Theme Week Cyclades

3 March 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Bon voyage, Theme Weeks Reading Time:  6 minutes

Mykonos © Bernard Gagnon/cc-by-sa-3.0

Mykonos © Bernard Gagnon/cc-by-sa-3.0

The Cyclades is a Greek island group in the Aegean Sea, southeast of mainland Greece and a former administrative prefecture of Greece. They are one of the island groups which constitute the Aegean archipelago. The name refers to the islands around the sacred island of Delos. The Cyclades is where the native Greek breed of cat (the Aegean cat) originated.   read more…

Kuşadası on the Aegean Sea

14 November 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Union for the Mediterranean Reading Time:  5 minutes

Kuşadası © Vikimach/cc-by-3.0

Kuşadası © Vikimach/cc-by-3.0

Kuşadası is a resort town on Turkey’s Aegean coast and the center of the seaside district of the same name in Aydın Province. Kuşadası lies at a distance of 95 km (59 mi) to the south from the region’s largest metropolitan center of İzmir, and 71 km (44 mi) from the provincial seat of Aydın situated inland. Its primary industry is tourism. The district neighbours on the northeast to Germencik district, on the southeast to Söke district, on the west to the Aegean Sea, and on the north to Selçuk district.   read more…

Theme Week Turkish Riviera – Çeşme

22 August 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Union for the Mediterranean Reading Time:  7 minutes

Çeşme © Brecht/cc-by-sa-2.5

Çeşme © Brecht/cc-by-sa-2.5

Çeşme is a coastal town and the administrative centre of the district of the same name in Turkey’s westernmost end, on a promontory on the tip of the peninsula which also carries the same name and which extends inland to form a whole with the wider Karaburun Peninsula. It is a popular holiday resort and the district center, where two thirds of the district population is concentrated. Çeşme is located 85 km west of İzmir, the largest metropolitan center in Turkey’s Aegean Region. There is a six-lane highway connecting the two cities (Otoyol 32). Çeşme district has two neighboring districts, Karaburun to the north and Urla to the east, both of which are also part of İzmir Province. The name “Çeşme” means “fountain” and possibly draws reference from the many Ottoman fountains scattered across the city.   read more…

Theme Week Turkey – İzmir on the Aegean Sea

23 May 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Union for the Mediterranean Reading Time:  9 minutes

İzmir Coastline © flickr.com - Yılmaz Uğurlu/cc-by-sa-2.0

İzmir Coastline © flickr.com – Yılmaz Uğurlu/cc-by-sa-2.0

İzmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia and the third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. İzmir’s metropolitan area extends along the outlying waters of the Gulf of İzmir and inland to the north across Gediz River‘s delta, to the east along an alluvial plain created by several small streams and to a slightly more rugged terrain in the south. The ancient city was known as Smyrna, and the city was generally referred to as Smyrna in English, until the Turkish Postal Service Law of 28 March 1930 made “İzmir” the internationally recognized name. İzmir has almost 3,500 years of recorded urban history and possibly even longer as an advanced human settlement. Lying on an advantageous location at the head of a gulf running down in a deep indentation midway on the western Anatolian coast, the city has been one of the principal mercantile cities of the Mediterranean Sea for much of its history. Its port is Turkey’s primary port for exports in terms of the freight handled and its free zone, a Turkish-U.S. joint-venture established in 1990, is the leader among the twenty in Turkey.   read more…

Theme Week Cyclades – Milos

25 January 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

Klima village © Kosant38

Klima village © Kosant38

Milos is a volcanic Greek island in the Aegean Sea, just north of the Sea of Crete. Milos is the southwesternmost island in the Cyclades group.   read more…

Theme Week Cyclades – Sifnos

24 January 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

Artemonas © Margaritaprounia/cc-by-sa-3.0

Artemonas © Margaritaprounia/cc-by-sa-3.0

Sifnos is an island municipality. The main town, near the center, known as Apollonia, is home of the island’s folklore museum and library. The town’s name is thought to come from an ancient temple of Apollo on the site of the church of Panayia Yeraniofora. The second-largest town is Artemonas (800), thought to be named after an ancient temple of Apollo’s sister-goddess Artemis, located at the site of the church of Panayia Kokhi. The village of Kastro (118), built on top of a high cliff on the island’s northwestern shore on the site of the ancient city of Siphnos, today has extensive medieval remains and is the location of the island’s archeological museum. The port settlement, on the west coast of the island is known as Kamares.   read more…

Theme Week Cyclades – Folegandros

23 January 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

© Oliwan/cc-by-sa-3.0

© Oliwan/cc-by-sa-3.0

Folegandros is a small Greek island in the Aegean Sea which, together with Sikinos, Ios, Anafi and Santorini, forms the southern part of the Cyclades. Its surface area is about 32 square kilometres (12 sq mi) and it has 765 inhabitants. It has three small villages, Chora, Karavostasis, and Ano Meria, which are connected by a paved road. Folegandros is part of the Thira regional unit.   read more…

Theme Week Cyclades – Paros

22 January 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

Paros Collage © Dimorsitanos/cc-by-sa-3.0

Paros Collage © Dimorsitanos/cc-by-sa-3.0

Paros is a Greek island in the central Aegean Sea. One of the Cyclades island group, it lies to the west of Naxos, from which it is separated by a channel about 8 kilometres (5 miles) wide. It lies approximately 100 mi (161 kilometres) south-east of Piraeus. The Municipality of Paros includes numerous uninhabited offshore islets totaling 196.308 square kilometres (75.795 sq mi) of land. Its nearest neighbor is the municipality of Antiparos, which lies to its southwest. Historically, Paros was known for its fine white marble, which gave rise to the term “Parian” to describe marble or china of similar qualities. Today, abandoned marble quarries and mines can be found on the island, but Paros is primarily known as a popular tourist spot.   read more…

Theme Week Cyclades – Tinos

21 January 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  8 minutes

Town of Tinos © Eu.stefan/cc-by-3.0

Town of Tinos © Eu.stefan/cc-by-3.0

Tinos is a Greek island situated in the Aegean Sea. It is located in the Cyclades archipelago. In antiquity, Tinos was also known as Ophiussa (from ophis, Greek for snake) and Hydroessa (from hydor, Greek for water). The closest islands are Andros, Delos, and Mykonos. It has a land area of approximately 194 square kilometres (75 sq mi) and a 2011 census population of 8,636 inhabitants.   read more…

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