Heart of Tinos: A village hopping adventure

 

This landmark monastery has huge cultural and religious importance. Ever since a resident nun Agia Pelagia experienced visions which led to the miraculous discovery of the Holy Icon of the Virgin Mary in 1823, devout Greeks have made annual pilgrimage every August 15 to kiss the recovered icon, now housed at the Church of the Virgin Mary in Tinos Chora. We will visit the former cell of Agia Pelagia: considered the most sacred spot on the island by Tinians. Cultural kudos aside, the monastery also offers great architectural interest. Resembling a traditional fortified village, it is enclosed within whitewashed walls and displays other classic Cycladic calling cards such as cobbled alleys and stone arches.

 

Are you ready to visit the remarkable lunar-like village of Volax (also known as Volakas)? You’ll be astonished at the sight of this geological phenomenon with houses hewn from giant boulders that appear to have dropped from the heavens, like meteorites.Here, the traditional occupation of the villagers is basket weaving. Let’s drop in on a basket making workshop and meet the craftsmen at work to discover the secrets behind this age-old art.

 

Now we will venture to the village of Kampos to visit the island’s best-preserved windmill and encounter one of Tinos’ most-loved emblems: the famous pigeon houses (known as “peristereones”). There are currently more than 600 pigeon houses (and probably twice as many once upon a time!). Let’s peek inside one while your destination angel enlightens you with vivid stories and folklore. Before we depart Kampos, we’ll take in a few impressive village churches to admire their pebbled mosaics and intricate wood-carved iconostases – and sit down to savour some of the outstanding Tinian cuisine at a traditional taverna. Time for one last photo stop at the famous valley of pigeon houses in the village of Tarambados, before setting off for the Exo Meria of Tinos and its largest village, Pyrgos.

 

Legendary Pyrgos is a splendour of marble-sculpted streets and flowery squares that bewitches all who see it. Picture an open-air gallery created by some of Greece’s foremost sculptors and painters. Nowadays, continuing the town’s proud marble tradition are a School of Fine Arts, galleries and marble workshops run by local sculptors (we will visit one to learn the secrets of his art). We’ll make two more culture stops as we wander the cosmopolitan alleys of Pyrgos: the Museum of Tinian Artists and the house of Giannoulis Halepas. Time to pause in the main village square for a delectable galaktoboureko (a famous local sweet) before our final stop at the Modern Museum of Marble to put into fascinating context the marble marvels you have just witnessed.