Welcome to
Syros

Explorations in Epano Meria
The area is included in the program Natura, it has an area of ​​783 hectares and limestone rocks. From Ano Syros, the road continues to the most unexplored part of the island –Finikia, Mytakas, Kyperoussa, Sa(n) Michalis, Kampos, Syringas with its springs. The route is interesting, the landscapes are barren and rugged and the road passes through high points offering views over the Aegean and the slopes with the terraces. Finikia is an old resort of Ano Syros and it has several rural facilities. The rural settlement of Mytakas with its white houses is built on a high mountain ridge. From there you can go to Senero with the wells and the melon fields, Agios Panteleimonas and Papouri, a village next to a stream.

A path from Papouri leads to the beach of Aetos (1 hour and 30 minutes).

Other villages you see is Kyperoussa with the nice sunset and the stone walls and Richopo. On the right to Kyperoussa there is the cave of Pherecydes. Chalandriani is located in a plateau scattered with farmhouses, having farmlands around –that is why it has been inhabited since the prehistoric times (3rd millennium BC). Opposite the settlement there is Kastri with the acropolis and the ruined turrets.

It is worth walking in Sa(n) Michalis, and in its taverns you can taste the delicious homonymous cheese as well. The beautiful trail starting from the point where you park will lead you through the small settlement and you will end up in the chapel beside which there is also a threshing floor. The view from there to the barren landscape and the coasts of Grammata is evocative.

After Sa(n) Michalis you can drive to Kampos, the northernmost settlement of the island, where the road ends. Great trails start from this point.

Grammata
The beach with the lime kiln constitutes the output of a small gorge and it is full of pine trees, tamarix trees and palm trees. The inscriptions on the rocks seem to haunt the landscape on the northern bay of Syros’s west side. They are wishes, prayers and names carved by sailors who could find shelter from the bad weather here. Most of them date back to the Roman and the Byzantine times, but there are also Venetian or Turkish. You have access to the bay by boat from Kini or through a trail from Kampos.

Gria Spilia (Old Cave)
From Grammata walking by the sea you will find yourselves at the beach of Gria Spilia and then you can go up the gully, where you will see lime kilns as well. The cave itself is a small cavity in the rock, the facade of which is built of stone. Continuing you will find a well and a farmhouse.

Τhe Syrian “loukoumi”

The famous delight made of sugar and starch came from Asia Minor and took its name after the Turkish word “lokum”. The loukoumi-makers were Chians who transferred their art to Istanbul where loukoumia were made, sharing their knowledge with the next generations. It is said that the first time this delight was produced in Syros was in 1832. The first official stamp of loukoumi-maker (the one of Stamatelakis) appeared in 1837.

For many decades the loukoumi was made in a fixed manner which was difficult and required know-how and love. From 1970 onwards, the workshops were modernized. As time went by, the flavours of the loukoumia became more and more –mastic, rose, bergamot, rose sugar, mandarin, Indian coconut, almond, pistachio, walnut. As the old confectioners say, the water makes the difference in the flavour of the Syrian loukoumi. In a waterless island, the brackish water from the few springs gave a unique identity to the product which was identified with Syros.

From the Asia Minor catastrophe until the end of the 1960s, there were numerous loukoumi companies in Syros and stores where it was sold on the coast. Usually the companies were family businesses and the craft used to pass from one generation to the next.

The loukoumi-makers also produce “halvadopita” (halva pie) with local thyme honey and freshly-baked almonds.

Other Products

It is worth tasting and buying the thyme honey of the island and the cheese products: sweet cow milk “graviera” cheese, “kopanisti” cheese, fresh “myzithra” cheese, and famous Sa(n) Michali cheese. It is hard, pale yellow and delicious. It is produced only in Syros, from cow milk and it is cheese PDO (Protected Designation of Origin). It is matured in 3-4 months and it has a rich, spicy flavor.

“Choirosfagia”

As it happens in other islands of the Cyclades (Andros, Tinos, Mykonos), “choirosfagia” have their roots deep in the past in Syros. They are still performed with the ritual of the past, especially in the villages Pagos, Danakos, Agros and other rural villages of the inland. It includes the pig slaughtering before the Christmas period, the slicing and the production of supplies that will allow the families to make it through the year, such as sausages, “louza” (pork filet), “glina” (grease for frying) and “pichti” (thick gel of broth with pieces of pork). They are accompanied by food and dance feast.

Info

You will find interesting data about the Syrian “loukoumi” at the site of the Municipality of Syros www.hermoupolis.gr

Syros is accessible by plane from the airport of Eleftherios Venizelos and by ship or speedboat from the ports of Piraeus, Rafina and Thessaloniki.

Airport “Eleftherios Venizelos”

+30 210 3530000,
www.aia.gr

Airport of Syros

+30 22810 81900

Port Authority of Piraeus

+30 210 4147800

14944 (ships itinerary)

Port Authority of Rafina

+30 22940 22300

Port Authority of Syros

+30 22810 88888

Customs of Syros

+30 22810 82680

Town Hall of Ermoupoli

+30 22810 82500

Police Station

+30 22810 96100

Hospital of Syros

+30 22810 96500

Citizens’ Service Centre of Municipality of Ermoupoli

+30 22810 79643

Useful links

www.hermoupolis.gr

www.e-kyklades.gr