Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
make the tour by fayton, the Büyük, or Grand Tour, going all the
way round the island and the Küçük, or Short Tour, going around
the northern half. From the road that crosses the island between
the hills, foot paths lead up on either side to the monasteries which
crown each. The Monastery of the Transfiguration on the north hill,
Isa Tepesi, or the Hill of Christ, is in the depths of a pine forest.
The original monastery is mentioned in the list compiled in 1159 by
Manuel I Comnenus, and the first mention of it after the Conquest is
in 1597; the katholikon of the present monastery is due to a complete
rebuilding in 1869.
On the southern hill, Yiice Tepe, is the more famous monastery
of St. George Koudonas; situated at almost the highest point of
the island, 202 metres above the sea. According to tradition, the
monastery was founded during the reign of Nicephorus II Phocas (r.
963-9), and it is mentioned in the list compiled in 1158 by Manuel
I Comnenus. The present complex includes, besides the monastery
itself, six separate churches and chapels on diferent levels, the older
ones being on the lowest levels. The monastery celebrates the feast-
day of St. George on 23 April, when many thousands of pilgrims
make their way to the hilltop, some of them walking barefoot, tying
talismans to the branches of the bushes and trees along the way.
Many of them have lunch at the little outdoor restaurant beside the
monastery drinking the rough red wine made by the monks, in a
setting reminiscent of the Aegean isles.
The great block of monastic buildings on the western side has a
pretty courtyard with galleries along one side; at the back it plunges
dramatically into the valley below and looks from there like a fortress.
From here one can look out across the sea to the remaining islands of
the group. To the west is tiny Sedef Adası, the Island of the Pearl, known
in Byzantium as Antherovitos. To the south we see the uninhabited
little crag called Tavşan Adası, Rabbit Island, known anciently as
Neandros. Both of these islets once had their monasteries, of which
now only a few scattered stones remain. A number of summer villas
have in recent years been built on Sedef, but Neandros is inhabited
only by sea-birds, who can be seen in their thouands perched on the
clifs on the southern end of the island.
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