“Tinos Island, Greece”

• June 14, 2020
• By Pen n Daryl
• 0 Comment

“The Island of Miracles”

New island, new digs, and a rental car to explore with.

First stop is a church at the end of a road, overlooking the city. The main church is very large, and unlike any that we have seen before. This is a Greek Orthodox Church. Walking up the stairs on a red carpet. It is flanked by a mosaic stone patio with small stone lovingly set in patterns in the concrete. 

The bottom floor is set up with cave rooms with super thick walls. The arched walkways with interconnected, intersecting hallways give the upper stories the upmost strong foundation. With Baptismal vessels in brass  with Christian Relief’s all around them. There were several, some with capped coverings. The ceilings have many candle lamps of silver, brass and pewter, hanging on chains; some made to look like boats and sailing ships. 

Upstairs is a grand Cathedral with more hanging lamps and alters similar to Catholic Churches. Such a grand sight, with single wooden chairs, not pews, like many churches. 

We venture on to another church, up to a very old village high in the hills. The windy narrow roads lead us past many convents and small churches. Some Churches are private for wealthy families in their own compound.  We take pictures from outside, for all were closed, due to the pandemic. 

At the crest of one hill, we walked through an old village, past small restaurants and shops. We take more pictures of some churches and explored the quant village. It looked like a condominium complex from a hundred years before. All the homes are connected with common walls and walkways and some tunnels. Some had animal enclosures for the donkeys in the past or maybe a root cellar. The stone walkways and white walls are Greek in style. Having seen several of these ancient villages on several islands, we would love to build a home in this style.

We headed down the hill and another church, high on a hill, caught our eyes. As we drove closer to it, we see that an old fort once occupied the uppermost reaches. This was an old, old town that even the foundations can not be seen. The massive stone walls still stand the test of time. Painted marks of the pilgrimaged route can be seen on the pathways, as we saw in the previous village. The church or Monastery was closed but it was very large. A small church was perched at the entrance and just past the Monastery. 

There are no shortages of churches on this “Island of Miracles.”