MYKONOS SIGHTSEEING

Ano Mera is the second largest settlement of the island after Chora. It is a traditional settlement located in the Eastern coast of Mykonos near Chora. An odd village, it is spread over a large area and is sparsely built as it comprises largely a group of independent homesteads. The main settlement is concentrated around the historical monastery of Panayia Tourliani, once an important financial centre on the island. From 1916 until 1999 the Community of Ano Mera was independent but is now a municipal department of Mykonos. The small centre of the settlement is very well organised and offers all modern comforts to his visitors. The village square typically attracts crowds on Sundays when locals stop by after services. The village centre has a number of restaurants and cafes, while there are also accommodations in the area as well as at pretty beaches nearby such as Elia, Kalo Livadi, Ayia Anna, Kalafatis and Lia. There is frequent bus service between Chora and the beaches of Kalafatis and Elia; there’s also a taxi rank in the village.

The settlements of Ornos and Ayios Ioannis assemble some of the biggest hotels of Mykonos; some of the most luxurious residences and villas are built there. Ornos can be reached from the new ring road that begins from Tourlos in the north side of Chora, where the recently upgraded Municipal Stadium and desalination plant are located. From Ornos, water taxis offer transport to the popular beaches on the southern coast; there’s also good anchorage for leisure craft.

The settlements Platis Yialos and Psarou are located 4,5 km from Chora. Their big development around the gorgeous beaches at each cove and are now hubs of tourist activity, with frequent public transport overland or by sea to southern beaches. Both offer excellent infrastructure.

Arriving from Chora, the visitor is greeted by the sight of a pretty cove sheltered from the north with three smaller inlets; Psarou at the far right marked by the rocky outcrop of Lazarou to its west, Platis Yialos in the middle, and the small sand cove of Ayia Anna to the southeast. Despite rampant development in the area, its rural character is preserved.

One of the most important monuments of Mykonos, are the ruins of an ancient tower at Portes. Until today placed on a hill in the northern side of a small valley and to the left of the main road leading to the settlement.

The settlements of Tourlos and Ayios Stefanos are located 2.3 and 3 kilometres respectively, north of Chora. Many cruise ships and ferries approach the harbour of Tourlos. The settlement of Ayios Stefanos is built in the southern side with marvellous view to the islands of Tinos, Syros and Rineia. The area offers sufficient infrastructure and is served by regular transport. It’s also known for the impressive large, flat pebbles, or krokales, at Houlakia beach. In the area you will find a lot of old graphic small churches, such as Ayios Stefanos, Ai Yoryis Mihalovich, and Ai Yoryis Spilianos. In the beginning of the new Regional road ancient monumental well of Pouados are also visible.

MYKONOS SETTLEMENTS

Chora is located in the western side, built coastally between the the bays of Korfos and Tourlou and it’s the main settlement of Mykonos. Because of the terrain’s flatness, the town stands out more than other Aegean settlements which usual perch amphitheatrically on slopes at a safe distance from the sea. The interior is dotted with a number of hamlets and farmhouses known as the “horia” which are concentrated in the natural basins formed by the land. Such settlement is especially dense on the fertile eastern plain known as the picturesque Ano Mera.

Chora is the region that assembles the bigger historical interest. The island’s “horia” or farmhouses are traditionally built using the same materials as those used for building in Hora, yet the effect is quite striking as the brilliance of the whitewash contrasts with the greyness of the arid, rocky terrain. Interior spaces are also divided somewhat differently as the home usually comprises two or three rooms—the living area, the kitchen, and the sleeping quarters, which like Hora dwellings, is the smallest space. Houses also have whitewashed courtyards. Auxiliary spaces include the barn, the oven, the pens, the dovecote, and even a wine press, a mill, a cistern, smaller cisterns for washing closer to the well, and even a mangle, if the homestead has a cabbage patch. Often, there’s a chapel on the grounds where family members are interred.
“Horia” are spare and their design blends harmoniously with the barren landscape. These farmhouses are representative examples of human creativity amid such an arid terrain.

Several small yet interesting monuments are scattered south of Chora in areas that until recently were farm land. At Drafaki (Paspari) there are numbers of old but well-preserved chapels. At Vrysi, a Mycenaean tholos tomb, an unusual find for the Cyclades, was uncovered a few years ago, yielding interesting funds that attest to the island’s relations with mainland Mycenaean culture. In the same area, one can see wonderful dovecotes in old gardens.

Throughout the countryside, ruins of an ancient square or round towers are visible, presumably remnants of some ancient fortification system. The tower at Lino has a 10-meter diameter, while the tower at Portes, overlooking Platis Yialos, has a smaller diameter of just 3.5 meters but its impressive threshold is preserved. Several ancient wells are also still in use, among them Yiannaros’s well, an underground cistern built of granite blocks with a stepped aqueduct. The Pouados is framed by steps for easy access and is located below the rim of the Tourlou-Korfos road at Tagou.

This picturesque quarter of Little Venice with its brightly colored balconies seems to hover over the sea between Kastro and Skarpas. It’s an excellent spot for enjoying one of the most beautiful sunsets in Greece.

Paraportiani Church is a distinctive architectural compound that is the result of human creation and the forces of time and nature. Paraportiani’s name derives from its location next to the north-western side entrance, or paraporti, of the island’s medieval walls. It’s actually a two-story compound of five churches—four on the ground floor and a fifth built over them. It’s the one on top that is actually Panayia Paraportiani, and was built between the 16th and 17th centuries. Thanks to the compound’s unique architecture, it is recognized as an important monument not just on Mykonos but throughout the Aegean.

The churches of Zoodohos Piyi (cathedral), Panahra, Ayia Kyriaki, Ayios Nikolaos Yialou and Ayia Eleni are just some of Hora’s most important post-Byzantine churches, each boasting interesting icons and carefully crafted iconostasis. The large number of votives seen in most churches is part of the locals’ custom of interring their ancestors’ remains in church walls.

Traces of an Early Cycladic acropolis are visible at the twin cove of Divounia-Tarsanis at Kalafatis, southeast of Ano Mera.

Kato Myloi is a row of seven windmills, of the original ten, rises on a low ridge south of Hora, between picturesque Alefkantra and the Niohori, looking out to sea and creating the image most visitors associate with Mykonos.

The wheat mills were used through the early 20th century and supplied the island’s bakers with flour, a vital source of income as the island was a resupply station for ships crossing the Aegean. One such traditional bakery, Fournos tou Yiora, in Niohori continues to bake bread in the traditional manner in its wood-burning oven.

Prehistoric ruins have been identified around the island, for example at Panormos, the most important being the Neolithic settlement at Ftelia.
The same site has been associated in archaic times with the grave of Aias of Locris, a hero of the Trojan War who was worshipped on Mykonos.

Panayia Tourliani Monastery was founded in 1542 on the site of an older church dedicated to the Presentation of the Virgin. From 1757 to 1767, the monastery, which is dedicated to the Dormition of the Virgin, was renovated by the Monk Ignatios Basoula to its present form. The triple-apsed church is noted for its iconostasis, carved from wood in the Baroque style, its throne, and its late, 18th century altar, all of which tradition holds were crafted in Florence. Inside there are also icons by Ioannis of Corfu.

The architecture of this monastic compound and the intricate marble relief of the bell tower and fountain are impressive sights. The monastery’s holdings include collections of old tools, important church relics, habits, and even furnishings such as a wood-carved epitaphios, post-Byzantine icons, and other votives.

This 18th-century convent of Palaiokastro Monastery is a typical example of Cycladic monastic architecture. Located north of Ano Mera, it is named after the neighbouring hill—Palaiokastro—that is crowned by a medieval castle, which was subsequently renovated by the Gyzis brothers. Nearby sights include the church of Ayios Vlassis and a large dovecote as well as a prehistoric grave comprised of a three-meter-high granite boulder.

You can visit the Municipal Library in Ayia Kyriaki quarter of Chora, housed in the 18th century Kambanis mansion. Most of the library’s 10,000-volume-strong collection is from the library of Alexandros Meletopoulos. It includes a collection of photographs, 18th and 19th century documents, etchings and other items.

Panayia Lozaria is a Catholic church located on Alefkantra square; the church is marked by the Bourbon shield on the façade. It was built during the reign of Louis XIV.

Two more noteworthy examples of church architecture are Ayios Pandeleimonas at Marathi, which is typical of 17th century religious architecture with fine icons and murals, and the late-17th-century Ayios Yeoryios at the Ampelokipos district of Ano Mera.

Three wells located at Tria Pigadia which supplied Chora with water from the 18th century through the Fifties.