PATMOS ISLAND

View from the Chora of Patmos towards Skala and the northern portion of the island

There are places that can dig inside of your soul; places that have the ability to move you emotionally just by their sheer existence and beauty. I feel lucky to have been able to experience this place. In April I was invited by Maria Lemos & Gregoris Kambouroglou to stay at their guest house Pagostas, on the island of Patmos during the start of Holy Week. The island was virtually empty, it was fully in bloom from a rich season of winter rains and this sense of serenity and peacefulness (which I found at times overwhelming, inspirational and soul filling) took me aback. Famed for its Byzantine period Monastery and the equally famed Chora (the island's main settlement) and of course as the place where Saint John wrote in exile the final book of the bible - Revelations; at times I felt it was unreal what I was seeing before my eyes. An incredible alternative view from what most know of the island from their annual summer breaks. The sounds of aperitivo on a roof terrace was replaced by a wonderful silence - where the sound of nature took over - the wind - the sea; Sounds like a melody whose vocals were the local neighborhood chatter and sounds of preparations - of lime wash being spread - and an endless sea of wild flowers and lavender; even the wind seemed to hit differently, as if it was coming to save you. With hints of warm air it was a reminder of how we don't have so much control. These images are some of a few- they are as cIose as I can to expressing what I was experiencing.