Parikia

Norsk utgave (Norwegian edition)

When you arrive by ferry and see the bay and town you may not become very impressed. Behind the small town you see a mountain with almost no vegetation, and all in all the whole scene seems a bit desolate. But when you approach, you will find the town bigger and more beautiful than it seemed, especially the part to the right when you sail into the bay. The scenery here is exactly the one you expect to meet after all the photos you have seen from the island; the small bay and behind a snow-white church with its bright, blue dome.

Actually the scenery is more impressive than you ever had imagined on the forehand. All the different smells, the heat and the sounds etc. are all new experiences and exciting.

When you get ashore and move into the old, narrow, flagstone streets with no cars and everything seems white; then you know you are surrounded by the typical Greek atmosphere. This is what you have dreamed of, but you will find the reality much more exciting and breathtaking than you can imagine! All the snow-white chalked houses with doors and window-shutters in bright colours, mostly blue and flowers everywhere in pots and buckets. The main street is packed with shops offering everything from typical tourist junk to exclusive fashion. In between you find small, nice restaurants and "tavernas". Everywhere you find small churches crammed between the houses.

Parikia has many exciting alleys. Take a walk away from the main street and experience the real city.

In the narrow streets you can feel the pulse of the Greek everyday-life with only small changes during the last 100 years. In secret you can peep through their windows and perceive the atmosphere in a Greek home and how they get on with their everyday life. Here you meet grandmothers dressed in black (because they are widows) looking after the grand-children or busy with crochet-work.

Paros is among the typical youth-islands, verified by the flowering night life. In Parikia there are pubs, bars and discotecs. The night life is vivid from early evening to dawn.

Everywhere you can find nice restaurants ( tavernas) or shops.

In Parikia you find one of the most fabulous churches in Greece, Ekatontapylaní, which means "the Church with the 100 doors", believed to be from the fifth. hundred century. It is rebuild and given extensions several times and its present outlook is from the 1960’, when it was rebuilt being more or less ruined after an earthquake in 1773. The church-building contains many fine icons and you will find a large, beautiful, holy icon representing Mary the Virgin, believed to have curing power. Every year on Mary’s resurrection day the 15^th of August, this icon is carried through the town in a big procession. The bell tower is not rebuilt and therefore you can see all the church-bells hanging in a big tree beside the entrance.

A small, but interesting Archaeological Museum is situated just behind the church. There you can see items made from the famous marble from the island.

Parikia is a typical Cycladic city with its snow-white houses an typical decorated streets.

In Parikia there is a long beach with a big camp-site, but I recommend taking the boat to the nice beach a bit further out in the bay, or a bus to one of the other beaches on the island.

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Thanks to Tone Roald, Nesoddtangen, Norway for her translation into English!
© Jan Bergtun, 8. February 1999	Updated, 07.16.2007
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