Telendos is discovered as soon as you reach GADOURORACHO village that is located on top of the hill and you are surprised by the spectacular and beautiful view of the panorama that opens before your eyes.
When you look more closely at the mountain across the water, you will notice that the different rock ledges seem to take the shape of a body resting over the sea with a big face visible looking out from the top of the mountain.
The most famous legend is nothing more than another tragic love story like the one of Romeo and Juliet.
In the Byzantine years around 1100 to 1200 there was a beautiful Princess living there named POTHEA. Another kingdom across the channel was that of CASTELLI, where Prince ANDRONICUS lived. A very old and deep hatred separated the two ruling families of the channel kingdoms. But Princess Pothea and Prince Andronicus met and fell strongly in love.
The King of Telendos remembered the old hatred and he did not agree to this relationship.
Facts are few, but one thing is for sure: there was a lit candle that needed to be transported across the channel. In any case, the candle was not destined to last. The flame would not continue burning against even the lightest breeze. As soon as she saw the flame disapparing, the Princess ran toward the sea and she drowned from sadness that she was not meant to be with her love.
On the opposite side of the channel, when the Prince realised that the flame of the candle had died, he preferred to stay in the sea rather than to face a life without his loved one.
Since then, the face of the beautiful Princess is marked on the left side of the mountain to remind us that there is love that can live for ever.
Maybe the Princess's profile in the mountain is only a caprice of nature. It gives us though great strength to believe that a pure heart full of love can engrave a strong big rock, like how our beautiful Telendos is.