Cyclades
Islands
: Amorgos, Andros,
Folegandros, Ios,
Kea, Kythnos,
Milos, Mykonos,
Naxos, Paros
and Antiparos, Santorini,
Sifnos, Serifos,
Sikinos, Syros,
Tinos
Northern
Aegean Islands:
Chios, Ikaria,
Limnos, Lesvos,
Samos, Samothraki,
Thassos
Ionian
Islands:
Corfu (Kerkyra), Ithaki,
Kefalonia, Kythera,
Lefkada, Paxos,
Zakynthos
Saronic
Islands:
Aegina, Angistri,
Poros, Hydra,
Salamina, Spetsis
Sporades
Islands:
Alonissos, Skiathos,
Skopelos, Skyros
Dodecanese
Islands:
Astypalia, Halki,
Kalymnos, Karpathos,
Kassos, Kastellorizo,
Kos, Leros,
Nisyros, Patmos,
Rhodes, Symi,
Tilos
Other
Islands:
Crete, Evia,
Cyprus
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Cyclades Islands - Kea
Each island in the Cyclades
is rich in history, mountainous land, churches and monasteries,
Kea Island in no exception. The amphitheater style of
its layout is as welcoming as its white
sandy shores.
The meletima, which bring cool breezes during the hottest
months of July and August carry a delightfully citrus
scent, which is the result of lime trees that are planted
on Kea Island. Here you will also find the traditional
vineyards and olive "orchards" that are synonymous
with Greece, but the size of the orchards isn't what you
would expect. The dry hot climate bakes the landscape
almost like it were a desert, which is why you will want
to carry bottled water with you on your excursions
on Kea Island.
You will be able to tour chapels, the two monasteries
and see windmills that power or powered the island. It
is the history and archeology that make Greece so intriguing.
The ruins on the Greek Islands
and the mythology are as tempting to the senses as the
deep blue water that surrounds Kea Island.
According to mythology, nymphs lived on the Kea Island,
which the locals refer to as Tzia. The Greek
gods were green with envy about the beautiful island
and they sent a lion to terrorize the nymphs. Near the
village of Ioulis, is the lionda, as locals refer to the
lion monument. It is weather beaten and worn, but it is
discernible and awesome.
Two Greek poets were born on Kea Island: Simonides and
Bacchylides, who was Simonides' nephew, lived from 520
to 450 B.C. Pindar was jealous of both Simonides and Bacchylides
and wrote works that are thought to insult Simonides and
his nephew without actually naming them.
The ruins on Kea Island are almost as plentiful as the
marine life that is found around Kea Island. Dolphins
and whales are pictured in many anchient
Greek drawings. Four whale species can be seen around
the Greek Islands from the small pilot whale, which is
about 19 feet long to the 90 foot long Sperm Whale and
Fin Whale. Dolphins and whales are very social creatures.
They travel in pods or families. These mammals aren't
as easy to spot in the beautiful Mediterranean and Aegean
Seas that surround the Greek
Islands as their size might indicate. They move very
swiftly and surface only for brief periods, but it will
be a memorable reminder of your trip to Kea Island.
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