Patmos

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Image:Patmos.JPG Patmos (greek, Πάτμος) is a small Greek island in the Aegean Sea. It is one of the Dodecanese islands, it has a population of roughly 2,500 and an area of 34.6 km² (13 square miles). The highest point is Profitis Ilias, 269 meters above sea level.

Patmos' main communities are Hora and Skala, the only port. The churches and communities on Patmos are of the Eastern Orthodox tradition.

Patmos is most notable for its mention in the Christian scriptural Book of Revelation. The book's introduction states that the author, John, has been exiled to Patmos, and that there he saw and recorded a vision from Jesus. Very early Christian tradition identifies this John as Saint John the Evangelist. As such, Patmos is a destination for Christian pilgrimage. Visitors can visit the cave where John supposedly saw the Revelation. Several monasteries on the island are dedicated to Saint John.

Patmos is also home to the Patmian School, a notable Greek seminary.

1 Skala
2 History
3 See also
4 External links

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Skala

Skala is the main settlement on the island, and is made of up 4 areas. Netia, the new port area, stretches along the main road towards Kambos. This Marina was built in the mid-1990's due to the couple of boom years the island had in relation to cruises and yacht visits. However, that soon fell off, and Netia is now made up of a large, concrete Marina which the few Yachts share with the larger local fishing boats and a small boatyard. The opposite side of the road backs onto a mountain, which was blasted to give buildings space to develop. These include a dive centre and several restaurants. The turn from the beachfront road toward Netia is the site of John the Evangelist's baptismal font. These businesses have struggled to get off the ground, although the introduction of a small supermarket and a laundry have made this area slightly more attractive to holidaymakers but it still looks rundown and unfinished. One of the most dangerous parts of the islands road system is on the bend around the church: not a year goes by without a tourist coming to grief on a moped.

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History

The island was controlled by Turks for many years, during which it suffered deterioration of its very valuable library of books in St. John monastery. Patmos was captured by Italians in 1912 during the Turco-Italian War. In 1915, Patmos was still under the control of Italians.

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