Greece: Samos – Birthplace of Pythagoras

Samos is without any doubt island with much greenery and really mountainous terrain. In fact, it has both characteristic more plentiful than any other island in the Aegean Sea. Dreamed-of idyll of all aesthetes is rich for white-gold (pebble, sandy, or mixed) beaches and turquoise water which tempts for a bath even those who normally prefer a hotel pool. Near the island is Turkey separated only by a two kilometer wide channel.

Samos became famous for its geranium wine awarded with many prestigious prizes. Famous are for instance Samos Nectar or Samina. These wines are also utilized as wine at masses and are exported even to Vatican.

Now lets introduce us some localities on this island. Southern shore has a popular summer resort of Votsalakia. It is sought for a sandy-pebble beach with shallow entrance to the sea. About 80 meters from there, a well-known and verified hotel Kampos Village Resort is located. It is built in a traditional architecture of the island. It is to be found in a vast garden, the hotel itself consists of 13-storey buildings.

Couple of minutes by walk a town at the foot of Samos’ highest mountain is located. Its name is Kerkis and you can find it at 1437 meters of altitude. Thus, you can change sunbathing on beautiful beach for nice, not much difficult trip to higher altitudes. Bars, restaurants, or shops are near the beach and hotel. So you don’t even need to take on your shoes or boots.

On the southern shore of Samos seven kilometers from Votsalakia, the summer resort of Kampos is located. Easy holidaymakers might find sufficient Votsalakia Beach, a two star hotel on a sandy-pebble beach. Should you like sand beaches more, than you might like those at Vila Magda, or Stella Hotel Apartments.

And last but not least – the Gagou Beach which is only one kilometer away from the center of Samos’ capital, on island’s northern shore. The beach is only thirty meters long but there is a four-star hotel Samian Blue Seaside which is in the middle of greenery.

When we already talk about the capital we should mention it is split to the new part and the old part– Vathy and Samos. You can find there many pubs where you can try local wine, or eat some Balkan specialty. Among such is mousaka (minced meat with béchamel sauce), baked eggplant, fried zucchini, calamari, or baklava..

As for the sights – among the most interesting is the Eupalion channel built during the rule of Polykrat in the 6th century B.C. It is rather an aqueduct used to supply town with water. The tunnel was dug from both sides of the mountain and thanks to good mathematical calculations it met almost exactly in the middle.

Near the channel there is the port of Pythagorion. It is one of the most popular destinations on the island, only three kilometers away from the airport. Very popular there is Doryssa Seaside Resort, a five-star hotel right next to a long, sand-pebble beach. It is 15 kilometers from the capital because Pythagorion is located in the southeast. But you can get there easily by bus.

Other summer resorts on Samosu are Kalami and Mykali (near the capital), and Kokkari or Karlovasi (northern shore). Very attractive are also sights, for instance Heraion, old Greek temple of Hera which used to be one of the largest temples in the world. Only ruins, however, remained of it. The only what’s left is the ground plan, and half of its columns. Since 1992, the temple has been part of UNESCO’s world heritage site list. Also included in it are Pythagoreion, and the ruins of the Greek fortress.

Noticeable is certainly Castle Lykourgos Logothetis (well its defend tower rather) which symbolizes the fight against the Turks. The castle looms above Pythagorion port and was built in the first half of the 19th century. You can visit couple of museums on Samos. Two are archeological, then paleontological, and folk museums. You won’t get bored. That’s certain...

Source and photo: Blue Style