An island almost mythical. We start today an atmospheric journey.
It is the island of Amorgos with its endless blue, Amorgos with its energy fields, its glittering light, and its poetic beauty.
The island of Amorgos, the birthplace of the poetry and of the poet Nikos Gatsos.
Located on the south end of the Cyclades but in the heart of the Aegean Archipelagos. A day tour on one of the special islands of Greece.
7: oo am.
As the day's first-day boat departs from Aegiali, heading West toward the Cyclades and Piraeus. We guess on the faces of the passengers the possible end of their vacation, and this sweet fatigue that leaves you a nice trip when it reaches its end. However, our day tour in Amorgos just begun.
8:40 am, South East of Cyclades
Amorgos, it is said that it took its name from the "Amorgis" plant as a kind of flax with which Amorgos tunics were made off. It is located at the north end of the Cyclades, after Naxos and the Small Cyclades. With two natural harbors, Katapola and Aegiali, and an incredibly beautiful "hora", one of the most beautiful of the Cyclades, Amorgos seem to intersect the Aegean Sea and its abundance.
9:35 am, the Amorgian Pastel
We start our day with a sweet the traditional Amorgian pasteli and a Greek coffee of course.
Amorgos is famous for some traditional and favorite products such as pasteli, rose-sugar, raki, raki …
Rose Sugar is a unique product made from wild rose petals that bloom in May that are kneaded with sugar and lemon. Pastel is made with honey and sesame seeds. It is the sweet offered on lemon balm, in case of baptism and celebrations, always accompanied with raki.
10:42 am, the "Captain Morgan" of the Cyclades
The French love Amorgos and Amorgos the French. In this long-lasting relationship of love and mutual respect, the story of Bertrand stands out. Bertrand from Amorgos made a long journey to almost all the world to return with his boat to Amorgos. Today he organizes cruises with a traditional-boat in the Aegean, which he considers the best place for such trips.
12:15 pm, a bit closer to God.
Visit the monastery of Ag. Georgios of Valsamitis.
A point where ancient times, Orthodoxy, a famous watermill, the god Apollo, Saint George, the water that foretells what will happen in the future, and the constant search for the truth, exist alike. In the 8th century, an icon was found at that point and so a monastery was built. Today it is a place of spiritual uplifting, tranquility, serenity and internal search.
13:30 pm A long journey in the " chora "
The capital of the island, "chora" of Amorgos features the classic Cycladic beauty with narrow, cobbled streets, whitewashed two-storey houses, arches, and countless churches. The picture is completed with immaculate white, crystal near blue sky and the loud, warm colors of the bougainvillea.
All of these are known and beloved in our Cycladic color palette.
Another characteristic is the typical hill with windmills, which gaze out over the Aegean Sea.
A big contradiction if you consider the years of pirate raids. These winds, narrow streets, this maze of the "chora" served then to escape of inmates, who ran and lost in here to escape from the pirates.
14:45 pm, Meeting with the history
A visit to the folk museum, where the island's historical archives are hosted. This archive has been collected over many decades and has been digitized in recent years. The archive has documents from 300 years ago.
In the documents, it is reflected the lifestyle of the inhabitants of the island and the changes that intervened during the centuries. Important historical facts and figures about the older picture of Amorgos are also on these pages of files. You can even find recorded, natural phenomena and disasters affecting the landscape but also the economy – society of the island.
15:45 pm, St Anne and the Virgin Mary of Hozoviotissa
Saint Anne, mother of the Virgin Mary and the Virgin Mary symbolically meets here on the East side of the island.
We are talking about the famous little chapel of St. Louis. Anne and the famous beach, with fantastically aquamarine colors of the water that formed the natural backdrop for the movie of Luc Mpesson "Big Blue . " The Ag. Anna looks like it is here in an ongoing conversation with the monastery of Virgin Mary of Hozoviotissa, which stands for nine centimes perched up there on the steep slope.
Amorgos is famous for its hiking trails. The most famous route is the climb to the monastery of Hozoviotissa, 300 stairs and many stopovers to enjoy this sensational view that is breathtaking. Stand here, and admire the vastness of the world in one of the largest and nicest balances.
16:20 pm, Facing the Aegean Sea, seeking God
Built in defiance of the landscape, and at the same time extolling the greatness of the world, hooked on steep rocks, the monarchy of Hozoviotissa looks poised as a miracle.
It seems to balance on a thin rope that separates the material world from the spiritual Hymn to human will, and faith. Almost against natural laws, a meteor in the Aegean. Meteor as the thousands of unanswered questions of mankind. The monastery was built in 1088 and the occasion for its inception was to find the icon of the Virgin Mary who arrived here from Hozhova in Palestine, a place near the Holy Land and Jericho.
An island, an immense blue empire, and a miraculous place that affects the soul of the people
18:30 the Vespers and the Castle
We return to the "chora" and is already the hour of Vespers.
Visit then the many churches in the "chora" and we are heading towards the Castle that dominates on the rock in the middle of the village.
It is there since the 13th century. It is a Venetian building. At the top of the cliff will lead you a steep staircase built on the north side, while to exit the Castle you pass first from the chapel of Ag. George. From the Castle now the view is panoramic and reaches up to Naxos, the small Cyclades, and IOS. From this point, the inhabitants could control the sea of Naxos and Astypalaia.
21:45 pm, "Amorgiano mou tragedy»
Stop at the coffee shop with traditional music played by young musicians. Amorgos is famous for the revelations organized at every opportunity …
Amorgos by N. Gatsos
To a green star
Evil witnesses to men are eyes and ears if they have barbarian souls. HERACLITUS
With their country strapped to the sails their oars suspended in the wind
the shipwrecked slept tame as dead beasts on sheets of sponges
but the eyes of the seaweed are turned to the sea
lest the south wind bear them back with new-dyed sails
and a lost elephant is always worth a little more than the two breasts of a
trembling girl.
only let the roofs of ruined mountain chapels light up with desire for the
evening star
let the birds come in waves to the masts of the lemon trees
with the strong white gasps of new steps
and then the winds will come the bodies of swans that remain mild unsoiled
still
into the steamrollers of shops in the cyclones of cabin patches
when the eyes of the women became dark and the hearts of the chestnut
sellers broke
when the harvest was stopped and theopes of the crickets began.
