Explore Mykonos
CHORA - DOWNTOWN:Located on the islands western harbour, the Chora of Mykonos is a very beautiful old island town, which in the past had its own merchant fleet. Today miraculously, it maintains a balance between tourism-related development and the preservation of its very picturesque features. There are whitewashed houses, proud windmills, a multitude of chapels, busy back streets with balconies full of flowers and a multicoloured fleet of fishing boats in the port. In the background is the Paraportiani Church; alongside it, sea-washed Little Venice. After sunset, everything changes: crowds throng this luxurious marketplace and the restaurants, bars and discos consign the tiny town to the pleasures and the different rhythm of the night.
ANO MERA:One of the most eastern sides of the island, a tranquil village in the midst of farms, Ano Mera is a lovely locale, known for its excellent taverns. It is ideal for bicycling and hiking, and there are beaches nearby for swimming and water-sports.
DELOS ISLAND:Delos Island was the refuge where Leto gave birth to Apollo and Artemis, while being chased by the jealous Zeus. The island was first settled, probably by the Kares, about the 3rd millennium B.C. In the beginning of the 8th century B.C., it developed into a center of worship and was the capital city of an amphictyony of Aegean island. As a result of the second purification (426 B.C.), the entire contents of all the islands graves were removed to neighbouring Rhenia. Afterwards, in order to prevent desecration of the sanctuary, both births and deaths were forbidden on the island of Apollo. Delos achieved its independence and developed commercially. During the Roman period, the island thrived, until 88 B.C., the population in Italians. Then, after two dreadful attacks during the Mithridatic War, Delos went into decline and was finally abandoned in the 6th century A.D.
THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM:Located alongside the harbour excavation of the “Pit of Purification” (dating from the 5th century B.C.) and the necropolis of Rhenia. There is a large collection of vessels especially represented of Cycladic ceramics dating from the Geometric period until the 6th cent. B.C. Also, on exhibit, there are wonderful black and red figure pots and diverse finds, including Hellenistic period gravestones and other sculptures. Among the finds from Mykonos, especially impressive is the “Pithos of Mykonos”: a large jar, (made in a workshop on Tinos the 7th cent. B.C.) richly decorated with zones of bas-relief depicting various scenes from the Trojan War (the central composition shows Achaean warriors with the Trojan Horse). Open 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., daily except Monday and major public holidays.
THE FOLKLORE MUSEUM:The Folklore Museum is located in an old, two-storey, captain’s house near the Paraportiani church. There are six main exhibition halls whith collections of antique furniture, Byzantine icons, Folklore ceramics, historical commemorative plates, decorative prints and gravures, as well as embroidered and hard-woven fabrics, locks and keys, weights and measures, a collection of model boats and other historical artefacts. There are also import archives of manuscripts and printed material, photographs, maps and a significant library. Open from April to October 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. daily except Sundays.
LENAS HOUSE:Lenas House is an elegant re-creation of a 19th-century Mykonian residence, close to the Three Wells.
THE MONASTERY OF PANAGHIA TOURLIANI AT ANO MERA:It can be visited by prior arrangement. At the Mono Ena gallery and shop in Little Venice, Marina Petri organises readings, cultural events, and exhibitions of contemporary art.
CULTURE:Most revellers tend to leave the cultural life of Mykonos undiscovered - the three Art galleries, The Municipal Library, the Fine Arts School, the four museums. The soul of Mykonos is not so much in the pulsing, labyrinthine cobbled pathways of the main town, but in the island's interior and its villages. The spiritual focal point is the shadowy 18th-century monastery of Panaghia Tourliani.