CestLaJu

Since I met up with friends from the US of A, my originally planned schedule was modified, and unfortunately this meant foregoing some of my days that were originally planned for Athens. On the bright side, we got to enjoy some lazy, hazy days under the Grecian sun on the beautiful island of Mykonos.

Approximately an 8-hour boat ride from the Athens port, who would have thought that the Greek Islands are so far from the mainland and from each other?!

Nicknamed the “Island of the Winds,” it has a total area of 85.5 square kilometers and has an elevation of 341 metres at its highest point. Mykonos’ origins date from 3000 BC, as archeological findings suggest the presence of the Neolithic tribe Kares. However, the first real settlers,  the Ionians, did not arrive until the early 11th century. 

Historically, the island was a pawn on the board of the Mediterranean Sea.

Originally under the reign of the Roman Empire, Mykonos became part of the Byzantine Empire until the 12th century. It then became occupied by the Ghizi overlord in 1205 with the fall of Constantinople  during the Fourth Crusade. By the end of the 13th century, the island was ravaged by the Catalans, and then finally given to the Venetians in 1390.

Fast-forward to 1537, when Mykonos was attacked by Hayreddin Barbarossa, an infamous admiral of Suleiman the Magnificent, resulting in occupation by the Ottoman fleet. The island remained under the leadership of the Kapudan Pasha until the 18th century when the Greek Revolution against the Turks broke out in 1821.

Mykonos was central during this insurgence, led by the national heroine Mando Mavrogenous, an aristocrat who, guided by the Enlightenment, sacrificed her family’s fortune for the Greek Cause. Greece officially became an independent state in 1830.

We finally arrived on the gorgeous island of Mykonos in the early afternoon. Grabbed some bites, and caught some Vitamin D on a gorgeous beach amidst a beautiful view of vibrant blue water.