Of all of the Greek islands, Patmos is well probably the most serene to me. Though a bit smaller in space than, say, Cambridge (at about 13 sq. miles), it’s richly sprinkled with monasteries, and is referred to as the “Jerusalem of the Aegean”. The principle city, Chora, has greater than 40 chapels, and never a single cornershop or grocery. In the meantime, down on Petra Bay, there’s a rock for hermits, rising up like a five-storey Swiss cheese, full with cells and cisterns and Eleventh-century plumbing.
Patmians are nonetheless fortunately self-contained. Throughout our week, we met some who’d by no means left the island. Others would save up all their medical issues for an annual, eight-hour voyage to Athens. However most have been completely happy simply being Patmian: fishing, pondering, constructing little inns or teasing greens out of the rock.
Regardless of wars, droughts, Romans and a Russian occupation (1770-74), there are nonetheless greater than 3,000 everlasting islanders. An unofficial phone listing lists an occulist, two dentists, the Nationwide Guard and the Cave of the Apocalypse.
There are solely 12 taxis throughout the island, so we obtained to know the drivers. All of them mentioned the identical factor: “Why would we need to depart? We reside in probably the most lovely place on the earth.”
It’s true, Patmos is compellingly magnificent. It was as soon as listed – by Forbes journal – as one in all Europe’s most idyllic locations. It’s an unruly magnificence. To a passing eagle, the island should appear like a splatter of mountains dropped from an awesome top. A lot of the coves are unoccupied: too steep, too rocky, too wild. However the blues are correct cobalt blues, and throughout this miniature, upended desert, there’s at all times a lingering scent of oleander and herbs.
Each morning, earlier than it obtained too scorching, I’d scramble over some hill, or alongside a stretch of shore. It was humorous the issues I’d discover: shrines, in fact, but additionally the basket-maker. Every single day, his van would come trundling via the hills, like some unusual mechanical hedgehog, bristling with baskets.
To the Romans, the superior loveliness of Patmos instructed punishment, and it turned a spot of exile. Based on the Christian custom, that is the place Saint John was despatched in 95 AD, and the place he heard the voice of God. His shallow granite cave is clustered with chapels. It would have been a pleasant place to soak up the dangerous information, now referred to as the Apocalypse. I solely hope that the finish of the world smells like this, of sandalwood.
Patmians have by no means fairly shrugged off the concept the world ends right here. Maybe it helps that that is now the very fringe of Christendom, and that – solely 15 miles to the east – Turkey (and Asia) begins. In 1088, the Byzantines started a fortified monastery up at Chora. It’s nonetheless there, with ramparts 15 metres tall and views of the ocean in each course. Radiating defiance, it proclaims itself a final bastion of civilisation.
I beloved this cranky fortress and clambered up there a number of instances. Inside, it’s a labyrinth of tunnels and caverns. It’s additionally a repository of the Holy and the Unusual. Among the many treasures, there are the chains of St John, a number of skulls, some sixth-century manuscripts, a medieval flip-flop and a big crucifix donated by Catherine the Nice that’s barnacled in gems. Till the Italian takeover in 1912, this was the nerve centre of the island, exuding piety and awe.
For all this, Patmos continues to be the Greece we all know and love, with its wonky lanes, biddable cats and sumptuous scented landscapes. And you may at all times discover a Mini Moke to rent, or a restaurant dangling off a mountain. Loza, on Chora’s outer ramparts, has dizzying views over half the island.
Solely a touch of theocracy survives. There’s no airport, because of the monks, and the nightlife is stunted. It’s additionally mentioned there are strict guidelines about “looseness” and nudity. When some hippies tried to settle within the Nineteen Seventies, they have been swiftly evicted by the anti-promiscuity squad. You would possibly even discover the odd pamphlet asserting the Downfall of Man. However we are able to save ourselves, I used to be advised, by unplugging the web.
None of this deters the tremendous wealthy. All types of huge names have dropped by, from David Bowie to the Aga Khan. You sometimes spot their nice glass mansions up on the hilltops or down within the coves. However largely they arrive in their very own fancy boats. Every single day, they collect in Skala (the island’s solely port) in an awesome carnival of nautical bling.
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On this quiet island, we had the quietest spot of all. The Onar Patmos sits on the finish of the observe on Petra Bay. Constructed into the hillside, it has its personal tiny chapel and sits above a bit seashore. Like all locations run by Aria Motels, it’s understated, spectacularly sited and endearingly staffed.
I don’t know what you name the model however “four-star farmhouse” will do. Our little manor had a stone fire and flagged flooring, and our daughter slept in a type of designer hayloft up within the eaves. Every morning, Giorgos, the supervisor, introduced us espresso and rolls on our terrace, and if we listened fastidiously we may hear a rivulet of bells on the island reverse. It was the goats, submitting down to feed.
There was at all times lots to do. One other favorite place to go to was the Simantari Mansion. Owned by the native maths grasp, it had been in his household for almost 300 years. They’d by no means thrown something away, together with their photos of Marie Antoinette. “These,” mentioned the instructor, “have been an indication of our sophistication.”
Earlier than leaving, we joined a visit to the outlying islands. They have been all totally different: Macronisi regarded like a pile of large cash; Aspronisi was chalky white; and Arki was coated in goats. However better of all was Marathi, the place the fishermen had gigantic moustaches, and have been knitting their nets on the quayside as if the previous few centuries hadn’t actually occurred.
On our final evening, we went dancing. The waiters and waitresses at Aloni have at all times danced, of their dishevelled pantaloons and stiff velvet tunics. We have been quickly hauled on to the dance ground. Clearly, it wasn’t the wildest evening, however we have been up till the small hours, merrily prancing spherical in circles, and – by the tip – we have been all one of the best of buddies.
Trying again, I ponder if Patmos is at all times like this: spirited, magnificent, totally lovable and only a tiny bit bonkers.
Lodging was supplied by the Onar Patmos Lodge (doubles from €160, open April to mid-October, ariahotels.gr). Ferries run from Piraeus (8 hours, £40), Samos (2½ hours, £33) Kos (2 hours, £36) and Rhodes (5 hours, £47). Day journeys to the outlying islands might be organized via patmosdailycruises.gr (€40 every)
John Gimlette is the writer of The Gardens of Mars: Madagascar, an Island Story (Head of Zeus, £10.99). Order a duplicate at guardianbookshop.com. Supply prices might apply
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