THE SIGHTS OF THE ISLAND OF KITHNOS OR KYTHNOS IN GREECE

The Castle of Oria - In the north of the island lies the Venetian castle of Oria on top of a mountain. It is located close to Cape Kefalos and it was the ancient times the capital of the island. When the Turks in 1570 destroyed it, the Venetians moved to Messaria. There are some remnants of castle walls, of houses and two churches. The castle is difficult to find because the path that leads to it is quite unclear. The Katafiki Cave in Driopida - As I wroe earlier this one kilometre cave (one of the longest in Greece) in Greece is certainly an attraction, but the question is whether it is open ... The settlement of Maroulas - This settlement dates from 9000 - 8000 BC. Round constructions have been uncovered and skeletons and stone utensils have been excavated. The Monastery of Panagia Kanala - This monastery is on a cliff near the village Kanala and contains an icon of the Holy Virgin Mary that, according to the Greeks can perform miracles (but such kind of miracles making icons are usually found on every Greek island). The monastery is richly decorated and there are beautiful murals. The Monastery of Panagia Nikous - The business card of the island. This monastery is located at 800 meters away from Chora is pictured on all postcard of Kythnos. It's big, white and walled and lies abandoned in the barren brown landscape. According to a legend it once housed an icon that was brought to the monastery after the fall of Constantinople. wand which now can now be seen in the St Mark of Venice. The Byzantine Museum in Driopida - In the Agios George Church in Driopida there is a small museum with special Byzantine and ancient icons. Vriokastro - In the north-west of Kythnos lie the remnants of the old capital Vriokastro. It was a great city that was inhabited from the 10th century until the beginning of the 7th century BC. Some pieces of the thick city walls are still intact and there are a temple for Demetra and a Acropolis, as well as other buildings. In 2001, there was a temple found on the ground, where some 1500 objects were excavated, including jewelry and various objects of gold, silver, coral, glass, ivory and semi-precious stones.

© Hans Huisman, https://www.angelfire.com/super2/greece/ 2013