Baptistry of St. John Prodromou ''The 7 Steps''

Kos - Baptistry of St. John Prodromou ''The 7 Steps''Today it is used as cemetery temple. It is the central building, the old Christian basilica. Balducci dates it to the 7th – 8th century because of its construction. Parts of the Basilica
were excavated during the Italian reign, but today we have no traces of them. It is possible that there were two Basilicas on either side since research has shown mosaic floors in the area of the monument. The Baptistry was square shaped on the outside and circular on the inside with four semicircle niches at the four corners, one in the middle of the eastern side and one in the middle of the northern side. In the interior, there are raised central columns. Of which eight have Ionic top pieces and length wise were decorated by a raised cross. The dome was supported by eight arches and columns. In the interior many murals from the 12 – 13 century were saved. These show scenes of St John’s life like the birth, the flight of Elizabeth, the slaughter of Zaharia. Recently after cleaning was carried out at a mural of the dormition of the Virgin Mary was found and dated to the end of the 13 – 14 century.
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