Tinos is one of the more Greek of the Cyclades islands. Most of the visitors are Greek rather than foreign tourists. They come, in particular, to visit the Church of Panayia Evangelistria where there is an icon attributed with healing powers. The two key dates are March 25 and August 15, with the latter being the more important of the two. For the August festival thousands of pilgrims travel to the island and the event is always shown on Greek news programmes.
The island lies to the south of Andros, from which it is separated by only one kilometre of water. Tinos is 27.5 kilometres long and 12 kilometres wide at its widest point. The island has a population of some 10,000, and of these 3,500 live in the Chora. Almost one-third of the islanders are Catholic and the island claims to have over 750 churches and chapels, the largest number in the Cyclades.
HISTORY
In the Persian Wars Tinos fought on the Greek side at the Battle of Salamis. A warship from Tinos deserted from the Persian navy just before the battle was due to start. This meant that the Greeks were informed of the Persians' battle plans.
Throughout antiquity the history of the island pretty much mirrors that of the rest of the Cyclades. After the conquest of Constantinople in 1204 by Venetian-led forces, Tinos became, along with the other islands of the Cyclades, part of the Duchy of the Archipelago. The Doge of Venice, Dandalo, gave Tinos and Mykonos to the Ghisi family. In 1390 both islands were returned to Venice and became the only two Cyclades islands to be ruled directly from there. Although the Turks conquered the other Cyclades islands in the 16th century, Tinos held out. Each time the Turks overran the island, the islanders withdrew to the fortress of St. Helena in Exobourgo until the Ottoman forces gave up and returned to Turkey. The continued attacks led many of the islanders to give up and leave the island altogether. Finally, the last Venetian governor, Proveditore Balbi deserted Tinos in 1715 and the Turks took the island without a struggle.
In 1822 a local nun claimed to have had a dream of the Virgin Mary who told her where she could find a hidden icon. It took six months to find the icon, and almost immediately several miraculous cures were attributed to it. The discovery of the icon and the building of a religious complex on the island to house it transformed the fortunes of the islanders. As the number of pilgrims each year continued to grow, the port village of Ayios Nicholas was transformed into a town with hotels, restaurants, souvenir shops selling religious items and so on.
SIGHTSEEING IN THE CHORA
Church of the Panayia. The shrine, also known as Megalokari, is built on the site where the icon was found in 1823. The interior of the church, which is built of marble from Tinos, Paros and from the ruins of the temple of Apollo on Delos, is full of votive offerings. The exact spot where the icon was found is in the Crypt below the church. Inside the church complex there are seven or eight museums and galleries devoted to religious art and the work of local artists from Tinos and Andros.
The Archaeological Museum. The museum contains finds from various archaeological sites on the island. Among the most interesting are a Roman floor mosaic and a first century BC sun-dial, as well as exhibits from the shrine of Poseidon and Amphitrite, near Kionia.
Kionia (3kms NW of the Chora). The Sanctuary of Poseidon and Amphitrite, which is thought to have been built in the fourth century BC, was first excavated in 1902 but excavations did not resume until 1973. The archaeologists uncovered a temple, baths, a fountain, hostels for pilgrims and an enormous portico 550 feet long.
Monastery of Ayia Triada (3kms east of the Chora). The most interesting aspects of this monastery are the iconostasis which was carved in 1764 and the museum.
SIGHTSEEING ON THE ISLAND
Pyrgos is the first of two areas well worth visiting on the island. The village of Pyrgos in the north, is situated in the middle of the marble-quarrying district. There are five buses a day to this, the most beautiful village on the island. The villagers are famous throughout Greece for their work with marble.
The villages around Exobourgo. Many of these villages are wholly Catholic while one or two are wholly Orthodox and others are mixed. The path up to the fortress starts at the village of Xinara. The villages of Tripotamos, Loutra, Dio Choria and Triandaros are well worth taking a look at.
USEFUL PHONE NUMBERS
Area code 0283
Windmills Travel Agency 23398
Tinos Camping 22344