Usually disregarded...

Usually disregarded...

Greece
Aegean Sea
Cyklades
Island of Andros

The visit to the inland of the Cyklades islands is usually disregarded as a burden at the expense of the beautiful shores. Very reasonable as these islands are almost bare rocks thrown by mighty Zeus to the Aegean Sea to make it look less deserted and unhospitable to sailors... And, very often, this interior is hardly accessible due to lack of roads. But this is a mistake, beleive me, because it is this interior land that writters, poets, painters, photographers, etc, mentioned as their most intense memory from their visits. And this inland usually bears the most significant evidence of their history and high civilization which is among the earliest in Greece dating back to the 3d millenium BC. One of the most significant chapters in their longue history course is that of the Byzantine era (320 to 1453 AC) during which they were loaded with monasteries, mosaics and frescoes.

In the photo one can see, the old monastery of Panachrantou (Virgin Mother), built by emperor Nikiforos Phokas in 10th century in the usual form of a fortress to sustain hostile attacks. When I first visited the monastery, several years ago, it was somewhat of adventure to reach there which included a fairly strenuous walk and a final climb up to the site. Fortunately, few years ago, there was a.."road" till up there... Definitely I've seen worse!..