Naxos has played a major role not only in the history of the Cyclades but also in that of Greece. The island, famed for its marble and emery exports, its lush and blooming gardens, its valleys and its olive groves, is also characterized by its citrus fruits and fragrant wine, traditional cheeses and salt.
In its splendid isolation, guarded fiercely by the sea, the island has lost little of its authenticity, remaining virtually self-sufficient to this day. According to prominent historians of the past, such as Pindarus and Herodotus, Naxos Island has long been famed for being the most fertile of the Cyclades. In ancient times its wine also laid claims to being the nectar of the Gods.
Naxos is the biggest and most fertile island of the Cyclades. Its rich geographical relief has created dramatic changes of scenery. High mountains, fertile valleys, plateaus, springs, rivers, caves, huge beaches, sand dunes with cedar trees growing on them, all existing harmoniously on this small piece of earth.
Naxos is one of the few islands, which has been inhabited continuously since ancient times (end of the 4th millennium B.C.) till today. It has been possible to gather information about the history of the Aegean from traces left behind from each historical period, along with unique monuments which are scattered all over the island.
Naxos has the cosmopolitan atmosphere of a modern tourist resort, but at the same time has kept its traditional colour and its local culture. Hora (the main town) is a harbour and the administrative centre of the island. It is a modern town, which offers all kinds of facilities. There are a Health Centre, banks, a very good market place and lots of restaurants, bars and cafes. Its has a lively nightlife, not only during the summer months, like most islands, but all the year round.
It’s famous beaches on the south western side of the island, which are made up of kilometers of white golden sand, are being developed rapidly, but at the same time still maintain some of the atmosphere of the seventies when they were discovered by the “flower people”.
However for someone to really get to know Naxos, he must visit the inland areas, the mountain villages, to walk the paths which cross the island, to listen to the violin and the lute at one of the local festivals and to get drunk on the island’s energy.
