White lanes
Painted doors.
Francesco Bini — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Francesco Bini — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Francesco Bini — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Francesco Bini — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Francesco Bini — CC BY-SA 4.0
Chora is the historic hilltop town of Patmos, one of the northern Dodecanese islands in the Aegean, about 265 km southeast of Piraeus in a straight line. The island covers 34 square kilometres and has about 3,300 people. In 1999 UNESCO listed the historic centre of Chora, together with the Monastery of Saint John the Theologian and the Cave of the Apocalypse, as a World Heritage Site for their place in Christian history and their preserved old traditions. The monk Christodoulos founded the monastery in the 11th century, and the town grew up around it. White houses with painted wooden doors and stone-framed windows crowd along narrow cobbled lanes, among old merchants' and captains' mansions and small chapels with red domes. From the edges of town the view takes in Skala harbour, the bays and the neighbouring islands. Visitors come up from Skala harbour by bus or on foot along an old path and wander the quiet lanes. The place is sacred to many, so modest dress is expected when visiting the monastery.
Painted doors.
Over Skala harbour.
Of merchants and captains.
Chora, Patmos island, Greece
By bus or on foot from Skala.
By ferry from Piraeus or nearby islands.