Around The World Without Flying: Mykonos

Mykonos was a wonderful island to visit, just like what I had imagined a Greek island would be, with its picturesque white-painted villas, blue-domed churches, low-lying hills, brilliant clear blue waters and golden sands.

Yet it too has a long history, according to our guide. Apparently the island was first inhabited by the Kares in 3000 BC, followed by the Egyptians and people from Crete. The island was then conquered by the Romans in about 150 BC, then about 1500 years later by the Franks and then the Venetians. The pirate Barbarossa looted it in 1537, then it was under the Turks before it became part of Greece. This is the kind of story behind all the Mediterranean islands, as far as I can gather. All the different cultures has their impact, of course, on the cultural practices, architecture, language and foods on these islands.

This story is so different to that of Australia. Being so isolated, Australian Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders were spared from invasions from other countries for tens of thousands of years, until the English came . . . So their cultural practices developed at their own pace, without outside influence other than some intermarriage with visiting Indonesian fishermen in the far north.

Anyhow, we were delighted to visit a popular beach and then the traditional village of Ano Mera, where we visited a Greek Orthodox Church and heard the interesting story behind it. The church wasn't large but it had a great spirit about it. We then walked a short distance to a local cafe and were able to taste some Greek delicacies, which were delicious. Those who chose to, had their first taste of ouzo. All in all, it wasn’t a long tour, but most enjoyable.

Interestingly, I do not recall seeing any ruins on our drive around part of this island. It was as though it has only been occupied for a few hundred years. But perhaps they are in parts we did not see. We did find out that this rocky island has little in the way of trees because it is very, very windy. However, we were surprised to see some large eucalyptus trees in the grounds of the beach hotel we saw, although they were bent over from the wind. Apparently the trees were the gift of the Australian government.

I can understand why people would want to stay in one of the luxury beach hotels and just relax on the beaches . . . Apparently it is best to go in May as we did, because it is very hot during the high season in August and September.

I have posted more photos than usual, given the internet is quite fast at this moment and there was so much to see. The first seven photos are in the interior of the Greek Orthodox Church, taken with my phone camera. You can see it was very ornate.