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Monday, 06 September 2010
Mykonos is part of a cluster of islands including Delos, Rhenia and some rocky islets. Mykonos, already inhabited since the 5th millennium B.C. (prehistoric settlement of Ftelia), has shared with them a long and copious history with them. Its intense tourist and cosmopolitan activity, which has continiously kept Mykonos in the foreground, inevitably reminds us of the cosmopolitan ancient Delos during the period of its commercial peak (Hellenistic-roman period).
The largest and most beautiful of the Cyclades, Naxos, is traversed from north to south by a range of hills which fall away steeply on the east but slope down gradually on the west into fertile rolling country and well-watered plains. The hills rise to a height of 1008 m and are cut by two passes. 
The island of Milos (from the Greek word for "apple"), the most westerly of the larger Cyclades, owes its distinctive topography and the pattern of its economy to its origin as the caldera of a volcano of the Pliocene period, to which the sulphurous hot springs in the north-east and south-east of the island still bear witness. It has one of the best harbours in the Mediterranean, formed when the sea broke into the crater through a gap on its north-west side. The north-eastern half of the island is flatter and more fertile than the upland region in the south-west, which rises to 752 m in Mount Profitis Ilias. The island's principal sources of income - besides the tourists either on a sailing holiday or island hopping by ferry - are its rich mineral resources, including pumice, alum, sulphur and clay. 
The hilly island of Syros lies half-way between Kythnos and Mykonos. Its central situation makes it the principal centre of administration, commerce and fisheries in the Cyclades and a focal point of the shipping routes in the Central Aegean. 
The central island of Paros, lying some 8 km west of Naxos, is occupied by a range of hills of gently rounded contours, rising to 764 m in Mount Profitis Ilias (rewarding climb, magnificent panoramic views). Three bays cut deep inland - in the west the sheltered Paroikia Bay, with the island's capital that serves as the main sailing port and as a yacht charter base; in the north the bay which shelters the little town of Naoussa, which in Roman times was the island's main port for the shipment of Lychnites marble; and in the east the flat Marmara bay. The whole island is covered with a layer of coarse-grained crystalline limestone, in which lie rich beds of pure marble. 
Amorgos is an island of bare rocky hills 33 km long and up to 6.5 km wide. The south-east coast falls steeply down to the sea but the north-west coast is gentler, with two deep inlets - the sheltered Katapola bay and Aegiali bay and several coves like Fjord cove, Kalofana bay and Akrotiri bay. Amorgos should be included in itineraries on a sailing holiday as it is such a spectacular island. The population - much reduced by emigration - lives by farming and fishing. Ferries are not frequent, which explains the surprising low numbers of tourists. 
The island of Kea or Tzia, the most westerly of the larger Cyclades, lies some 12 nm south-east of Cape Sounion. The island's agriculture and the traditional harvesting of acorns for use in tanning have declined as a result of emigration. There is a certain amount of tourist traffic from the Greek mainland. 
The island of Sifnos lies approximately in the middle of the triangle formed by Milos, Serifos and Paros. The north and north-west of the island are occupied by a barren range of hills, the east and south by gentler uplands. The coast is much indented and lined by cliffs for much of its length. 
The island Serifos, north-west of Sifnos, is a bare and rocky island. Its hills are slashed by gorges and its highest point is Mount Tourlos (483 m). The island's main sources of income are its modest agriculture and its open-cast iron mines, which have been worked since ancient times. The ore used to be shipped from Koutalas on the south coast where there is now room to anchor (magnetic anomalies are reported due to the remaining ore!). 
The island of Kythnos lies south-east of Kea and is a rocky and barren island of limestone, that is usually covered in an abundance of colourful flowers in the early months of the sailing season. 
The spectacular approach to Santorini by sea, usually entering the caldera from the north-west, is the high point of many yacht charter holidays in the Cyclades. Greece official web site: www.gnto.gr
Copyright © 2009 BBY
