In search of the tomb of Harmilos in Pyli

After an early morning run and my first ever attempt to cook Greek coffee, which was terrible, we left for Pyli and went in search of the Tomb of Harmilos, possibly an old king of Kos. Pyli is a really nice village in the middle of Kos, which has not a lot of individual tourists. But two big busses stopped for a while and herded their travelers to the old spring water fountain house. As individual traveler you are definitely a rarity here.

follow the sign to the tomb of Harmilos @Pyli

We left the car near the main village square and walked the rest of the way to the tomb. At the grave site an old man showed us where to go in, and informed us that the grave is about 2500 years old. It’s not quite that old, but the family grave was built around 300 BC.

tomb of Harmilos @Pyli

In the tunnel you can see six grave chambers on each sides. On top of the tunnel was a shrine, which is now part of the chapel wall.

inside the tomb of Harmilos @Pyli

Here there was also an inscription found, which helped to date the structure. The little chapel was well kept and in the end we gave of course a donation to the old man keeping vigil here. He gave us some candles to light, as well as cookies, and fresh apricots from the trees around.

the little chapel with part of the shrine on the left side @Pyli

We walked back through the main square in search of the fountain house, where the water came out through the mouth of a lion. It tasted actually quite good and was rather cold. Supposedly the fountain house and the tomb are connected through a tunnel.

the fountain house @Pyli

After a quick stop for coffee, we spent the afternoon at Camel beach and relaxed. Yours, Pollybert

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