Με μία εκτενή αναφορά στο
μοναδικό προφίλ των Κυθήρων και τίτλο "το νησί των Απογόνων της
Αφροδίτης" το Βρετανικό δίκτυο BBC έρχεται να αναδείξει τις κρυφές αρετές
του τόπου μακριά από τη λαίλαπα του μαζικού φτηνιάρικου τουρισμού. Το
άρθρο(πρωτότυπος τίτλος:"The island of Aphrodite’s ancestors"), το
οποίο επιμελήθηκε η Katherine LaGrave μιλάει αρχικά για το γνωστό ζεύγος
Αλμπερτ και Ανίτα που διατηρούν τον ξενώνα "Φως και Χώρος" με
αγροτουριστικές δραστηριότητες. Στη
συνέχεια γίνεται μια συνοπτική αναδρομή στη μυθολογία και την ιστορία και μια
παρουσίαση των σημαντικότερων αξιοθεάτων.
Ένα νησί για τους λάτρεις, ή
εραστές αν θέλετε, της Φύσης λέει παρακάτω για να μας παρουσιάσει αυτό που
πραγματικά είναι το νησί των Κυθήρων και βεβαίως να επισημάνει τα βασικά
συστατικά στοιχεία της ταυτότητας του τουριστικού προϊόντος των Κυθήρων.
Αναφέρονται επίσης τα μονοπάτια των Κυθήρων το γνωστό σε όλους τους Κυθήριους
project που ήδη έχει αναπτυχθεί σε σημαντικό βαθμό.
Εδώ, θα σας παραθέσουμε, αυτούσιο
το άρθρο για τη δική σας ενημέρωση.
The island of
Aphrodite’s ancestors
In 2004, Albert Blok closed his eyes and
randomly pointed to a spot on a map, determined to spend his next holiday
wherever his finger landed. He’d never heard of Cythera, a tiny Greek island northwest
of Crete, but after visiting, he was smitten.
“It keeps revealing new secrets to us,” said
Blok, who ended up emigrating to Cythera from the Netherlands in 2008, and now
runs the traditional guesthouse Xenónas Fos kè Chóros in the village of Aroniadika
with his partner Anita Snippe. “Places we have never been before, people we
have never met before – its beauty keeps on surprising us. On the one hand, we
want to share this beauty with everyone, but on the other hand, we want to keep
it a secret.”
Blok is not alone. Floating at the intersection
of the Ionian and Mediterranean Seas, Cythera – with some 3,500 full-time
residents – has thus far managed to remain one of Greece’s best-kept secrets.
But with the country poised to see nearly 17 million visitors in 2013, the
island’s 65 ancient villages and 30km of coastline will not remain blissfully
unburdened by mass tourism for long.
Where history and
legend meet
Mythologically speaking, Cythera has clout.
Reputedly, it was in the waters off Cythera that Aphrodite, the Greek goddess
of love, rose out of the aphrós – the Greek word for foam –after Uranus’s
genitals were cast into the water. Other stories relate that Aphrodite, also
known as Cytherea, then travelled to Cyprus, which also claims to be the goddess’s
home – but tension is no stranger to these waters.
Since naval times, the island’s strategic
location has made it somewhat of a cosmopolitan crossroads for sailors,
merchants and, of course, pesky conquerors. Inhabited since the Neolithic Era,
the island has changed hands many times: notable figures in Cythera’s history
include Venetian Marchese Marco Venieri, who claimed to be a descendant of
Aphrodite (and whose own descendants still live on the island); and the pirate
Hayreddin Barbarossa, an Ottoman fleet admiral who ravaged the ancient
Byzantine capital fortress of Paliochora in 1537, the ruins of which remain in
the island’s northeast. As a result, Cythera displays hearty remnants of its
cultural bouillabaisse, with Venetian, Ottoman, British and Ancient Greek
influences coexisting on the island.
Perhaps the most intact example of prior rule
is the Kastro, a castle on Spiridonos street in Chora, the island’s tiny
modern-day capital. Built between the 12th and 13th Centuries during a period of
Venetian occupation, the castle was once called “the eye of Crete”; views from
the top allow visitors to see the Ionian, Aegean and Cretan seas
simultaneously. Today, the castle – the
former residence of the Venetian governor – houses the historical archives of
Cythera. Also in sight is the town of Kapsali, which served as the capital’s
port during Venetian times. Located just 2km south of Chora, Kapsali is
characterised by a curved waterfront and sandy twin bays where sea turtles are
known to swim.
Kapsali is just one of many villages that dot
Cythera’s shoreline, with one of the most well known among locals being
picturesque Avlemonas, a charming and historic hamlet situated some 18km
northeast of Chora that you can reach by crossing Katouni Bridge. A reminder of
British rule, the stone bridge –the largest of its kind in Greece at 110m long
and 6m wide – was completed in 1826 as part of a project to ensure ease of
travel between the seaside village and Chora – or so official records say.
Legend has it that the construction was driven by desire: after Cythera’s
British governor fell in love with a girl from a nearby village, he decided to
build this bridge near her house in order to see her daily.
Another large relic backed by lore is the
Panagia Myrtidiotissa monastery, the largest in Cythera. Situated on the
western side of the island near the village of Kalokerines, the monastery –
which translates to “The Most Holy Virgin Mary of the Myrtle Trees” – was built
next to a myrtle tree where a shepherd, according to legend, found a holy icon
of the Virgin Mary in the 14th Century. Pilgrims travel here to venerate the
icon on 15 August’s Feast of the Dormition and on 24 September, the day of its
finding. The icon is the patron saint of all Kytherians and is on display in
the monastery save for Easter, when there is a religious procession to transfer
it to Chora.
An island for
nature lovers
Whittled away by wind and sea, Cythera is
generously composed of steep, rocky cliffs and deep bays – and all of these
elements are on display in the lush village of Mylopotamos, situated
approximately 13km northwest of Chora. Meaning “mill on the river” in Greek,
the village was once home to 22 watermills used for grinding wheat. Today, only
one renovated mill remains, situated near the island’s notorious 20m waterfall,
Neraida, which is a fount of folklore. Also known as Fonissa (“female killer”),
the waterfall was reputedly the site of a murder: legend has it that two women
were fighting atop the waterfall when one pushed the other over the edge.
Many hiking paths originate by the Neraida
waterfall and loop through the village, incorporating a variety of cultural and
scenic elements that illustrate Cythera’s combination of natural beauty and
historical significance. Hikers can follow one such monopati (a one-person path
often used for donkeys) – recently
signposted with numbers and arrows – that loops 2.6km past ruins of old mills
and back to the town, though the more intrepid can choose to break away from
the path before it loops back up and descend 2.2km down steep rocks and through
the gorge to Kalami Beach, which can only be reached on foot by climbing down
the rocks or through the gorge. Another scenic hike starts in the cypress
forests of Lourantianika, in the island’s southern region, and passes 4.6km
through wild olive trees while affording spectacular views of Chora, the Kastro
and the sea.
Such discoveries of isolated beauty remain
standard on Cythera, said Fivos Tsaravopoulos, programme coordinator of the
Kythera Hiking Project, an organization centred around the creation of trails
and sustainable tourism on the island.
“Cythera is a small paradise for walking,” he
said. “It combines incredible landscapes – forests, waterfalls, cliffs, gorges,
beaches and a Mediterranean desert – and picturesque villages, beautiful
churches on the top of mountains and an incredible amount of wildflowers.”
πηγή:
visitkythera.gr
