Sifnos is known as the island of churches. The Sifnoans say there are 365 churches on the island, one for each day of year. We didn't count them and some are more chapels than churches, but we saw so many we couldn't dispute the claim. Every church we saw was clean, freshly whitewashed and many maintained by individual families as a way of showing their devotion to their faith.
Sifnos is a Greek island in the Cyclades island group. Its shorelines are marked with private coves, sandy beaches and small villages. About 2,500 Greeks live on the island although during the summer it is a vacation home for Athenians. Sifnos is out of the way for most tourists, but the ones who can manage ferry schedules enjoy the quiet, laid back lifestyle of the friendly populace. It was probably first inhabited by the Minoans more than four thousand years ago and later became wealthy due to its mines of gold, silver and lead. The island is 28 square miles and mountainous. We rented a car so we could more easily drive to different parts of the island for our daily hikes. Some of our walks were to churches or monasteries built on the mountain peaks. Many were built by the Orthodox Greeks to replace pagan temples and sanctify land used by the early Greeks and Minoans. We had intended to stay one week and move on to Milos, but we were so captivated by the island we stayed another week before moving on to Crete.
The ferry lines from Athens sail into Kamares, the only town that has a pier. Not all the ferry lines come here every day so some planning is involved in visiting the island. The regular ferry is an eight hour trip to Athens while the fast ferry takes only four hours.
Apollonia is the largest town on the island and where we stayed in a small house. We became friends with Stavros, our landlord, and his family. About half of the people on the island lived here.
Our little bungalow in Apollonia.
Enjoying our front porch view. Our neighbor--a church of course.
Vathi Beach is a small town with a protected harbor with a few fishing boats. Life will change for the people here after a high-dollar resort is finished.
Becky Jones, shown here with Kathy, traveled with us for our two months in Greece. We couldn't have asked for a better traveling companion. This photo was taken at the Vathi Beach harbor.
Small settlements like this dot the shoreline of Sifnos.
These chimney guards, called foufoudes, are common on the island and are examples of the pottery industry on Sifnos. Rich clay veins have made Sifnos the pottery capital of the Aegean with unique jars and pots that are the trademark of the island.
We had lunch one day in Cherronisos. As we entered one of the tavernas our arrival sparked an argument between the owners. The wife wanted to close and begin her siesta but the husband insisted we stay and eat. Of course she cooked and he helped by putting out the silverware. The woman delayed her nap long enough to prepare our meal while at the same time giving her husband the evil eye. It was a comfortable little village and we thought this might have been a good place to spend a few days.
The island is a mixture of rocky coastlines and further inland, fields of grains, vegetable and fruit.
The hand-built stone fences crisscross the island marking the boundaries of different fields. I asked who built the walls? One person shrugged and said, maybe the Minoans. That was only a few thousand years ago, so maybe so.
One of the many churches with a nice view of the ocean. This was also the Panagia Poulati Monastery. We saw several monasteries on the island but only saw several pappas, or priests. Maybe at one time the island had more priests since several of the monasteries seemed vacant.
In our walks through Apollonia we always marveled at how many houses were closed and shuttered. When we asked who lived there, we were told Athenians owned them and would occasionally vacation there. Nice life, those Athenians.
Someone named Katerina lives here.
Dozens of narrow walkways made for interesting walks.
The Monastery of Panagia Chrissopigi is situated on a rocky outcropping that juts out into the ocean. Inside is the icon of Panagia. Greek churches dedicated to the Virgin Mary are called Panagia, which means all holy. The icon here of the Virgin Mary was found by fishermen floating in the sea and has been kept in the church since then. There is a celebration 40 days after Easter which is the day the icon is supposed to have saved the islanders from the plague.
One of our memorable walks was several miles down a rocky path to the small St, Sostis church. The sign points the way.
As we walked close to the sea, we could finally see St. Sostis, our destination.
After a long hike over a rocky path we arrived to find several people cleaning and whitewashing the church. It turned out to be a spring cleaning by a few of the people who sponsored the church. Two of the women posed with Becky while we talked with a young woman who spoke English. She said they walked several miles every day to the church and back carrying all their cleaning supplies. This is where that Mediterranean diet comes in handy.
We took more photos and they gave us coffee, cinnamon sticks and anise cookies, well worth the trek down.
We left the women and retraced our steps back up the mountain. Going up took a bit longer than coming down, but they did it every day until the church was cleaned and whitewashed. After reaching the top we appreciated their efforts.
Kastro is a white-washed village that sits upon a domed rock towering above the sea. It is believed to have been inhabited for more than 3,000 years. To protect the town from pirates there were only five entrances in the massive walls that enclose it. These could be locked by iron gates. When you enter the town you go through tunnels and passageways into a labrynth of tiny streets wide enough for only two or three people to walk abreast. After walking through the maze of streets we found a small restaurant where we had a nice meal.
As you walk along the walls of Kastro you come upon the view of the Church of the Seven Martyrs. This is the most photographed scene on Sifnos. We watched a couple with two children walk down to the church only to find the door was locked. We decided to just take photographs from above.
Typical narrow street in Kastro.
Another interesting walk was to the Prophet Elias church. You either walked up or down on this island. This happened to be up.
As we walked up we saw a priest and two women almost flying down the mountain.
We met them about halfway up. They had just been at the Prophet Elias chapel to say prayers. One of the women spoke some English and we introduced ourselves. The priest, with translation by one of the women, invited us to have coffee the next day at another church. Later we realized we weren't sure which church the invitation was for. Another mountaintop I'm sure.
Except for the church in Kastro, every church or chapel we visited was unlocked which always surprised us because of the valuable art inside. The walls and ceilings were often covered with gold, silver and beautiful icons and artwork that would have make a museum proud.
After we looked at the interior of the church we paused for awhile outside to enjoy an incredible view. You can get a glimpse of Kamares below us.
Another view of Kamares.
Our landlord's mother and her grandchildren. On our last day on the island, the young boy here became ill and had to be flown to Athens by helicopter. Lack of emergency medical care is a major drawback for living on Sifnos.
Trying to walk to this village but had to take detour.
Greeting a friend. We kept running into this gentleman who always had a smile and wave for us. He had to go to town everyday to get water for his animals.
One of the churches we visited.
And yet, another one.
One of the many of the rocky paths we used to explore the island.
This is Margarita who we met in one of the churches. She invited us to have a drink so she could practice her English. She took us to the Okyalos Restaurant where she introduced us to her fiance, Demetrius, who also happened to be the chef. What luck. It was early for supper so we had wine and talked, then Demetrius began to bring out appetizers for us to try and talked to us about his Greek cuisine. We came back later in the evening and ate supper there. Margarita was going to Corfu and wanted us to come with her and stay at her house but we were going on to Crete. Maybe another time.
I greeted this man in Greek but he had evidently was having a bad day and didn't answer. At least his dog didn't bite us. The only grouch we met.
I love this photo. Becky took this at the Holy Monastery of Panagia Vrissis. Great view. No priests here either but a woman caretaker let us inside to look at some nice icons.
