Telendos, a place apart

On the west coast of the Greek Island of Kalymnos in the Dodecanese off the coast of Turkey you come to the small port (basically a jetty) of Myrties. Here your senses are cooled after the hustle and bustle of Pothia by the beautiful sheltered stretch of water known as Telendos Sound and the mysterious brooding presence of the island of the same name, Telendos.

Quayside



From Myrties you must take a boat across the Sound to the magical island of Telendos. It is basically a mountain in the sea with no paved roads or vehicles, 3 beaches, 50 permanent inhabitants, six excellent tavernas and one island donkey called Samson. The sound created between Telendos and Kalymnos is a beautiful sheltered stretch of water and don’t worry about ferry timetables or getting back. Telendos lies about 700 metres off the coast of Kalymnos, of which it was once part. In an earthquake of 554 BC, which according to the historiographer Agathias lasted for 14 days, the ground subsided and the channel of water separating the two islands came into being. On the bed of the sea, important ruins have been found of the ancient buildings in a large city which has been tentatively identified as Pothaea, the original island capital.



The terrain of Telendos is mountainous, with Rachi (458 m) as the highest peak. There are also remains of a Roman town, a castle, and the medieval monastery of St Basil. There are a number of small beaches all within 10 to 15 minutes walk, there being no roads on the island. Some of the walk is paved whilst access to the more remote and secluded beaches is via stony rough ground.

Byzantine Churches

The boatmen have their own system and no matter what time you finish a meal on Telendos there is a boat to bring you back for one euro. The harbour is small and quiet, and is reached by using any of the regular small ferry boats travelling between the island and the port has numerous tavernas along the waterfront and some small supermarket shops selling water and essentials. The two I’d particularly recommend are the Telendos Taverna run by Nikos who in winter is a waiter in Florida and On the Rocks run with some flair by Greek Aussies and which has a 6th Century basilica in its back yard! All the tavernas specialise in fresh fish simply cooked which have been landed by the island’s fishermen that morning.

Hoklakas Beach

Telendos is a place apart, a place get off and let the world go by so you won’t find it easy to take the short ferry ride back to the “mainland”. Go there, turn off and enjoy a time and experience which is all too rare in the modern world.

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