Chora

Chora is the capital of the island with 541 residents and World Heritage Monument by UNESCO since 1999, it is located in the south central part of Patmos, 4 km. away from the port of Skala, and it is the second largest settlement on the island.

Surrounded by the walls of the fortified Byzantine Monastery of Saint John the Theologian, Chora has kept to this day the architectural characteristics of the medieval village from which it derived: narrow, winding streets with a maximum width of 1.5 m., grand mansions and humble houses adjacent to each other, tall yard walls and flat roofs that create an overground road. Simple lines and dazzling white that hide well-made interiors and colorful, blooming courtyards.

Chora, a benchmark of the cultural route of Patmos and of its status, consists of communities that depict its historical development and its spread having the Monastery as the focus point:

• Allotina, to its west, was the community created by Byzantine families when they fled to the island after the conquest of Constantinople in 1453
• Cretan, to its east, was the community created by Cretan refugees after the fall of Candia in 1669
• Aporthiana, to its north, the newest residential center, with sea view, that was developed from the mid-18th century by ship-owners and merchants who wanted to monitor the traffic in the port of Skala.

Among them, the urban tissue maintained its consistency with humble houses, densely structured, reflecting the logic of fortification against the external enemy and creating districts, the boundaries of which are known only by locals: Elemonitria, Kylimountra, Laura, Lorna, Mangouri, Niochori , Pezoula.

The result is the entire Chora to be a landmark, with little precious points worth discovering, like the two squares, St. Lesvias (St. Levi) and the Town Hall Square (Loza), with the house of co-founder of the Society of Friends (Filiki Etaireia), Emmanuel Xanthos, the churches (51 in total, including Great Virgin Mary of 1783, the walled Ipapanti of 1600, Panagia Diasozousa of 1559, Saint Dimitrios of the 15th century, Holy Apostles of 1603, Saint Nicholas Alonaris of 1816) and the manors (Alexaki, Valvi, Gazi, Doriza, Calliga, Malandraki, Nikolaidi, Simantiri, Pagkosta, Paleologou, Sofoliou, Syfantou, Fountou), even if today many of them belong to new owners.

In Chora, apart from touring the streets and enjoying the magnificent view, there are fine shops with a variety of souvenirs, restaurants, picturesque taverns, atmospheric famous bars, as well as a hotel and rooms to let.

Aporthianos Road: the historic path
Aporthianos road is the oldest stone path with a length of 2.4 km that connects Chora with Skala (a walk of about 40 minutes from Chora to Skala and 50 minutes in the opposite direction) and the first public road on the island. It was constructed in 1819 by the Metropolitan Nektarios Sardis, and it was restored in 2010within the framework of “Paths of Culture” of the Greek Society for the Environment and Cultural Heritage (ELLET), enabling the visitor to wander in it.