If you continue through the chambers you come to this cave. It doesn't go back very far, and I would guess it was carved out as a storeroom.

If you walk out of the cave you will pass more chambers. One is isolated, though the rest are inter-linked. They have been numbered at some point, presumably by the archaeologists.

You will notice, also, a complete lack of other people. I did meet a few tourists here while I was making the tours. But Toumpallos was off most people's radars. It is a long way from the main entrance, but honestly, it is worth the trek. Besides, the lack of people makes the area very peaceful. It is a great place to just sit and contemplate for a while.

Just to get our bearings, we are currently sat in the garrison area of Toumpallos, looking towards the Basilica which you can see by the green tree in the centre.

I found this annoying though. The first time I visited Toumpallos, there were no candles anywhere. I came back a few days later, and all the rooms had been decorated with these tea-lights. Somebody had obviously had some sort of ceremony or photo-shoot here. I don't have a problem with that.

But why then, did they leave all their candles behind afterwards? Weeks later, you can still find candles there. If it is of religious significance then fair enough. But this didn't look like that. This was more mood lighting.

The good news is that the candles gradually seem to be disappearing.

I've now climbed up to the higher level of Toumpallos. This is the Basilica we mentioned earlier. Ahead of me are some more caves which link up with the right-hand entrance we saw briefly when we came down the stairs. One of the caves has a bed in it, so at some point somebody has obviously been sleeping there. I imagine the place must get quite spooky at night though...