Castle of Prophet Elias

High on the mountain range of Sympetro, near a chapel of Saint Elias on the eastern side of Kos, stands a square tower-house known as Drakissa, or the she-dragon. The name hints at the medieval legend of the Ogress of Kos, though the precise connection is lost. It is also called the Tower of Vasilissa and the Vigla of Arsenios Skinouris. The position commands a fine view of the sea to the south and east, and holds visual contact with two major castles of the Knights of Rhodes: Neratzia in Kos town and Agios Petros at Bodrum on the opposite coast. As these two fortresses cannot see one another directly, the tower likely served as their communication link during the Knights' tenure. The masonry suggests a Hellenistic origin, with a Byzantine vaulted renovation, and the final construction probably dates to the late 15th century, when the need for such signalling arose. The small, elevated entrance was reached by ladder, and an arrowloop confirms its defensive purpose. The roof suggests a lost upper storey or battlemented platform, but the superstructure is gone; the rest survives in fair condition.