Arki & Marathi: A Tiny Dodecanese Escape
Arki is a tiny group of islands east of Patmos in the Dodecanese, the largest about 7 square kilometres with only some 50 inhabitants, with the even smaller islet of Marathi alongside. There is no bus and no crowd here, just a handful of tavernas, a few rooms, a scatter of little churches and the beautiful sheltered beach of Tiganakia. Once the day-trippers from Patmos have gone, Arki is about as quiet and authentic as a Greek island gets.
- Sea
- Dodecanese
- Size
- ~7 km²
- Population
- ~50
- Nearest island
- Patmos
The island of Arki
Arki lies east of Patmos in the Dodecanese, between Patmos and Agathonisi towards the Turkish coast — less a single island than a little group of them. On the largest, about 7 square kilometres, live around 50 people, most of them from fishing or goat-herding and a few from the tavernas. It is a dry island with few trees, but it keeps the remains of an ancient acropolis on the hill above the main harbour, an interesting cave on its north side, and a surprising number of small churches — Arki, like neighbouring Lipsi, belonged for a long time to the Monastery of Patmos. What draws people is simply the peace: no bus, almost no traffic, and after the day-trippers leave, the old, real rhythm of Greek island life.
The beaches and Tiganakia
For so small a place Arki has several beaches, all within walking distance since there is no bus. The finest is Tiganakia, in the south of the island: a sheltered cove of mixed sand and pebbles, divided into three parts by rocks, with clear water and small islets just offshore that some swimmers cross to. It is a 45- to 60-minute walk from the town, with no proper path and only a single sign, so you leave along the main road, pass the bays on your right, and keep straight on towards the island you can see in the distance. Other beaches — Limnari, Padelia and Kapsaliasmenos — lie on the east side, and there are two small beaches just to the left of the port, along with many little unnamed coves.
The islet of Marathi
Even smaller than Arki is the nearby islet of Marathi, home to only a couple of families and about as quiet as Greece gets. You reach it by asking a fisherman to take you across, or on the occasional day-trip from Lipsi or Patmos. There is one good beach, set in a large sheltered bay, and if you walk over to the far side you find quiet coves and cliffs; on top of the hill stands a small, picturesque church. The island's two tavernas keep a handful of rooms — Pantelis Taverna, set in a garden and much praised, is run by Greek-Australian Toula and Manolis, who cook everything from the bread to the dessert by hand and serve guests a breakfast of home-made jam, fresh eggs and fruit. There is no nightlife: an evening here means a glass of wine and the sound of the sea.
Rooms and getting there
Accommodation is very limited — roughly 20 rooms on Arki and about 15 on Marathi — and the way to arrange one is to ask at the tavernas; on Marathi, Pantelis (to the right of the beach) and Mihalis (to the left) let rooms. You reach Arki from Patmos, on the ferry that runs the route Samos–Agathonisi–Arki–Patmos–Leros–Kalymnos and calls here about three times a week each way, and there are day-trips from Patmos for a taste of the island. On Arki and Marathi alike there is a couple of tavernas and a very small mini-market, no bus and nothing to do but walk, swim and slow down — which, for those who come, is exactly the point.
