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Greek Tales Episode 4. Cythera, Greece

Travelers Tales:


[Dear traveling buddies,

 this week I will take you to an island who is said to have given birth to the Goddess of desire and beauty, Aphrodite! According to Hesiod's Theogony, Aphrodite was born in the foam of Cytherean sea produced by Uranus's genitals, which his son Cronus had severed and thrown there. Thus she was known as "Cytherean" Aphrodite. In Cythera Aphrodite was worshiped as Aphrodite Ourania, Goddess protector of love and pure ask. So if you are looking to fall in love during your holidays, Cythera is the place for you! 

 Cythera is lying opposite the south-eastern tip of the Peloponnese peninsula or right under the Peloponnese hand as I like to call it! It is considered to belong to the Ionian Islands although it is distant from the complex. Due to its strategic location Cythera was an island conquered a lot through history and has influences from Greek, Venetian and Ottoman cultures. The island is also known as Cerigo from the Venetian era.

 Cythera has an airport and its easy to travel to the island as it is connected with Athens on a daily basis. There are local buses connecting the biggest towns of the island but I would suggest that you rent a car to move along the island on your own personal schedule. I would also like to recommend the place I stayed, Anatoli Hotel at Agia Pelagia, a clean hotel with spacious rooms in pure Cycladic blue and white style!

Travelers highlights: 

 Chora, the islands capital. Take a walk in the traditional "sokakia" and visit the Castle.
Kapsali, the harbor of Chora and the twin bones. There are organized beaches where you can enjoy the crystal clear waters.
Mylopotamos a traditional village. An idyllic place with tropical greenery and beautiful bridges. A place with streets and streams in a ravine rich with vegetation with poplars and plane trees. The "Fairy's" waterfall is set among tremendous plane trees and its waters fall from a height of 20 meters forming a small green pond ideal for swimming. Only for bold swimmers though as the water is really cold!  
Avlemonas, a quiet small harbor with a small castle. You can swim in the crystal clear water of Avlemonas beach and have lunch or coffee at the nearby restaurant.
The Katouni bridge. One of the most imposing monuments of Cythera is the stone bridge of Katouni. It was built during the English occupation. It is the biggest stone bridge built in Greece with 110 meters length, 6 meters width and 15 meters height. The bridges characteristic is that its based on 13 arcs in absolute symmetry and 12 slots. Legend has it that the English commander of the island fell in love with a young girl from Katouni. He decided to built a bridge near her house to supervise the construction daily and be able to see her. 


MK]


Avlemonas beach



Avlemonas
Karavas
Agia Pelagia church
Agia Pelagia






Kapsali









Katouni Stone Bridge






Sokakia (streets) in Chora

Mylopotamos falls (The Fairy's waterfall)




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