Moni Filerimou, or the Monastery of Panagia Filerimos, is one of the most famous and interesting sights on the Greek island of Rhodes. The monastery is located just 5 kilometres from the modern town of Ialyssos and about 15 kilometres from the city of Rhodes among majestic cypresses and pine trees on the slopes of a picturesque hill where the acropolis of ancient Ialyssos stood centuries ago.
The Monastery of Panagia Filerimos was built in the 14th century, during the reign of the Knights Hospitallers, on the ruins of an old Byzantine temple. Built in a style of architecture unconventional for Greek monasteries and protected by massive fortress walls, the holy monastery became home to a famous icon of the Virgin Mary brought earlier from Jerusalem, presumably the work of St Luke the Evangelist.
In the 16th century, after a long siege, the Ottoman Empire finally succeeded in capturing Rhodes and the Knights were forced to leave the island. Leaving Rhodes, the knights took the icon with them and after a long journey through different countries (France, Italy, Malta, Russia, etc.) it found its new home and today it is kept in the National Museum of Montenegro, and in the monastery of Filerimu there is a copy of it made by an Italian artist.
During the Turkish occupation the monastery was partially destroyed and was rebuilt by the Italians during their rule on the island. But even today you can still see the various structures built by the Knights of St John, including the ancient chapels decorated with knight's crosses, as well as the beautiful floor mosaics from the Byzantine period in the church of Panagia Filerimos.
The Italians also laid the so-called "Via Crucis" or "Way of the Cross", along which on the right side are stone altars with relief depictions of scenes from the Passion of Christ. The road rises to the top of the hill, where a huge concrete cross (replacing the original metal structure erected in 1934) stands on a superb observation platform offering stunning panoramic views of the island.
