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Cyclades 2005 - The Islands
 SYROS |
 “The Lady of the Aegean”, as the island has been christened by the contemporary writers.
Syros has been inhabited for many years. It is also known as Sour or Osoura and was mentioned in Homer’s manuscripts. Syros distinguished itself from the other island communities due to its especially developed cultural and financial activities.
During the Greek Revolution of 1821, many Greeks left their devastated homelands and came to live nearby the island’s large port and at the foot of its old fortified settlement, bringing with them their own characteristics and extraordinary abilities. Thus, the new city of Ermoupoli was born. The city developed at a rapid rate and a new “urban” society was conceived.
In just a few years time, Ermoupoli developed into an international cultural center and a trade hub of the Eastern Mediterranean with prominent sea routes in the Aegean Sea. Apart from the sites, the Library, the Museum and the Theater (which is a replica of the Scala of Milan), visitors can also enjoy the island’s many clean beaches and the blue Aegean waters.
| SIFNOS |
 The island that maintains its traditions. The prosperity of the island of Sifnos in ancient times was attributed to its gold and silver. In the past two centuries, its prosperity can be attributed to its poets, writers, ceramic artists, farmers and stone builders.
Culture bloomed through the island’s daily life, the celebrations, the whitewashing of the houses, the special care of the island’s paths, the cultivation of the land, the clay pottery, the olive harvesting and the salty sea breeze.
The settlements exist harmoniously with the natural countryside, demonstrating the need for respect of both culture and the natural environment. Kamares, Vathi, Platis Gialos, Kastro, Faros, Cherronisos, Apollonia and Artemonas. Areas of endless beauty, stunning beaches, sweet-natured people and renowned cuisine.
| SERIFOS |
 An island surrounded by the foam of the Aegean waters, touched by the soft winds. Serifos is one of the most picturesque Cycladic Islands, with hundreds of coves and one of the loveliest capital towns in the Aegean Sea.
Serifos Town is built on an upright rock and is located just 5 km from Livadi, the port of the island. Whitewashed houses built according to the Cycladic architectural style, windmills, narrow cobblestone alleys, all combined to create a charming image. Churches, monasteries, a Venetian castle and an indefinable aura that is connected to the inhabitants’ well being and health and which is probably due to the island’s soil that is rich in minerals.
The island has also been attached to the mythological figure of Perseas, who was washed up on the island, locked in a box. Perseas grew up on the island and from here he set out to kill the terrible Medusa, who had turned Sifnos’ king, Polydektis, into stone and the island into a barren land. |
