The Hidden Churches of Tilos (no music)

More than a holiday island -- it goes without saying that beautiful, unspoilt, remote Tilos has excellent beaches, hotels, villas and apartment accommodation, wonderfully fresh food, welcoming and friendly locals, glorious weather, interesting walks, abundant wildlife and all of the other relaxing attributes you can expect from the Dodecanese islands and Greece -- it also has a unique story to tell to those who care to listen.
The island of Tilos has been inhabited since pre-history and archaic evidence of long lost and not so old civilisations is obvious. Abandoned settlements, old castles and little family churches dot the landscape.
From the very beginning, Christianity has required men to build a structure and dedicate it to a saint in order to worship Christ, the Virgin Mary and God. There are said to be 365 of these structures, churches, chapels or Monasteri on Tilos.
Long periods of persecution by several of the islands' occupiers have meant that it was not always possible to worship openly and so some of the churches were hidden below the ground or in caves.
This video offers just a glimpse of the ingenuity and dedication to their faith of the worshippers who built these concealed churches.