Patmos Luxury Vacations

A somewhat hard-to-reach haven for yachters and adventurous travelers that don’t mind enduring the eight-hour ferry ride from Athens, Patmos was formally declared a Holy Island in 1983 and is also referred to as the “Jerusalem of the Aegean,” home to the world’s second-most holy place after Jerusalem, the Cave of the Apocalypse. This is the very place where not only Christian but all religions, believe the creator of the world appeared. First when the Ten Commandments were presented to Moses by God at Mount Sinai, the second in the Jordan River, and the third, on Patmos. It’s been used as a place of exile by the Romans thanks to its steep terrain, in fact, after St. John was exiled by Emperor Domitian, that’s how he found safe refuge in the 1^st century AD.

For many years it’s been an island of pilgrimage for Orthodox and Catholic faithful, with many coming to be immersed in its spiritual heritage while basking in its tranquil beauty. Like most Greek islands, there are plenty of visitors who come to for the sunshine, sand and crystalline waters as well. In the Chora, whitewashed homes glisten under the Aegean sun next to grand mansions. Walking the narrow streets from the monastery down to the port, one can discover all sorts of shops, cafes, restaurants and traditional bakeries filled with cheese pies, local cheeses and other dairy products along with traditional fried Greek pastries topped with honey and nuts.