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Info-Mykonos.
Cosmopolitan and serene
Welcome to Greece's most famous cosmopolitan island, a whitewashed paradise in the heart of the Cyclades. According to mythology, Mykonos was formed from the petrified bodies of giants killed by Hercules. And did you know that the island took its name from the grandson of Apollo, “Mykonos”?
Set out on a journey to discover a fascinating world where glamour meets simplicity. On Mykonos celebrities, college students and families mingle together to celebrate the Greek summer. Whether you are an entertainment junkie out for a real good time, or a visitor who wishes to explore the island’s history and tradition, Mykonos will certainly meet your expectations.
• Exploring the island’s capital town
In contrast to other Cycladic capitals, the capital town (Hóra) of the island is not built in the shape of an amphitheatre but instead spreads out over a wide area. It is one of the best examples of Cycladic architecture and a spellbinding attraction for visitors. Stroll around its narrow marble streets and admire whitewashed houses with colorful doors and window frames, bougainvillea trees in purple bloom and hidden churches. Pay a visit to the church of Panayia Paraportiani, the Town hall and the castle situated above the harbor. Don’t forget to visit the Archaeological, Folklore and Maritime Museums to take in a little history. Wander around the pedestrian shopping streets of the Hóra, always colorful and busy. The most glamorous of all is Matoyánni Street, lined with brand name stores, charming cafés and stylish restaurants.
Soak up the atmosphere along the lively waterfront and admire a fleet of fishing boats casting colourful reflections in the azure waters. This is where you will find the Kazárma building, which served as accommodation for the soldiers of Manto Mavrogenous, a heroine of the Greek Revolution. The first floor served as her personal residence. While you’re out strolling, don’t be surprised if you come across the official mascot of Mykonos, which is nothing other than a... pelican! Pétros the Pelican was found by a fisherman after a storm in 1954, and eventually became the locals’ companion. When he died, the grief for his loss was so deep that a replacement was soon found. In honor of Pétros, the locals have established a long tradition of pelicans wandering around the waterfront as an essential part of everyday life. So, whatever you do, don’t forget to take a picture with the successor of the famous pelican Pétros!
One of the most scenic corners of the island is Alefkántra or “Little Venice”, an 18th century district, dominated by grand captains’ mansions with colorful balconies and stylish windows. With balconies perched over the sea, pictures of the famous Italian city spring to mind. Relax at a waterfront café and admire the view of the quaint windmills standing imposingly on the hillside above, set against a luminous blue backdrop.
The second traditional settlement of Mykonos is Áno Merá, situated around the historic monastery of Panayia Tourliani (a 16th century church with a brilliant carved wooden iconostasis). To the north, in Fteliá, lies an important Neolithic settlement, and a 14th-13th century BC Mycenaean tomb.
Using the Hóra as your base, set out on a trip to discover the beauties of the island, in particularly its sun-kissed beaches. Along the southern coast you will find a great selection of the most cosmopolitan ones. Here, wild parties keep the crowds rocking day and night. Paradise and Super Paradise may already be familiar to you. Órnos and Psaroú are favorite spots for families. Try a visit too to Platis Yalós, with a well-organized beach where you can soak up the sun lazing on a sun lounge. However, if you are looking for a serene beach to unwind with a book, pick a less organized one on the northern coast of the island, like Ayia Ánna,Houlákia, Kápari, Agrári and Ayios Stéfanos.
• Need an adrenaline rush?
The island is a paradise for water sport enthusiasts! It is only natural that the “Island of the Winds” should attract surfers and sailors from all over the world! There is a great choice of beaches for windsurfing; however, the most secluded ones are considered to be the best. Choose from Kórfos, Fteliá, Meyáli Ámmos and Kalafátis, where surfing lessons are also available. Play tennis or mini golf at Ayios Stéfanos, beach volleyball at Ayia Anna or try sea parachuting or jet skiing at Eliá or Kalafátis. Diving fans can do a little exciting exploration of the underwater magic of Mykonos. September is thought to be the best month for diving, as the water is warm and visibility is good down at the seabed.
On the island you can find many well-organized diving centers (some of them also offer snorkeling lessons) and stores specializing in diving equipment. Explore the island on a cacique or a boat and discover secluded beaches, or take a boat tour around the nearby islets, which are also ideal fishing spots!
• What about food?
Don’t miss the opportunity to treat yourself to some local Aegean specialties! Pepper flavored kopanistí, a soft cheese seasoned with pepper, is the island’s gastronomic trademark. Try it as a topping on a round rusk spread with grated tomato, a favorite local mezés (appetiser). Meat eaters can sample “loúzes” (cooked pork filet with spices) and tasty local sausages sprinkled with pepper, and local oregano that has been caressed by the sun and dried in the north wind. To finish off your meal you can sample two exceptionally good local pastries, “amigdalotá” (small round cakes with ground almond, rosewater and caster sugar) and honey pie.
If you find yourself in Mykonos take the opportunity to explore the tiny archaeological gem of Delos, just a short boat trip away. Delos was a sacred island in ancient times, and according to mythology was the birthplace of the twin gods Apollo and Artemis.
EXPLORE Delos
Apollo and Artemis, twin siblings, were born under a palm-tree on Delos. One of the peculiarities of the Greek pantheon of gods is an unexpected specificity about their origin or place of birth: Hera born beside the Imbrasos River on Samos, Aphrodite in the waters off Kythera, Hermes on Mount Kyllene in Arcadia, and Zeus whose infancy was passed on Mt. Dikte in Crete. It is part of their innate humanity that they should have a life-story thus rooted in particularity. Much of this information is due to the creative richness of the collection of 6th century bc anonymous poems known as the ‘Homeric’ Hymns. Although Homer himself had earlier referred in passing to the altar of Apollo on Delos in the Odyssey (VI. 162), the story of the god’s birth on the insignificant islet of Delos is first told in detail in the Hymn to Apollo: in it the poet stresses—and the island itself apologises for— its barren rocks and utter poverty, seemingly so inappropriate to the home of the most resplendent of the Greek deities. But the divine association which followed had the effect of supercharging this tiny granitic, outcrop in the sea into the most sacred place in the ancient Aegean—the sea’s political centre in the aftermath of the Persian wars,its commercial hub for many centuries, and consequently one of the most important archaeological areas in the Greek Islands today. Why minuscule Delos, of all places, for such a momentous birth? Perhaps it was because of its being ‘unclaimed’ territory, in the very middle of things. Delos was close ly surrounded by grand and powerful islands—Naxos, Paros, Kea, Tenos, Euboea—and from the beginning Delos may have appealed as a kind of neutral territory in the midst of these powers, midway between the east and west coasts of the Aegean, in which the Ionian peoples could meet for their communal festival in a place that was specifically not one of those larger islands—rather as the valley of the Forum in Rome served as neutral space for meetings of the early, hill-top tribes surrounding it.
Thucydides (III. 104) comments that Pan-Ionian athletic gatherings and poetic contests were from earliest times held on Delos. Though minute and now treeless, Delos was once well-endowed with fresh water which remained trapped above the lower layers of granite and was accessible through shallow wells. For the sacred palms mentioned by Odysseus to have grown freely on the island there must undoubtedly once have been much more surface water and vegetation. The island’s harbours were also protected from the winds by the neighbouring islet of Rheneia and by the configuration of reefs in the channel between Rheneia and Delos. Most of all, though, the island’s central position at the crossing of east–west and north–south routes through the Aegean destined it early on to a considerable degree of relevance.
The establishing of a cult of Apollo, as early as the 9th century bc, subsequently reinforced by the attentions of two powerful leaders of the 6th century bc, Peisistratus, tyrant of Athens, and Polycrates of Samos, soon brought Delos preeminent fame and wealth. It also brought it grief. As the Aegean powers throughout later history sought to dominate the island and its cult for their own political ends, the people of Delos were repeatedly moved, exiled, repopulated or captured like pawns in a wider strategic power-game. The island knew immense wealth at times—latterly as a Hellenic-wide centre of commerce in slaves—and at other times, destitution and destruction at the hands of political expediency. That so much remains today after repeated sackings is somewhat of a miracle. The site is immense. Not many of the public and sacred buildings stand above their lowest courses, especially in and around the heart of the sanctuary; but on the slopes of Mount Kynthos are some of the best preserved houses from the ancient Greek world, decorated with fine mosaics and painting; there is a museum containing finds of astonishing quality; and, from the island’s happiest age, are the magnificent Archaic remains—sacred buildings, the Terrace of the Lions, and the fragments of the colossal Kouros statue of Apollo, dedicated by the people of Naxos. Nowhere else in the Greek world have the remains of a whole city and a sanctuary of such wide-ranging importance been preserved undisturbed by modern building.
Delos is a grand and instructive site, though ultimately melancholy because of the extent of its ruination and despoliation. Early morning in spring is the best moment to visit: the air is cool and full of larks, and the whole island is a meadow of wild and colourful flowers.