ISLAND

The complex of Cyclades islands is a place that gathers people from all over the world every year. The deep blue seas are shimmering under the hot sun, the summer winds carry the breeze of the sea, the white houses having the blue windows. All these are common characteristics of the islands of Cyclades that enchant everyone who visit them. The geographic antithesis and the alternate ways of entertainment or relaxing make Cyclades a destination that fits in every expectation.

The name of Cyclades has been already known from the ancient geographers and it has resulted from the cyclic layout of the islands around the sacred island Dilos. Cyclades are composed of 39 islands from which are inhabited the 24. You can visit Paros, Milos, Amorgos, Mykonos, Santorini, Naxos, Syros, Tinos, Folegandros, Serifos, Sikinos, Sifnos, Anafi, Ios, Andros, Antiparos, Dilos, Kea, Kimolos or Kythnos. The Small Cyclades are composed of Donousa, Hrakleia, Koufonisia and Sxoinousa which are ideal for the fans of alternate tourism or for calm holiday, where you can find the absolute quiet. The capital of Cyclades is Syros with the strong cosmopolitical aroma, which is located in the north part of the complex and it remains full of life even in the winter with intense cultural activity but also with the casino that gathers a lot of people.

The colors that dominate in the islands of Cyclades are the white and the azure. Their architecture became a model for new movements of modern architecture where the traditional buildings are in absolute harmony with the natural environment, built in niches of rocks in a way that they are protected from the wind and the rain. Every island has its own characteristics in architecture: aristocratic houses with the shape of tower, settlements built like castles, wonderful neoclassic and of the course the famous, simple but traditional houses.

Remarkable are also the windmills that in some islands are used also as studios for the tourists. Cyclades are inhabited from the prehistoric period and they had developed an admirable civilization. Because of their geographic position, between the mainland of Greece, Asia and Africa, in the whole duration of their history they comprised the connection for the trade and the spread of civilization.

The cuisine of Cyclades impresses with its variety and tastes, recipes unknown to the majority of people which, though, are created with simply fresh ingredients. In the traditional taverns you can taste fish filled with cheese in the oven, herring salad,  urchin salad, snails garlic dip (Paros), octopus with small pasta in Sxoinousa, marinated fish "saboro" in Kythnos, wild rabbit in wine in Antiparos, paspalas in Kea (small pieces of pork cooked with tomato and eggs) and many many others.

As far as entertainment is concerned, Cyclades will reward you generously as the people of Cyclades are people who take delight in joy. Apart from the night life with the cosmopolitical night clubs that you can find mainly at the bigger islands, and the wild amusement of Mykonos, Ios, Paros and Santorini, you will meet many traditional festivals, organized every summer, but also feasts “of the moment”. In every case the brio is in its fulfillment with the help of insular songs and dances in which everyone participates of both the locals and the visitors part. In your morning and postmeridian wanders you can visit many interesting museums that will initiate you in the ancient Cycladic civilization and also the innumerable white small churches.

In the islands of Cyclades you will find whatever you desire for having the holiday of your dreams, and of course you will have the will to visit them again and again as a way to relieve the dream with the infinite blue color and the hot sun!

Επιμέλεια Άρθρου: Άννα Αποστολίδη