St Fotini Basilica Ruins, Karpathos, Greece

The early Christian basilica of Saint Fotini is one of the most interesting cultural monuments of Karpathos. Found by archaeologists in 1972, scientists suspect that the church is more than 1,500 years old. Thanks to the efforts of modern architects, the beautiful basilica was restored and can be admired by visitors in the area of Afoti, on the northern beach of Pigadia between the road to Aperi and the beach.

The ruins of the early Christian basilica from the 5th or 6th century are among the best preserved of the island. The basilica, built on the remains of a former ancient temple, is dedicated to the martyr Agia Fotini. Some marble columns with Christian symbols can still be admired.

According to Greek tradition, Fotini ('the enlightened one') is the Samaritan woman who meets Jesus at Jacob's Well. She is worshiped as a saint and counted among the great martyrs and apostles. The encounter of Jesus with the Samaritan woman is described in the Gospel of John (chapter 4).

References:

aegeantrails.com

Religious sites in Greece

Address

Karpathos, Greece

See all sites in Karpathos

Details

Founded: 5th century AD
Category: Religious sites in Greece

Rating

3.9/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby

Arkasa (8,6 km)
Vroukounta (32 km)
Ellinokamara (29,6 km)

User Reviews

Dave Grønvall (2 years ago)
A nice place. Not big. And maybe a info board whould have done the last bit.

sara nemeth (2 years ago)
So beautiful at sunrise. Easy to finde, next to the main road

Peter Lajoshazi (3 years ago)
Don't expect much from the tourist "attraction". But spend a few minutes at sunrise. There's a door on the fence, you can go in for free.

Johan81 (3 years ago)
A small site with ruins.. unfortunately not getting the love it deserves, trash and unkept surroundings somewhat dampen the feeling of the place ?

phil dawson (3 years ago)
Interesting but no signs or site info

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Photo from Flickr, copyright Zvonimir Hrvoj

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St Fotini Basilica Ruins