Monastery of Virgin Kyra Psilis

The fortified monastery of Kyra Psili, a castle-monastery in good condition, clings to the north-western flank of Mt. Koukoúla, above the Vathýs valley, its entrance set before a cave mouth. Its origins are debated: a medieval Byzantine castle may have preceded it, though the Kalymnian archaeologist Michael J. Koutellas dates the present structure to the 18th century, built within an older fortification. At least two building phases are visible in the defensive wall, where later raised sections with rounded Turkish merlons overlay older swallowtail merlons beneath the whitewash. Above the small round-arch gate, consoles of a box-machicoulation survive. The 20th century brought alterations and concrete additions. Reaching it requires a walk from the Stavros chapel or Platanos along a monopati, with some vertigo-inducing passages, and the monastery only reveals itself at the last moment.