Besides going to Ephesus, where St. John took Mary to live, we also went to the island of Patmos, where John wrote the book of Revelation.
We bussed up the mountain to the Sacred Cave of the Apocalypse. St. John composed Revelation, which was the last book to be included in the Bible, according to visions he had.
In the cave, we saw the hole in the wall (pillow) where St. John would lay his head to sleep. By the time he wrote the book, he was an old man and he dictated it to a companion. We saw the three-way crack in the ceiling, which represents the Trinity. As with Mary's house, we were not allowed to take photos inside the cave. However, someone was allowed to take photos.
At most of the holy sites we visited we would pray and sing.
After seeing the cave, we walked farther up the mountain to the Greek Orthodox Monastery of St. John.
Here our local guide explains some of the paintings on the walls.
Beautiful mosaics.
We went to the monastery's museum where we saw old pieces like this ark.
One of the advantages of arriving at the second island of the day in the late afternoon or early evening is that we get to be on the island at dusk when the light is so beautiful.
Our ship waiting for us. The Olympia isn't able to dock at a couple of the islands, including Patmos, so we took tender boats back and forth.
