A
monotonous grey landscape of rock, broken up here
and there by a gleaming white chapel, is the first
impression made on visitors as the ferry draws
into the harbour. But this gives them no idea
of the beauty-spots waiting to be discovered inland,
which together with the island's superb architecture,
rank it among the jewels of the Aegean.
The
island was famous in ancient times for the wealth
which came from its gold and silver mines and
the quarries of Sifnos stone. It enjoyed great
prosperity in Classical times, as can be seen
from its Treasury, dedicated to Apollo at Delphi.
An attractive drive from the port of Kamares,
a modern town with pottery workshops, brings us
to the island's capital, Apolonia. Standing on
three hillsides, with its typical Cycladic style
of architecture, it is breathtakingly beautiful.
It has an interesting folklore museum, while the
churches of the greatest interest are those of
Our Lady 'Ouranofara' and St Sozon. Like that
of the villages round about (Artemonas, Exambela,
Kato Petali), the architecture of Apolonia is
an odd assemblage in which walls, terraces, courtyards
and alleywas form large cubes in a continuous
complex, in total harmony with the natural environment.
The sole exeption to this is the old capital of
Kastro, which remains an example of medieval town
planning. A collection of Archaic and Hellenstic
sculpture and of ceramics from the Geometric to
the Byzantine period is on display in its Archaeological
Museum.
Picturesque
windmills surrender their sails to the vagaries
of the wind, while no fewer than 365 churches
and chapels sprout all over the island like white
mushrooms from the grey carpet of the island's
terrain.
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