Kalymnos page 3

Pothia has a very good hospital and one of the few orphanages in Greece. The mermaid in the harbor is one of many works donated to the island by the local sculptors Irene and Michalis Kokkinos.

The old Governors Palace now houses the central market and police station. The slavishly reconstruted silver-domed Cathedral of Aghios Christos is right on the water. Within the church are many paintings by local artists.

In the NW section of town, just behind the port and marked by three windmills, is the Myli quarter and above, stands the ruined Castle of the Knights (Kastro Chryssocheria or golden handed). Chorio or the old town is just above and dominated by the pirate-proof Citidal of Pera Kastro.

Hora the old capital

Even thought it's a strenuous climb, the views are spectacular from the top where the old capital was located. Hora took root under the protection of Pera Kastro, the fortress which served as refuge during the middle ages. It's a forbidding structure, whose interior holds even earlier ruins of habitation. On its crags stand nine chaples, which locals faithfully keep spotlessly white washed.

Near Hora's hospital at the foot of Mt. Flaska is the Cave of the Nymphs, or Cave of the Seven Virgins, which has never been fully explored. Within may be seen traces of ancient worship where devotees poured libations. Legend has it that seven maidens sought refuge in its depths from pirates only to become lost and never be seen again.

Just beyond Hora stands the islands old cathedral Panagia ths Kechaitomeni which was partially built using the existant columns of the Hellenistic Temple of Apollo.

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