Gray green rocks girt with prickly pear bushes and plains covered in wild flowers, the occasional white-washed plaster of a rural house, a little church or a windmill are characteristic features of the Myconian countryside.
Here the high mountains
encountered in most of the Cycladic islands give way to small rocky hills which
combine with beautiful beaches to make up the landscape of the island.
For decades, Mykonos and
Delos have attracted the attention of special people. In a place so delicate,
so enchanting and with such an ancient history as these islands, we all of us
are dedicated to doing everything possible to maintain a balance between the
long tradition of hospitality and the demands of contemporary Tourism.
Hora
The capital, Hora, with its colorful
harbor in which little fishing boats nestle happily side by side with luxury
yachts, presents quite a different picture from the majority of Aegean island
towns. While it is usual for island villages to be built on naturally amphitheatrical
sites, Mykonos is spread out over a flat area and conveys an impression of solid
aesthetic cohesion.
Along the whitewashed streets stand brilliant
white box shaped houses with stepped walls for sitting on, wooden doors and
windows and brightly-colored balconies. These are interspersed with small and
impressive churches, pretty little taverns and shops selling souvenirs and other
goods, and the overall sense is of being inside a film set.
On the low Kastro hill is the complex
of churches known collectively as Our Lady , a superb arrangement of whitewashed
masses created over the centuries and now recognized as a national cultural
monument.
Of particular historical and aesthetic
interest are the medieval houses in this district of the town, which stand like
a wall above the sea protecting the west side of Hora.
The Archaeological Museum of Hora contains
finds from tombs on
the nearby
island
of Rhenia, sculptures, vases and figurines. The Folklore Museum brings together
a number of collections of furniture, icons, pieces of sculpture and folk musical
instruments. Mykonos is also the home of the Nautical Museum of the Aegean,
which has interest all of its own.
The countryside of Mykonos is a mixture
of gray-green rocks ringed by prickly pear plants and little fertile areas carpeted
with wild flowers. Here and there are tiny white-washed chapels and windmills.
Ano Mera
Ano Mera is, after Hora, the most important
of the older villages on the island. Standing 8 km. to the east of the town,
Ano Mera has the interesting monastery of Our Lady Tourliani, ornamented with
fine wood-carvings . The church has a collection of valuable ecclesiastical
vessels vestments and embroideries. The courtyard contains an interesting blether
and a marble fountain.
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sailing chartering bare
boat sailboat
flotilla
Greece Aegean boat
sailing
charter sail mykonos
santorini
cyclades
ios rhodes
hydra athens
pireaus