Naxos

Norsk utgave (Norwegian edition)

Naxos is the largest island in the group of islands called the Cyclades. This is an exiting island. Its nature is very varied, ranging from the best beaches of Greece to mountains more than 1.000 metres high. The vegetation in these mountains is incredible, particularly in the springtime and in early summer. As you may have noticed, our pages contain several photos of flower arrangements. Those we have found up here. We’ve also been able to take pictures of exiting insects, amongst them some beautiful butterflies. Our dream is to go here some time in the month of April. We’ve heard that around this time of year, the entire island of Naxos, as is the case in all the Greek islands, field flowers will cover the ground. There is a quite rare kind of bird living in Naxos, called a vulture. It is very big and very beautiful; some call it the "lamb-vulture". Surely, the variety of the island took us by surprise when we first came here. Naxos definitely has something to offer, almost regardless of what kind of holiday you prefer.

Up in the mountains, one can see a lot of this broom. We’ve seen it in blossom up to mid June

There are several exiting villages in these mountains. It’s incredible to see how they lay there in the steep mountains. As one can see from the above map, Naxos has lots of them, a total of more than 40 small and middle-sized villages, all of them worth while visiting. Up here is also one of the oldest churches of Greece. A rental car is a good idea if you plan to explore the island on your own. It is a large island with long distances.

One of the many mountain villages, here represented bye "Filoti", which we believe to be the largest one. Lately, a brand new technology college has been built here, financed by means of the "European union".

There are many great beaches on the southwest coast of the island, and small towns have popped up as a result of this. Examples might be the town of Mikri Vigla and Orkos. The most popular, though, is "Agia Anna", since buses run on a regular basis from Naxos to Agia Anna.

Lots of space at the beach nearby Mikri Vigla!!

In the city of Naxos, down by the harbour, lie the remains of a temple more than 2.500 years old. , Or more exact, the remains of what should have been a temple. Only the foundation wall and the temple gate were completed. But then again, those are here for us to see today!! The area around the gate is a popular places to photograph, especially in the evening, since the sunset is right trough the gate.

This is the gate, however viewed from the opposite direction of the more popular "sundown photo setting".

Naxos is also the island of the God of the Wines, Dionysos. As of today, some very fine wines are made here. Naturally the most popular one is named "Portara" after the gate or port. This wine comes in red as well as in white. But the lemon liqueur is better known. Actually, the distillery rounded one hundred years in 1996. The liqueur is called Citpon and comes in various styles as to colour, sweetness and alcohol percentage.

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© Jan Bergtun, 17. october 1999	Updated, 07.04.2007
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