Day 12 - Naxos: Inland Villages
Village of Apeiranthos
Today Mike and I went on a tour of the inland villages while Sophia had some time by herself and went to the beach.
The population of island of Naxos is 22,000 with 7,000 living in Naxos Town, which is the port city and capital (where we are staying). The rest of the population is scattered through out the island in small mountain villages, most of just a few hundred people or fewer, the largest with a population of only 1,000.
Because of the volcanic origins of the island, the soil is rich and agriculture is their primary “industry.” The mountains are full of huge deposits of marble and so we see marble quarries at the top of the mountains as we drive through them, and the villages are literally made of marble - streets, sidewalks, walls, house exteriors, everything is made of marble. It’s beautiful!
Village of Melanes
Village of Kourounochori:
We had a honey and tea tasting with pancakes and orange cake!
Next we visited the site of an unfinished marble statue of a man from the 6th C. BC. On the way we passed ancient pipes which were used to carry water from the mountains to the capital city in the plains (9 miles away) in the 7th C. BC. Amazing!
A marble quarry and processing plant:
As we drove through the countryside the mountains were dotted with terraces for their crops, ancient rock walls, and churches and chapels, these often being perched on the top of high rocky places that look inaccessible. And except for crossing over the mountain passes in the middle of the island, we could almost always catch a glimpse of the sea as we wound our way up and down the mountains.
Village of Apeiranthos: This village was completely made of marble - stunning!
Then back to our hotel for a rest before going for dinner and a last visit to Apollos’ Temple at sunset.
