The Island of Syros

The Cyclades, (Greek for circle) are a group of islands off the south coast of Greece that (roughly) form a circle.  Delos, the ancient city we visited last week is (roughly) the center of this circle of islands and our island Syros, is near Delos.  This is a long way of saying that Hermopolis is the capital city of the Cyclades.  Today we took a tour of the island which is surprisingly small.  Our first stop was Anos Syros, the "Old Syros" which literally hangs on a steep hill just outside the present city.  It is a walled city that was built back in medieval times, with narrow walkways (no streets) and a church perched at the very top of the hill.

Here is a typical street in Anos Syros...

And here's the view of the "new" city from the old city...

The island of Syros is about 50% Catholic and 50% Orthodox and of course many couples are a mixture off both.  A marriage is held at one church, and then, an hour later is held at the other!  But the children will usually follow the religion of the father. The kids had an impromptu sing at a 16th century church within the old city.

We also visited many beach towns around the island including Vari where the singers got to swim.

And here are the intrepid travelers at the end of the day, waiting for the but so carry us back to Faros Village Hotel.