The Cyclades

 The Cyclades are a group of 220 islands that lay just south-east of mainland Greek in the Aegean Sea. As I mentioned in earlier posts, Rob and I have a trip planned that will take us to four islands in the Cyclades. First, we will spend a few days on Syros, the capital of the Cyclades. The main city, Ermoupolis, is known for it's beautiful neo-classical architecture, it's long time role in the Greek shipping industry, and as one of the centers for Rebetiko music. The rest of the island is known for it's Bronze Age Cycladic culture. Next, we head to Tinos for a few days where we plan to explore the islands hiking trails as well as it's many small traditional villages and it's unique Venetian dovecotes. Dovecotes are decorative aviaries for the raising of pigeons for various uses. Finally, we will spend three nights on the beautiful island of Mykonos. Some people say that Mykonos is known for it's nightlife, but we are hoping it's a bit more calm in October. We plan to do some relaxing on this island and take a day trip to the nearby island of Delos. Present day Delos is uninhabited and is one of the most important historical and archeological sites in Greece.