Monday, June 20, 2011

Patmos Greece: The Island of the Apocalypse

Patmos is a Greek island located in the northernmost part of the Aegean Sea, next to the island of Kalymnos and part of the Dodecanese set of islands.

Patmos is mostly known as the island where St John the Divine wrote the last book of the New Testament, the Book of the Apocalypse (Apokalipsis), commonly known as The Revelation or Book of The Revelation.

As per The Revelation 1:9: “I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ

John was exiled by the Romans to the island of Patmos and it is there that the sacred last chapter of the New Testament was written. The cave where John spent the most productive years of his life is known today as the Monastery of the Revelation and is surrounded by a hermitage built by Ossios Christodoulos honoring the Christian Apostle.

The First Greek WiFi Network

MIT Media Labs professor Dr. Nicolas Negroponte, a strong proponent of unlicensed free access WLAN technology, installed along with the Media Labs team in 2005, one of the first Greek 802.11 hotspots in the biblical island of Patmos.

Patmos the Divine

One cannot overemphasize the unquestionable beauty of the island. Every part has something different to offer and aside from the religious and divine connotations, Patmos' natural beauty is a rarity amongst earthly locations.

Patmos provides a unique religious experience amongst the Greek islands in particular, and vacation spots in general. The island projects a majestically divine ambience coupled with an air of eastern mysticism encompassed within the secure confines of western thought.

Patmos is ideally a family destination although numerous young people crowd the island on a yearly basis; the island because of its enchanting beauty has a fixed number of return visitors year after year. It is an ideal location for those seeking a serene place for self reflection and tranquility.

In Patmos, one will spend a mild afternoon in the beautiful Hora walking through the narrow passages admiring the light bending colorations of the sea salt flavored textures; or rest by the Kambos at about 1 am in the narrow strip of land that separates the two bays; or drive to the old quarry mines at midnight while awestruck by the marked contrast of dark mountainsides splashing into the moonlit waters of the Aegean Sea.

Getting to Patmos

In order to restrict the number of visitors and maintain the natural serenity and tranquility of the sacred island, Patmians opted out of government plans for a local airport.

The only way to get to the island is by sea.

From the Greek mainland, the most common route is through the port of Piraeus.

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