Rectangular late-medieval residential tower (maybe in times of danger also used as a watchtower), most probably of the later Knights Hospitallers‘ period. The tower stands about 600 m from Asomatos in the direction of Ajios Dimitrios almost immediately below the road on the left.

Tower Description

General Description
The hamlet of Asomatos, which belongs to the municipality of Asfendiou, is located on the northern slope of Mt. Dikaios.
The well-preserved residential tower stands about 600 m from Asomatos in the direction of Agios Dimitrios and Kos City almost immediately below the road on the left, in the middle of former farm terraces below the road. It is known to the locals under the name Panagia and Panagia Tsakali. This name goes back to the (later integrated?) chapel on the tower’s ground floor.

The two-storey, originally perhaps plastered tower (plaster remnant at the building’s southeast corner) shows predominantly layered quarry stone masonry with irregular brick developments and partly (valley side) corner blocks. Possible interlockings that protrude towards the valley side could point to a planned extension (courtyard wall?).

The rectangular ground floor portal (to the chapel) with a projecting lintel and the pointed arched blind niche above it is probably not the original access in this form; the discharge sheet, which is not particularly qualitative in its execution, may be an indication of this.
On the upper floor there is a large window on the valley side with a double lintel composed of early Christian or ancient spolia.

The tower bears the double-notched “swallowtail” battlements typical of the Order of St. John. In the battlements there are slits. At the height of the battlements, a column fragment as a spolia can be found on the south side.
Despite the battlements and consoles on the west and north sides, probably referring to box machicoulations, the tower was not primarily a defensive building, but rather a country house. This is also indicated by the large representative window.
However, since some residential towers in the countryside were included in the Knights‘ coastal Vigla (guard) system, the tower may also have been used as a watchtower in times of danger. The islands of Pserimos and Kalymnos, formerly part of the Knights Hospitallers' monastic state, can be seen from here, and of course part of the Turkish coast.

Access
The tower located about 600 m from Asomatos in the direction of Ajios Dimitrios almost immediately below the road on the left; however, it can hardly be seen from the street because of the dense vegetation. The private (!) terrain is accessible via hunter's paths. The chapel is usually closed.

History of the tower
Nothing seems to be known about the history of the tower. It could have originated in the late Middle Ages during the Knights Hospitallers‘ reign; the shape of the battlements (merlons) typical of the Knights of St. John speaks for it. But it cannot be completely ruled out that it was created in the post-medieval period.
Relief stones with coats of arms are not (or no longer) visible on the building.

Other Info

Sources