Ancient rock

bridging

intellectuals of the west

feeling of sunrise

defines center freedom

in the Cyclades circle.

(D. Gavalas, Ios Island)

Sparkling and precious Ios or Nios, smells fresh. It is undoubtedly due to the thousands of young people who flock to the island, as it is one of the world’s four meeting places for youth, but also to the innovative and pioneering ideas of the mayor and the other members of the city council.

The 46 dream beaches are an attraction for all visitors, regardless of age, social or economic status and interests. Of the 87 km of coastline, about half are sandy beaches: large, small, straight or semi-circular, with nazi coves, coarse or fine sand, powdery sand, pebbles of infinite colours and shapes, golden sandy beaches that shimmer in the sun. The crystal-clear and lascivious waters in all shades of blue (cobalt, turquoise, noir) break provocatively on the shore, inviting the most indecisive into their aquatic embrace. Luc Besson’s film ‘The Big Blue’, most of which was shot in the enchanting Manganari Beach, is a hymn to these waters, which are all playful in the sunlight and all silvery in the moonlight.

It is unlikely that among the many beaches the visitor will not find at least one, as he had imagined it. With the well-informed map, which is distributed free of charge by the Municipality of Ietos, he can explore the coastal wealth of the island, sometimes using a car or motorbike, sometimes a boat and sometimes his feet, which will lead him through paths to unique beaches.

Busy and noisy, but also surprisingly beautiful, like the hundreds of young children who give it the crumbs of their youth, is the beach of Mylopotas, a stone’s throw from Chora and protected from the north wind. Also protected is the beach of Gialos, next to the port, honoured with a blue flag, as well as its neighbour, the lovely Tzamaria. More exposed to the fury of the north wind, but fascinating because of the incredible formations of its rocks, is the adjacent Koumbara.

Charming and dangerous to fall in love with is Manganari in the southern part of the island, with its three bays separated by sand that sticks its tongue out to sea. Manganari can be reached by boat or by boat, and also by the road that was opened recently. The distance from Chora is not short and the road has many turns, but the experience of a dive in the absolute blue makes you the protagonist of the film that has your personal signature. The experience of the admittedly long hike from Mylopotas to Manganari is thrilling, as the walker is left in front of the amazing sculptures of nature. Rocks very old, among the oldest in Europe, carved by the wind sculptor make the imagination dance to frantic rhythms and create dragons, birds of prey, wild animals.

The above beaches, as well as the two beaches in the east of the island, Ag. Theodotis and Psathis, are organized (except for Tzamaria) and nothing will be missing from those who will visit them. It is worth mentioning the excellent local food that one can taste in the tavern “The Dragon” in Mylopotas, at the edge of the pier, in “Alonistra” in Psathi and in “Polydora” in Koumbara.

Paths or a passable dirt road lead to unique beaches on each side of the island. One such path starts behind the beautiful chapel of Agios Irini with its two domes and two bell towers, a sight to behold for anyone entering or leaving the port, and ends after a 20-minute walk at the beach of Valma. For those who consider walking a bad habit, Valma is reached by a passable dirt road starting from Chora. A dip in the deep blue waters refreshes the sunburnt skin, which, now cool, seeks again the pleasure of the hot rays. The feeling of bliss is completed at the tavern of Mrs. Irini (Plakioti) who, together with her daughter, Katerina, undertake to refresh the visitor’s inner world with local wine, beer, ouzo or tsipouro, whatever is needed to accompany their well-cooked food. In this cute little tavern I tasted the crispy sweet watermelon with pine nuts, tied with wonderful thyme honey for which Ios is famous, which the two ladies were kind enough to offer me and impressed me with the typical Homeric hospitality, which they followed to the letter: to greet me warmly, to kiss me, then to ask me who I am and where I come from, and finally Katerina offered me her car so that I could move around the island more comfortably. It seems that for many locals, Homeric hospitality is a piece of information imprinted in their genes. You see, we are on Homer’s island, the island that, according to Stef. Byzantium, the eulogist of the clave of immortal men was born, and according to Strabo (I, 484) and Pliny (IV, 23) he was buried.

But let’s go back to the small and the bigger blue embraces of the island. Kolitsani beach, very close to Chora, on the road to Mylopotas. A sign informs us of the exact spot where we turn right. We leave our transport on a plateau and from there a small path leads us to the sweet cove. A path also leads to “Avlaki tou Papas”, a stunning beach with emerald waters (many people come here and camp), close to the wonderful beach of Kalamos and the other with the impressive surrounding area, the Three Keys, east-southeast.

The beaches of Klima, Pikri Nero, Manousou, Pepa and Tripiti, in the west, are also impressive, only that access to them is by water, boat or caique. From the port in summer, boats leave daily from 11.00 a.m. and return late in the afternoon at 6.00 p.m., making trips to these beaches. In fact, if you prefer the Leigh Browie sailing boat, you can say you landed at Piccadilly Water in a pirate … boat (so you should dress accordingly)!

The northwestern beaches of Glyfada, Diamoudia and Loretzaina are also accessible by boat and contribute equally with their virgin beauty to the great capital of Ios, which is the crystal clear turquoise seas and golden sandy beaches.

VILLAGE AND CHAPELS

I leave the Museum and begin my wanderings in the alleys of Chora. On no other island have I come across so many churches. Three hundred and sixty-five, as many days of the year, the guide informs me, are the witnesses of Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Ios. St. Catherine with its blue dome and the built-in architectural parts from the temple of Pythios Apollo, on the ruins of which St. John with its white dome was built, and the imposing Evangelistria, the metropolitan church of the island on the other hand, are a pleasant introduction to the beautiful Chora. The morning sun makes their white colour dazzling, it is difficult to see details, it is better to deal with them in the afternoon, when the curves are sweetened. Then you will see through the open doorways the old island women with their sun- and north wind-dug faces, tending them with affection, as if they were pampering their child, sweeping, tending the flowers, cleaning the pictures, whitewashing the terraces. Apart from St. Catherine, which has imprisoned history in its trunk, architectural elements, marble vaults and armoured columns can be found in Taxiarchis, the Presentation of the Virgin Mary, St. John the Baptist, St. John the Baptist, St. George in the Castle.

My steps lead me to the lovely square of Evaggelistria, a gathering place for locals and foreigners, where I stop for a coffee at the café “The Inn”. I open the guidebook for the Archaeological Museum of Ios and read the following about the past of Chora: “Its existence is attested by Ptolemy (Geogr. III 15, 28). The Ancient City of Ios was located on the site of the present Chora, on the steep hill of the Castle which dominates the harbour area. Its natural fortified position was reinforced by a wall that surrounded the entire hill. Its main gate is located to the west, at the point where the stepped road leading from the harbour to the town ended. The wall is made of elongated blocks of local slate. As can be seen from the Classical and Archaic ceramics found in the foundations, some parts of the wall date back to those times, while the general appearance of the wall suggests that most of it dates back to Hellenistic times’. The ruins of a castle, though of a Frankish type, are also present at the top of the hill. The enclosure of the town is attributed to Marcus I Crispus, who ruled it in about 1397. But did the city need walls? Absolutely, as pirates frequently raided and pillaged the property of the inhabitants. Of course, the fact that there are few remains of these walls today is due to the fact that their building material was used to build the houses of the settlement.

I leave the café and start the walk around Chora. A bright smile and a warm greeting from local and foreign shopkeepers hanging their provocative colours and styles on the white walls or spreading them on the terraces, a nod of welcome from elderly people strolling in the “damomenas”, the whitewashed cobblestones where the slabs meet, or drinking their ouzo in the cafes of Kato and Pano Piatsa, an examining glance from elderly women who are resting while analyzing the cobblestones, a look from elderly women who are resting in the cafes of Kato and Pano Piatsa, a look from elderly women who are resting in the cafes of Kato and Pano Piatsa. the news of the day or rather of the night outside the doors of their houses painted in bright colours, fragrances of flowers climbing skillfully on the walls in order to see a little sky, cute children’s voices like bird tweets accompany me on my promenade through the alleys. I walk down the main street, the street of the Jesuit League. People come and go in the familiar alyssum of the daily morning. Shopping at the bakery, the grocery store, the butcher for the day’s food. A cheerful welcome to the Yiotis who has returned from Athens for the summer holidays. A look at the news of the day from the newspapers spread out like laundry. Nothing gives away what will happen in this alley at midnight.

Daughters of the north’s intuition / mingling sense of the south / topless galloping on the wave.

I come from / states of Adonis / rites of Tammuz / heartbreaking canyons of Dionysus / epitaphs of Christ.

I come with the fear of a woman of rage.

(D. Gavalas, Ios Island)

Half an hour after midnight, bunches of boys and girls, full of youth and beauty, coming from all over the world, with a common goal of unlimited fun, descend from the alleys to flood the clubs. Disco 69, Shooters, Super Fly, Pegasus promise … hell! Unlimited drinking drives many of these kids in the midnight hours into uncontrollable situations. This causes a lot of people, adults I mean, to avoid Ios, which is probably unfair, as anyone who doesn’t want to meet the youngsters simply doesn’t meet them. The venues and times they choose for their frenetic fun are completely different. The visitor can taste excellent dishes from sophisticated chefs who ideally marry local products with European cuisine, such as in “Pithari” or “Lord Byron” and close the evening in atmospheric bars such as “Ammos” and “Valsamo”. However, even for a while, it is worth passing by the street of clubs and discos and, why not, go in and have fun. For me it was an impressive experience, but for once and for a while, while it was early.

In the part of the old settlement, near the castle, things are calmer, both during the day and at night. The climb is an ordeal, but you are compensated by the view of the houses of Chora, white lava that rolled and fossilized on the hillsides, the arched chapel of Aghios Anargyroi on the opposite hill, the sweet valley of Kato Kampos, the beautiful, perfectly safe, natural harbour that made the Turks call the island Little Malta. Just before the top of the hill another exquisite example of religiosity. The visitor will be lucky to find it open, as he will be able to admire the ornate temple and the miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary, who, according to tradition, travelled from Crete to Ios. Nearby is the small church of Christ (Agia Triada). Next are Agios Georgios, the only confirmed Byzantine church, before 1468, Agios Eleftherios and Agios Nikolaos, one-roomed and arched, white-marked up to the top of the hill. From here one can enjoy the fall of the king of the day, who gives his last performance by painting his way in the colour of purple. As enchanting as the sunset is, so is the sunrise from Ag. Theodoti, Psathi, Kalamos or any eastern beach one chooses, when the edge of the first ray pierces the velvety blue of the night, inspiring faith that dreams will come true.

Many such dreams came true for his home island where the mayor of Ios, G. Poussaios. He is characterized by vision, faith in the goal, ability to find and trust in the right people around him and finally … a little bit of madness. This last is reinforced by the youth, a source of inexhaustible life, which Ios must take care of and protect.

THE MUNICIPALITY OF IOS

A great asset of Ios is the actions and especially the innovations that the Municipal Authority develops in key areas such as the environment, the economy and culture. “In the islands, a constant issue is water”, Mr. Poussaios will tell me. Ios, with a reservoir in the area of Mylopotas, a rapid refinery along with a desalination plant and a network of boreholes as back-up, has managed to cope with increased water needs, especially in summer. It should be noted that the water is potable. The Municipal Authority has not rested on its laurels, of course. It has embarked on a revolutionary innovative action that I am sure will become a model in many other places and not necessarily on islands. In cooperation with the Department of Biology of the University of Athens, it promoted research into the cultivation of algae that will filter at a tertiary level the effluent treated by the biological purification, so that the water will not go into the sea, but will be used to irrigate crops. 2,500 cubic metres of water per day will be used to irrigate not only perennial crops but also annual crops, such as vegetables, instead of going into the sea. The project is ambitious and the initiator is to be congratulated. In addition, this action will not only secure precious water, but will also develop a business activity, as the seaweed will be used for pulp.

Another important action that the Municipality of Ios has developed is its active participation in the “Daphne” Network with the aim of reducing CO2 emissions even beyond the European target of 20% in 2020. In fact, on 13 February 2009 the Mayor of Ios went to Brussels and signed the “Covenant of Mayors” as the first citizen of Ios and as a representative of the other mayors participating in the “Daphne” Network www.dafni.net.gr.

The mayor’s deepest wish, which is in line with the objectives of the Network, is the preservation of the Aegean environment and its sustainable development. In this spirit, he supports the island’s agriculture and livestock farming by promoting the cultivation of olives, vines and capers and by promoting various traditional products such as cheese, honey and olive oil through the Municipal Store in the port. Also in the field of heritage conservation, it is involved in the restoration of the dry stone walls, windmills and paths.

As a culmination of the cultural action of the Municipality I left the amazing theatre “Odysseas Elytis” in a dreamlike place, the beautiful museum-home of the writer, filmmaker and art collector Jean-Marie Dro, who discovered and loved the light of the Aegean Sea in Ios in 1964 and the impressive museum Gaitis-Simosis, where paintings of the unique G. Gaitis and the sculpture of his wife G. Gaitis. Simosis as well as friends of artists.

How to close an article after such quality actions? I will probably choose a poem by Elytis.

The islands with the minium and the fumo

The islands with the vertebra of a Jupiter

The islands with the deserted tarsanades

The islands with the drinkable blue volcanoes.

(Od. Elytis, Axion Esti/The Doxastic)

BIBLIOGRAPHY

-Gavalas D., Poems 1973-2003. Selection, Gavriilidis Publications, Athens 2004

-Martari M., The Archaeological Museum of Ios, Ministry of Culture. -Ka’ Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities

-Mitsani A., Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Ios, KATHIMERINI, Epta Imeres, 3/8/2003.

HOMER & IOS

The famous traveller of the 2nd century AD. Pausanias mentions that in the porch of the great temple at Delphi he saw, among other useful axioms written by wise men, a bronze image of Homer in a column and read the oracle said to have been given to Homer: “happy and unhappy, for for both you were born | you seek your father’s land, but there is for you only a mother’s land, not a father’s land: | it is the island of Ios, your mother’s home, which will receive you when you die. | But beware of the enigma of little children.” The inhabitants of Ios, Pausanias mentions, point to their island and Homer’s tomb and in another place the tomb of Clymeni, who was his mother.

Motivated more by vanity and less by passion for the poet, the Dutch lieutenant in the service of the Russian fleet, Count Heinrich Leonard Pasch van Krienen, after conducting a hasty archaeological survey in 1771, announced that he had found the poet’s grave at Plakotos, where a cemetery had been identified. However, the ruins he pointed out belong to a tower of the Hellenistic era. The site is, however, stunning and the Municipality of Ios has created a small path and a patio. From this villa, the view of the neighbouring islands, Naxos, Herakleia, Amorgos, which you think you will reach out and touch, makes you happy. Moreover, from this point, a dirt road of good trafficability starts from here and leads to the beautiful beach of Plakotos.

Either way, whether he is buried here or elsewhere on the island, the famous lyricist inspires poetic acts, such as the cultural festivals that are organized every year and are called “Homeria”.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE OF SKARΚOS

The other great chapter of Ios is Skarkos, the “voice” of the ancestors in this land that remains the same for centuries. The hill in the middle of Kato Kampos and near the port is prominent and impressive. When the head of the K’ Ephorate of Cyclades, M. Martari, saw it from above, from the Castle of Chora, she understood that it was an important archaeological site, which was quickly confirmed by the abundance of surface finds of the Early Bronze Age. She then made, as she told me, a trial cut which proved that the hill was indeed a settlement site of the Early Cycladic period. A few years later he began excavating it and unearthed 1/3 of the 11 acres in total, highlighting in the best possible way the life of the prehistoric inhabitants of Ios who prospered on this hill during the 3rd millennium BC.

Until today, what we knew about the Cycladic civilization, the civilization of the 3rd millennium, we knew mainly from cemeteries excavated in various Cycladic islands. At Skarkos a settlement was found. And most importantly: it was found in an excellent state of preservation. “It is unprecedented,” Ms. Marthari told me, “that the buildings, which have doors, windows, built-in chests, staircases, niches, cabinets, are preserved at a height of two floors, allowing us to form a picture of the architecture and society of the middle of the 3rd millennium BC. The quarter was discovered to the east of the hill near the top of the hill and parts of buildings to the west on the harbour side. The settlement grew with the construction of new buildings added to the older ones. In this way, building islands were created, the buildings of which were separated by double walls. Streets up to 2 m wide and four-sided squares were inserted between the islands.

This settlement organization reminded me of the settlement of Chora, which, I beg your pardon, was built on the ruins of the Ancient City, the city of Archaic times (6th century BC).

I asked the Deputy Mayor Mr. Vollikakis to accompany me. He responded with great kindness and courtesy. I owe him a big thank you. We started from Chora to Skarkos following the path that starts from the square Io. Γ. The path to Skarkos is of particular interest as it is paved with slates and crosses the countryside of Chora. We pass through gardens with zarzavata, ruins, farmhouses that are no longer in use and have succumbed to the ravages of time and stables with lambs, a staple food of today’s, as well as of the prehistoric inhabitants of Ios, whose meat is delicious. The cheeses of Ios are also fine and therefore famous: white cheese, salty and spicy or with a milder flavour, ‘xino’, a soft white cheese which is a wonderful accompaniment to the salad of the island of Chios, ‘skotiri’, a mixture of cheese, myzithra and aromatic cheeses, particularly tasty, and sweet myzithra. Many taverns, especially the ‘Villaetti’ tavern in Epano Kampos, offer the opportunity to see for oneself.

After twenty minutes of pleasant descent we reached Skarkos. The path continues, circles the archaeological site, passes between old threshing floors, which should somehow be highlighted and dry stone walls, those ingenious constructions of the islanders to hold the soil and ends at the port. For those who wish to reach Skarkos starting from the harbour there is a dirt road of good passability through the stream, which will be paved in the near future.

The archaeological site is one of the most beautiful I have ever seen. It is no coincidence that on 12/06/2008 the work of the K’ Ephorate of Cyclades was honoured internationally with the 1st Cultural Heritage Award.

“The buildings that have been uncovered so far, we read on the information board, generally had a ground floor and a first floor. They also had courtyards enclosed by high walls. Each building contained areas for specific activities, such as cooking areas on the ground floor and areas for storing agricultural products or household goods, usually on the first floor.

From the excavation of Skarkos came abundant movable finds, on the basis of which we can see that the very early Bronze Age society (2.800-2.300 BC) was very complex, much more than what archaeologists thought until now. A part of these finds, as well as from other archaeological sites on the island, both prehistoric and historical, e.g. from Agia Theodoti, Psathi, Plakes, Manganari, Ancient City, are exhibited in the Archaeological Museum of Chora.

Just before I leave Skarkos to visit the Museum, I let my eyes wander around the place. I want to close behind my eyelids all this beauty. The spiraling growth of the old retaining walls that end ? into a petrified lion, so the rock at the top of the hill looks like, the ashes that were rustling, playful and those of the wind that never stopped for a moment during the days I stayed on the island to tell sometimes in whispers, stories of love and sometimes vividly, adventures of life, and the little churches, white accents on a brown background, the land that overwhelms with its roughness and inner strength.

AT THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM

From the port to reach Chora I used the charming paved street, about 800 m long, which starts from the place where the bust of Konstantinos Bouloubasis, a Reserve Officer who was executed by the Germans in 1943 and ends at another bust, that of Sp. Io. Valletta (1779-1843), a prominent member of the Society of Friends, an excellent writer and translator of Plutarch’s and Rousseau’s works and a great benefactor of Ios. A few steps further on, the neoclassical house of the Egyptian family of Lorentzos Amiradakis rises its elegant trunk, which today houses the Archaeological Museum on the ground floor and the offices of the Municipality of Ios on the first floor. The Amiradakis house had a huge garden with an impressive gate. Today in the place of the garden there is a large square. The gate is preserved, standing proudly in its solitude, stuck in its aristocratic past.

I enter the Museum. The tour of its four rooms is an interesting walk through the very important past of the island. In room 1, which is dedicated to the Early Cycladic Ios, the visitor can follow with the help of photographic material all the aspects of the life of the inhabitants of Skarkos, after having been informed about the natural environment and the history of archaeological research in Ios.

Happy to have had such an experience, the visitor leads his/her steps to Room 2, where life in the Middle and Late Bronze Age (2nd and 1st millennia BC) unfolds. The exhibits come from the late Middle Cycladic – early Late Cycladic cemetery of Skarkos and confirm the developments that took place in the Aegean area: first the rule of the sophisticated Minoans and then, after the biblical destruction of the volcano of Thera (1650 BC), the powerful Mycenaeans.

He then enters room 3. He leaves prehistory and enters the history of the island. There, the findings from the ancient city of Ios shed light on the historical developments in the area in an attractive way, while the inscriptions offer remarkable information about religion, the constitution, the institutions as well as the economic and social conditions that prevailed on the island.

In Room 4, the last of the tour of the island’s charming past, the sculpture of historical times is expressed with high art tombstones and statues and the architecture with parts found scattered in various parts of Ios.

HISTORICAL DATA

Around 1100 BC. Dorians and Ionians heading towards the coast of Asia Minor arrived on the island, and according to one version, the island was named after the Ionians. According to another version, the island of Ios owes its name to the beautiful wildflower Ion the Fruity, which is known as the wildflower. During the classical period Ios became a member of the Athenian League. Later it was subjugated, like the rest of Greece, to the Macedonians. In 315 BC the island gained its freedom, became an equal member of the “Commonwealth of the Islanders”, minted its own currency and began trading with the other islands of the Cyclades and Rhodes. In Roman times it became a place of exile, while in Byzantine times it was part of the ‘Province of the Islands’. In 1207 it passed under the rule of the Venetians. One hundred and ninety years later, the governor of the island, Marcos Crispos, fortified the country with a castle in order to protect the inhabitants from the pirates who were ravaging the islands. In 1537 Ios fell into the hands of the Turks. The island participated in the revolution of 1821. Valetas, who was born on the island, was one of the leaders of the Society of Friends. In 1829, along with the rest of the Cyclades, it was incorporated into the newly established Greek State.