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| Map of Folegandros |
Folegandros
is the 19th bigger island
of Cyclades, with
32,384km2 and 765 inhabitants. It's located between Milos(15
miles) and Sikinos. It also called Polukandros.
The sheer
cliffs of Folegandros rise 300m from the sea in places and until the early 1980s
they were as effective a deterrent to tourists as they had historically been to
pirates. Folegandros was used now and then as an island of political exile from
Roman times right up until 1969, and life in the high, barren interior was only
eased in 1974 by the arrival of electricity and the subsequent construction of
a road running from the harbor to Hora(capital) and beyond. Development has
been given further impetus by the recent increase in tourism and the ensuing
commercialization. The island is becoming so trendy that Greek journalists
speak of a new Mykonos in the making, a fact
that is reflected in its swish jewellery and clothes shops. Yet away from
showcase Hora and the beaches, the countryside remains mostly pristine. Donkeys
are also still very much in evidence,
since the terrain on much of the island is too steep for vehicles.
The
island's real character and appeal are rooted in the spectacular Hora, the
capital of Folegandros, perched on a cliff-edge plateau, a steep 3km from the
port. Locals and foreigners mingle at the cafes and taverns under the trees of
the five adjacent squares, passing the time undisturbed by traffic, which is
banned from the village center. Towards the northern cliff-edge and entered
through two arcades, the defensive core if the medieval castle (Kastro)
neighborhood is marked by ranks of two-storey residential houses, with almost
identical stairways and slightly recessed doors.
West of
Hora, a paved road threads its way along the spine of the island towards
sprawling Ano Meria. In the middle of the settlement stands the large church of Agios Georgios.
