Useful information

Cost

The fees for each course are €520, which includes tuition, materials (including skins and vellum for the practical workshops), lunch at the monastery’s refectory, coffee and refreshments for the morning and afternoon breaks.
Unfortunately it is not possible to pay by credit/debit card. A bank account can be provided for depositing the course fees, or alternatively cash payments can be made prior to the commencement of the course, once you have arrived in Patmos.
Details of the bank account can be given following request.

Applications

Applications for the courses should be made by email to Nikolas Sarris (info@patmosworkshop.com) with the subject “Patmos Bookbinding Workshops 2008”. The applicant must state the course/s he/she is interested in attending as well as a short biography, showing relevant experience with the subjects of the courses.

Accommodation

Must be arranged by students. Chora is for some the ideal place to stay as it is near to the Monastery and also very picturesque. That may also mean though that rooms there are usually more expensive than elsewhere on the island, but you might find it is worth it. Alternatively, Skala is a very vibrant and beautiful village – the port of Patmos and main centre point of the island, which is 5km from Chora and the Monastery, where you will find a great number and variety of hotels and rooms to rent.

We have also come to an agreement with "Hotel Hellinis" in Skala and they offer reduced rates for the students of the seminars. They charge €29 for a single room and €35 for a double, including breakfast. It is a clean, decent and quiet hotel with good service. If you are interested in this please contact them directly for making a reservation either by phone or fax and mention that you are a student of the "September bookbinding seminars at the Monastery of Patmos, by Nikolas Sarris" so that you will be offered the discount. You can check more information about the hotel at www.travel-to-patmos.com
We have reserved enough rooms in advance for all participants, so you will only need to put your name next to one. However, you must make your booking before 30 July, after which the hotel will not be able to keep the rooms reserved for us.

Hotel Hellinis
Contact : ANTONIA GRILLIS
PATMOS 85500
GREECE
Phone : +30 22470 31275/34004
Fax : +30 2247031846

What to bring

Basic bookbinding tools. Most tools can be provided by the course but you may feel more comfortable with your own. (relevant to the practical workshops)
Camera
Working clothes. Take also into consideration that the conservation studio where the workshops will be held is within an active monastic community, therefore shorts and short dresses are not allowed. Also think about wearing appropriate clothes for the summer heat of Greece
Walking shoes, if you intend to do a bit of walking on Patmos’s old pathways.

Getting to Patmos

Patmos does not have an airport. The best ways to get there are

1)Fly to Athens and get a ferry from Piraeus (port of Athens) straight to Patmos (9 hours)
2)Fly to Kos, Samos or Leros (nearby islands) and get a ferry, flying dolphin or catamaran to Patmos (1-4 hours)

You can find more detailed information and timetables at the following websites.

Directions upon arrival

Once you arrive in Patmos, the group will arrange to meet before the classes start (most likely in the evening before). Make sure though that you have made the time and date of your arrival known, (info@patmosworkshop.com ) as well as the hotel that you will choose to stay in so that we can contact you. To get to the monastery from Skala there are frequent bus services as well as a taxi station. From the bus stop in Chora follow there clear signs to the Monastery.(5 min walk)

What to see in Patmos

One would have to start from the cave of the Apocalypse, where Saint John the Theologian wrote the famous book of “Revelation”.
Take long walks in the labyrinth of paths and arched alleyways of Chora.
Explore the numerous and beautiful beaches. There is one for every taste.
Walk down the old, Roman, paved road that used to connect Chora with Skala (approx.3km)
Take a small boat and go around the secret beaches of Patmos or to the nearby islands, Arkioi, Lipsoi and Marathi.

Find out what you can do in Patmos from the following websites:

Book and Manuscripts Conservation Studio St. John Thelogian Monastery, Patmos - Greece