Scattered all over the hillsides of Kalymnos and other Greek islands you'll spot distinctive blue-and-white monasteries. A few of them are home to actual monks, but mostly they are private shrines, erected by families to celebrate good fortune or memorialize loved ones or simply to glorify God.
This particular monastery sat all by itself at the tip of a rocky peninsula approached by steep steps carved into the hillside. You had to work to get there. It was a snug little place -- my pal, photographer Peter Frank Edwards, and I had to stoop to get through the door. But once inside, it seemed to expand and become far larger than its outward proportions.
We lit candles. We paid tributes to our own particular gods. And then we went about our day, a bit larger than our own outward proportions.
5 comments:
What do you mean by "particular gods?" Isn't this a Christian shrine?
Actually, it's a Greek Orthodox monastery. By "particular gods," I mean that I believe in customized deities, not the one-size-fits all kind.
Knowing how you ate and drank in Greece I'm betting your "outward proportions" are much larger than when you arrived.
Well, I did a lot of hiking, too, and some mountain climbing (kinda) and swimming and ... yeah, you're right. An extra few pounds applied to the frame. I like to think I wear it well.
Maybe you should have prayed for weight loss.
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