On Day 3, I enjoyed a 5 a.m. wake-up call for the ferry to Naxos, arriving there around noon, after a brief stop at Paros. My hotel, the Porto Naxos,
was a 15 minute or so walk to the center of Chora (Hora in Greek, sometimes called Naxos City). It seems every main town on a Greek island is named Chora.
Naxos is the largest island in Cyclades (islands such as Santorini, Ios, Tinos, Paros, Mykonos and Milos, all due south of Greece, but not including Crete)
has about 18,900 permanent residents, but during tourist season, the island population doubles.
Naxos was inhabited starting in the Neolithic era
in Zas Cave, and Naxos dominated commerce in the Aegean Sea area in the 8th and 7th century BC, After falling under Persian Empire control,
the inhabitants revolted in 502 BC. Naxos was said to be the most prosperous Greek Islands by 500 BC. The Romans ruled the island
until the Byzantine era (after 400 AD). In the early 1200's, the Venetians conquered the island and ruled until 1566, when the Ottomans (Turks) invaded,
and they ruled until 1821, when the Naxians revolted. By 1832, Naxos became a Greek state.
After arriving, I toured the Portara,
the remains of the Temple of Apollo, then walked around Chora and toured the remnants of Kastro, the castle built by the Venetians. Most of the wall is intact,
and the Kastro features the Roman Catholic Cathedral and labyrinth of streets connecting homes and buildings. Dinner was squid stuffed with cheese
and tomatoes, with potatoes and cherry tomatoes and fava beans on the side, all grown on the island.
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Above: An open air cinema next door to the Porto Naxos Hotel.
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1 and 2 are views of the Acropolis from the Titania Hotel at around 5:30 a.m.
3 and 4 show the wake of the ferry to leaving Pireaus port in Athens.
5 is the island of Paros.
6 is the Porto Naxos Hotel where I stayed while in Naxos.
7 and 8 shows the walk towards the town along Ioannou Papanigopoulou street.
9 to 12 shows a city square, Plateia Protodikeiou, east of the city centre.
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