Tsambika Monastery

nearby the village of Archangelos is a tiny white Byzantine church perched high at 984ft (300m) with commanding coastal views both north over Kolimbia where the avenue of eucalyptus trees can be picked out and the grid layout appreciated and south over Tsambika beach and beyond to distant Lindos. Inside is the miraculous eleventh-century icon of the Blessed Virgin found on the mountain by a childless, infertile couple who later conceived a child. The legend is that if a childless woman wishing to conceive walks barefoot up the mountain to pray to the Virgin, she will be blessed with children. Children so inspired are named after the monastery, Tsambikos for a boy and Tsambika for a girl, a name unique to Rodos. As it is so common on the island, it is more likely that fertile women named their offspring after the monastery by way of thanks that it had not been necessary to undergo this ritual. The saints day is 7 September, an especially potent occasion for the infertile.
 

The domed Church of the Panagia,

in the heart of the village of Lindos, just off the main square. This fifteenth-century church has a dark interior with a black and white pebbled floor and is decorated with eighteenth-century frescoes by Gregori of Symi. With typical polarisation male saints are on the right and female on the left.

The Byzantine church of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin

at the village of Asklipion. Built in 1060, it started as a cross but extended later to accommodate a larger congregation. There are some fine frescos to see. Nest to the church is a museum displaying ancient religious artefacts, old bibles and ikons in the one room while the second room depicts the old way of village life with agricultural tools, bread making implements and even an old olive oil press. This is a co-operative venture by the villagers themselves who contributed many of the exhibits and well worth a few moments.

The Church of Our Lady at Filerimos.

The church has four chapels, the outer of which was built by Grand Master d'Aubusson and the innermost still has the floor of the original early Christian church with the mosaic fish decoration. Solitude reigns in the cloister at the rear of the church where the monks cells are each marked with a plaque, each showing a different flower. The remains in front of the church are those of the Temple of Athena Polias and Zeus Polieus. This temple was a larger version of the one at Lindos with a vestibule entrance guarded by four columns and an enclosed section at the rear, also with four columns. The remains of a paved floor of an even older Phoenician temple can be seen in front of one of the rectangular statue bases. In front of the temple to Athena is the small underground Byzantine chapel of Agios Georgios whose walls were decorated with frescos by the Knights of St John around the fourteenth to fifteenth century .

Moni Kalopetra,

startlingly white in the glare of the sun, is reached just before the descent to the Valley of the Butterflies. The monastery has a peaceful courtyard with picnic tables where the countryside can be overlooked in quiet contemplation, perhaps with a drink since light refreshments are available.

Agios Soulas,

a tiny chappel, within extensive grounds with a taverna, a play area and a race track! Crowds do gather, especially on the 29 and 30 July, the chapel's saints day, for a large festival which includes a major attraction unique on the island, donkey racing !

Agios Nikolaos Foundoukli,

the fourteenth-century Byzantine church of with its interesting wall paintings, on the drive to Eleousa through the cool, green forests passes. It is believed that the hillsides here were once covered with hazelnuts.

The monastery of Ag Nectarios,

nearby the Seven Springs. An archway leads to steps up to the grandiose Byzantine style church guarded by columnar cypress trees. The separate campanile, with a tiered construction, is borrowed from a later period. Picnic tables are provided just outside the church.

Moni Thari, nearby the village of Laerma.

Built around the thirteenth century on much earlier foundations offers some fine, old frescos. The north and south walls are the oldest, twelfth century, part of the building but some ninth-century remains can be seen in the surrounding grounds. The dome, the apse and the nave all carry frescos of exceptional craftsmanship. Some parts of the wall have as many as four layers of painting, the earliest from 1100. The apse has three layers. Centuries after construction, it is now expanding with the addition of sleeping accommodation. It is a quiet and tempting place to picnic with facilities on hand, unless there is a festival in full swing. The 21 and 22 May is one of those occasions.

Moni Ipseni,

nearby the village of Lardos, is of recent construction and unusual in that it is a living, working monastery with nuns who greet visitors kindly and happily show them around. Cool elegance awaits with citrus trees surrounding a fountain in the quiet courtyard. Outside is a large area used for festivities and a white chapel overlooks from a nearby hill.

Moni Skiadi,

nearby the village of Messanagros. One of the more important monasteries on the island made famous by its miraculous ikon of the Blessed Virgin (Panagia). Legend tells of a heretic who stabbed the painting many centuries ago and brought blood from the cheek of Mary. Still visible brown stains provide their own persuasive evidence. The ikon is carried around at Easter time from house to house and village to village until it finally comes to rest for a period on the island of Halki. Most of the present buildings arise from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries built around a thirteenth-century Church of the Holy Cross. In its present form, the tiered campanile is attached to the church building which has a typical cross vaulted roof. Rooms are available for guests wishing to stay overnight but expect it all to be full on 8 September.


Source: © www.rodosisland.gr