Since it was Ilias’ name day he wanted to visit a church on Tinos named for the prophet. Most churches dedicated to Ilias or Elias are located high on mountain tops. Some say it is because he is connected to Helios as they both rode their chariots of fire into the sky. There is another story that is more amusing that Ilias told:
Elijah the prophet was at sea and found himself caught in a terrible storm. The boat tossed him so much that he began to fear for his life. When he was finally able to reach land, he began to find a place to found his church. He brought with him the paddle he had from his boat. He traveled into the village and asked the first person he saw "what is this I am holding?" The person replied "a boat oar." Elijah kept walking
Further up the road and slope, Elijah encountered another man. He asked the man "Do you know what this is I am holding?" The man replied "a boat oar, of course." Elijah kept walking up the mountain.
When Elijah reached the top, he saw several men with herds of goats. He approached the men, held out the oar and asked "gentlemen, do you know what this is I am holding?" The men replied "a goat herder." Elijah decided to build his church there. And so, up the mountain we drove.
The roads in Tinos are not always paved, nor always two lanes. We had two different maps on this journey, and both of them were slightly different. One showed that the road all the way up to the church was a dirt road and the other showed it as a secondary somewhat paved road. Street signs were also sporadic. If you have a decent lay of the land, you can find this place easily. We stopped and asked for directions twice.
Once up the winding hills, it began to quiet down a bit. The roads began to narrow, the villages more sparse. Just past the village of Agapi, there is pretty much nothing....except a church: St. Louliani. We stopped here to stretch our legs and get some photos. We were unable to get inside the main sanctuary, but we did come across a curious find in the adjoining fellowship hall.
P, being a young boy of 4, needed to get out some energy so he and his father set to racing in the courtyard. Once we got the jiggles out, it was time to pile back in and head further up the hill.
If we stayed on the paved road we were on, we would come to another church, Panagia Vourniotsa. As a matter of fact, the only thing out this far was churches. It appeared that we even came across a ghost town of sorts, but were too focused (and tired) to explore it. As we crested the final hill on a road steep and rocky, we saw the church of Profitis Ilias standing alone up high.
We parked our car and headed down the road to the path and gate. There is a small rock wall lining the dirt road up to the church. We were able to enter the church gate and walk around the grounds, but the church was locked and we could not enter. Ilias ventured off to check out the building behind the church to see if anyone was around. The children found some very large bells to ring. I circled around the grounds to take some pictures. We were up high and it was very windy and the sun was beginning to set. I eventually found Ilias sitting on the church roof in quiet meditation. P and I joined him to enjoy the view of the Aegean sea and to feel the wind in our hair.
After I climbed down from the roof, I was able to peek into the church and see that someone had lit a candle in honor of Ilias’ name day.
We gathered our party and headed back down the hill. I was ahead of the party with Perrin who was quite tired but needed to get out more energy. We piled back into the car, each of us reflective of the day. On the way back down the mountain we encountered two baby goats out for a walk on the main road. We stopped for a moment to take some pictures and show them to P. L began her usual "I’m hungry and tired scream" and continued it all the way to Kardiani. P fell asleep in his mother’s lap. And I have to say that this was the best day on Tinos yet.
Check out the views from the hill.
Elijah the prophet was at sea and found himself caught in a terrible storm. The boat tossed him so much that he began to fear for his life. When he was finally able to reach land, he began to find a place to found his church. He brought with him the paddle he had from his boat. He traveled into the village and asked the first person he saw "what is this I am holding?" The person replied "a boat oar." Elijah kept walking
Further up the road and slope, Elijah encountered another man. He asked the man "Do you know what this is I am holding?" The man replied "a boat oar, of course." Elijah kept walking up the mountain.
When Elijah reached the top, he saw several men with herds of goats. He approached the men, held out the oar and asked "gentlemen, do you know what this is I am holding?" The men replied "a goat herder." Elijah decided to build his church there. And so, up the mountain we drove.
The roads in Tinos are not always paved, nor always two lanes. We had two different maps on this journey, and both of them were slightly different. One showed that the road all the way up to the church was a dirt road and the other showed it as a secondary somewhat paved road. Street signs were also sporadic. If you have a decent lay of the land, you can find this place easily. We stopped and asked for directions twice.
 |
| Church of Agios Louliani |
Once up the winding hills, it began to quiet down a bit. The roads began to narrow, the villages more sparse. Just past the village of Agapi, there is pretty much nothing....except a church: St. Louliani. We stopped here to stretch our legs and get some photos. We were unable to get inside the main sanctuary, but we did come across a curious find in the adjoining fellowship hall.
 |
| curious find |
If we stayed on the paved road we were on, we would come to another church, Panagia Vourniotsa. As a matter of fact, the only thing out this far was churches. It appeared that we even came across a ghost town of sorts, but were too focused (and tired) to explore it. As we crested the final hill on a road steep and rocky, we saw the church of Profitis Ilias standing alone up high.
 |
| Church of Prof. Ilias |
We parked our car and headed down the road to the path and gate. There is a small rock wall lining the dirt road up to the church. We were able to enter the church gate and walk around the grounds, but the church was locked and we could not enter. Ilias ventured off to check out the building behind the church to see if anyone was around. The children found some very large bells to ring. I circled around the grounds to take some pictures. We were up high and it was very windy and the sun was beginning to set. I eventually found Ilias sitting on the church roof in quiet meditation. P and I joined him to enjoy the view of the Aegean sea and to feel the wind in our hair.
After I climbed down from the roof, I was able to peek into the church and see that someone had lit a candle in honor of Ilias’ name day.
We gathered our party and headed back down the hill. I was ahead of the party with Perrin who was quite tired but needed to get out more energy. We piled back into the car, each of us reflective of the day. On the way back down the mountain we encountered two baby goats out for a walk on the main road. We stopped for a moment to take some pictures and show them to P. L began her usual "I’m hungry and tired scream" and continued it all the way to Kardiani. P fell asleep in his mother’s lap. And I have to say that this was the best day on Tinos yet.
Check out the views from the hill.
No comments:
Post a Comment