With long sandy beaches, a balmy climate and monuments from various historical eras, Kos was among the first Aegean islands to attract visitors –during the 1930s, under Italian rule. Despite its touristic role, Kos is in fact one of the most fertile Greek islands, with rich volcanic soil and an adequate water supply from its single mountain range.
Local melons have long been famous – old-timers as far away as the Cyclades remember the melon-peddlers from Kos – and they’re still sold at the roadside. Agriculture continues to co-exist with tourism, baled hay and grazing cattle (there are said to be almost as many cows as people – 18,000 – on Kos) found just behind beachfront hotel complexes.
As a strategic border island with Turkey, a military presence is inevitable if usually not intrusive – though it’s quite possible to catch a glimpse of exercising tanks, cattle and hotel wings all at once.
Mýkonos, also spelled Míkonos, island, dímos (municipality), and perifereiakí enótita (regional unit), South Aegean (Modern Greek: Nótio Aigaío) periféreia (region), southeastern Greece. Mýkonos is one of the smaller of the eastern Cyclades (Kykládes) group of Greek islands in the Aegean Sea.
According to legend, it is the piece of rock thrown by Heracles to destroy the Giants. It is a rugged granite mass, about 33 square miles (85 square km) in area, lying next to Delos (Dílos) and between Tínos to the northwest and Náxos (Náchos) and Páros to the south. Mýkonos has several beaches, and on the north coast the Gulf of Pánormos forms a deep indentation. Located on the west side of the island is its capital, Mýkonos town; the town is the centre of a thriving tourism industry and is renowned for its nightlife.
Thera, Modern Greek Thíra, also called Santorin, or Santoríni, island, southernmost island of the Cyclades (Modern Greek: Kykládes) group, southeastern Greece, in the Aegean Sea, sometimes included in the Southern Sporades group. It constitutes a dímos (municipality) within the South Aegean (Nótio Aigaío) periféreia (region).
Geologically, Thera is the remaining eastern half of an exploded volcano. Its bow-shaped rim and the remnant isles of Thirasía and Aspronísi form an open lagoon that measures 37 miles (60 km) in circumference. In the centre of the lagoon are two active volcanic islets, Néa Kaméni (“New Burnt Island”) and Palaía Kaméni (“Old Burnt Island”). Thera proper consists largely of lava and pumice, the latter of which is the island’s main export. Red-wine grapes are also grown. The lagoon is rimmed by red-, white-, and black-striped volcanic cliffs rising to almost 1,000 feet (300 metres). The summit of Thera is the 1,857-foot (566-metre) limestoneMount Profítis Ilías in the southeast. The chief town, Thíra (locally called Firá), was badly damaged by an earthquake in 1956. Other settlements include Emboríon and Pírgos to the south and the port of Oía at the north entrance to the lagoon, which was destroyed by the 1956 earthquake.
Rhodes, the largest of Greece’s Dodecanese islands, is known for its beach resorts, ancient ruins and remnants of its occupation by the Knights of St. John during the Crusades. The city of Rhodes has an Old Town featuring the medieval Street of the Knights and the castlelike Palace of the Grand Masters. Captured by the Ottomans and then held by the Italians, the palace is now a history museum.
An endless expanse of shimmering waters paired with unmatched Greek hospitality awaits visitors to the islands of the Aegean Sea. Each island is home to a unique spirit and mythology.
From Patmos (a favorite of Aga Khan) to Hydra (which captivated Henry Miller, Leonard Cohen and Sophia Loren), the islands are imbued with a seductive sense of history, tradition and adventure.
Several films over the decades have been filmed on them, including Boy on a Dolphin (1957) on Hydra, The Big Blue (1988) on Amorgos and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005) on Santorini.
Sources of inspiration for millennia, the ancient ruins, cliffside monasteries and volcanic rims are all can’t-miss sights. Venturing on an Odyssey of their own, the author and the photographer boarded a traditional Greek sailboat and set out to capture the calming atmosphere, quintessential characters and breathtaking architecture of these gems of the Aegean. A spectacular journey re-created in the pages of Greek Islands.
The remote Greek island of Tilos has pioneered a recycling plant that could act as a blueprint for other islands — including popular holiday destinations — that struggle with waste disposal. (May 11)
Tílos is a small Greek island and municipality located in the Aegean Sea. It is part of the Dodecanese group of islands, and lies midway between Kos and Rhodes. It has a population of 780 inhabitants.
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and Corsica. Crete rests approximately 160 km south of the Greek mainland. It has an area of 8,336 km2 and a coastline of 1,046 km .
It bounds the southern border of the Aegean Sea, with the Sea of Crete (or North Cretan Sea) to the north and the Libyan Sea (or South Cretan Sea) to the south. Its capital and largest city is Heraklion, on the north shore of the island. As of 2020, the region had a population of 636,504.
Humans have inhabited the island since at least 130,000 years ago, during the Paleolithic age. Crete was the centre of Europe’s first advanced civilization, the Minoans, from 2700 to 1420 BC. The Minoan civilization was overrun by the Mycenaean civilization from mainland Greece.
Crete was later ruled by Rome, then successively by the Byzantine Empire, Andalusian Arabs, the Venetian Republic, and the Ottoman Empire. In 1898 Crete, whose people had for some time wanted to join the Greek state, achieved independence from the Ottomans, formally becoming the Cretan State. Crete became part of Greece in December 1913. The island is mostly mountainous, and its character is defined by a high mountain range crossing from west to east.
It includes Crete’s highest point, Mount Ida, and the range of the White Mountains (Lefka Ori) with 30 summits above 2000 metres in altitude and the Samaria Gorge, a World Biosphere Reserve. Crete forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece, while retaining its own local cultural traits (such as its own poetry and music). The Nikos Kazantzakis airport at Heraklion and the Daskalogiannis airport at Chania serve international travelers. The palace of Knossos, a Bronze Age settlement and ancient Minoan city, is also located in Heraklion.
Heraklion, also known as Iraklio, is a port city and the capital of the Greek island of Crete. It’s known for the Palace of Knossos, just outside the city. The huge archaeological site dates back thousands of years to the Minoan civilization, and includes frescoes and baths. Guarding the city’s Venetian port is the 16th-century Koules fortress. Heraklion Archaeological Museum has a large collection of Minoan art.
The distance from Fira to Oia is around 10.5km (6.5 miles) one-way and this walk shows it in its entirety.. We start our walk in the afternoon in the capital town of Santorini Fira and finish in beautiful Oia around 2 hours later in time for sunset. The walking path passes by the towns of Firostefani (great sunset) and Imerovigli on the way to Oia which is the most picturesque town on the island.
Santorini is one of the Cyclades islands in the Aegean Sea. It was devastated by a volcanic eruption in the 16th century BC, forever shaping its rugged landscape. The whitewashed, cubiform houses of its 2 principal towns, Fira and Oia, cling to cliffs above an underwater caldera (crater). They overlook the sea, small islands to the west and beaches made up of black, red and white lava pebbles.
Greece is a country in southeastern Europe with thousands of islands throughout the Aegean and Ionian seas. Influential in ancient times, it’s often called the cradle of Western civilization. Athens, its capital, retains landmarks including the 5th-century B.C. Acropolis citadel with the Parthenon temple. Greece is also known for its beaches, from the black sands of Santorini to the party resorts of Mykonos.
Boomers Daily 