Panormitis

In a sheltered round bay in the south-west of Symi stands the Monastery of the Archangel Michael Panormitis, one of the great pilgrimage places of the Dodecanese. Its tall baroque-style bell tower rises over the water, and inside the courtyard, paved with black and white pebbles, is the church with its silver icon of the Archangel, patron of sailors. Pilgrims stay in simple guest rooms, two small museums show the gifts and the island's old life, and the boats from Rhodes call here in summer. The great feast is on 8 November.