Sifnos Page 2

Kamares the main port

Kamares is Sifnos' main port and you can easily use it as base to explore the rest of Sifnos. It has a great, calm, longish, sandy beach, and just the right number of intimate bars and tavernas right on the water. This beach is safe for children.

The tall barren cliffs surrounding the Kamares harbor don't give an accurate preview of the verdant green you'll find inland.

In ancient times Sifnos was famous for its gold mines which are now sadly depleted and sunken underwater.

Today Sifnos is famous throughout Greece for its clay and has been heavily involved in ceramics since ancient times. Now there are only two or so pottery shops in Kamares. However, pottery is still the most common locally produced type of gift item available from Sifnos. The two shops in Kamares specialize in glazed chimney pots.

There were some 90 pottery workshops on the island at one time. Many of the potters moved to other spots in Greece to ply their trade in spots with less competition from other potters. Someone once discovered that every Greek potter has a Sifniot in the family tree.

Apollonia, the capital

From Kamares, a bus takes the steep, dramatic climb to Apollonia. Terraces cascade down the mountain. Apollonia is named for the 7th Century BC Temple to Apollo at the village's highest point. The Greek Orthodox Church didn't approve of a pagan temple in their midst, and back in the1700's built the church Panagia Ouranofora on top of it. (Remnants of the Temple may still be seen.) In spite of the Orthodox's churches best efforts, however, even today rituals traced to pagan worship are still performed on Sifnos such as the Lolopangyrio (crazy festival) every February.

This typical white-washed Cycladic Hora with its bougainvillea clad two-story houses is brilliantly juxtaposed against the barren, dun colored hills. Visit the church Ag. Athanasios to see the frescoes and a carved, wooden iconostasis. Apollonia's Bus Stop Square is where you'll find the Museum of Popular Arts and Folklore. Its hours are irregular, but it houses a representative collection of local pottery, embroideries and costumes.

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