor town and climbed my way by foot to the top of the nearest mountain – the location of a massive building called the Monastery of Saint John.

My travel partner wasn’t feeling well (or she had simply grown tired of me), so she decided to stay on the boat and stick to the tourist areas near the docks. I, however, wanted to see what this Monastery was all about. So I climbed my way up to the top, found a number of tourist shops outside the massive structure, and then wandered through the gate and into the impressive building, which is currently a World Heritage Site.

At the entrance to the Monastery was a man in blue jeans and a flannel shirt. He stood in a small cave-like doorway and checked the tourists’ clothing as they walked passed. Those with inappropriate attire (i.e. skirts, tank tops, shorts that were too short) were asked to leave or wear a shall, which the man then provided.

Being a male, I was able to walk past the dress-code guard without any problems. However, a group of girls around my same age were told they cold not enter without first covering themselves up.

Humorously enough, I noted that the man whose job it was to check for proper attire was not dressed so well himself. The zipper on his pants was down and his shirt, which he had tucked into his blue jeans, was protruding out his fly in the front. I giggled to myself as I walked past and climbed the stairs that led to the entrance of the historic Monastery.

Inside the building was a small courtyard filled with people. A series of arches made up the small sunlit area and tourists of all shapes, sizes and nationalities stood around snapping photos.

A hallway to the right led to a “Museum,” which I investigated but decided not to enter after seeing a Monk sitting behind a cash register near the entrance. Suddenly, this hillside holy place seemed suspiciously artificial.

Back in the courtyard, the group of girls who had been asked to cover up had removed their shalls. They too, it seemed, were starting to believe this supposedly holy Monastery were nothing but a tourist trap.

Leaving the Monastery, I walked down a series of steep hillside steps and back toward the ship. Along the way I passed an old bearded Monk wearing a dark black robe. In his left hand he held a bag of pears and a tucked under his right arm was a girly magazine with a scantily clad woman with dark red lips on the front cover. As I strolled back to the cruise ship, I wondered to myself whether or not the Monk I had just passed would need to worry about sneaking his R-rated reading material into the Monastery.

Below are some of my photos from my travels in Patmos, Greece: