Symi Agios Kirikos Ferry

Symi Guide

The Greek island of Symi is one of the Dodecanese Islands and is located around 40 km to the north west of the island of Rhodes and 420 km from the Port of Piraeus. Symi's closest neighbours are the Datca and Bozburun peninsulars of Mugla Province in Turkey. The island's terrain is mainly mountainous and its coastline is made up of either beaches and secluded coves, or rocky cliffs. Located on the north east coast of the island is its main town, also called Symi. The lower town is the area around the harbour, called Yialos, and the upper town is called Horio or Ano Symi. There isn't a great deal to see or do on the island, and this is perhaps where its charm is. Apart from lazing on the beach or swimming in its crystal clear waters the Monastery of the Archangel Panormitis, which is an early 18th century Greek Orthodox monastery built on the coast in the south west of the country, is worth visiting. Overlooking Ano Symi is the Kastro which was built by the Knights of St. John as an expansion of a Byzantine castle on the same site. Quite a bit of the structure remains and there are also signs of an ancient citadel on which two later castles were built.

Agios Kirikos Guide

The town of Agios Kirykos is located on the Greek island of Ikaria which lies in the North Aegean Sea. Many sailors and captains built their houses in Agios Kirykos, which is the island's capital, which gave the town a very nautical feeling. Many of the exhibits on display in the archaeological museum have been recovered from the sea bed and therefore the nautical theme continues. The sea around the island, according to myth, is where the son of Daedalus landed when the sun burn his wax wings and that the islet of Nikari, opposite Agios Kirykos, is the resting place of Ikarus.

The island's terrain is mainly mountainous and covered by Cypress, Plane, Oak and Pine trees. The tree coverage on the island enable the ground to retain moisture which in turn enable wild goats to graze. The forest of Radi, part of the Natura 2000 scheme, is considered to be the oldest in the Balkans. Low types of oak trees are its most numerous “residents”.

The island is accessible by boat from the port of Piraeus and Kavála, in the north of the country.