What I can see

The Byzantine church of Agia Marina is carved into the rock and only the three-metre cylindrical dome protrudes from it. The dome, however, is not from the Byzantine period, but the one reconstructed during the Ottoman times. The church is small, vaguely shaped and the dome rests on 4 arches carved into the rock. The wall paintings have been transferred to the newer and larger church of 1927, which is right above. The two churches are internally linked. The new church was designed by Achilleas Georgiadis, based on the original plans of Ernst Ziller.

What I can't see

The Byzantine church was carved on the site of an ancient water reservoir. Until 1964, there was also a small bell tower next to the dome. Agia Marina is considered the patron saint of infants and according to tradition, it was here where mothers sought help for their sick children, women trying to conceive and pregnant women begging for easy birth by “sliding” on a smooth rock next to the church. The rock was called Tsoulistra (Slider) or Kilistra or Xouliastra . The roots of this custom, however, go back to antiquity and the sanctuary of the Nymphs that was located on the same hill. During conservation works in the 1980s, it was revealed that the wall paintings had successive layers from the Byzantine years to the 20th century. The oldest preserved layer dates to the 13th century. Another important layer is from the 17th century, a work by the painter Demetrios.

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