Syros
may be a barren, hilly island without particular natural
beauty but it has offered hospitality to many peoples
and became the meeting pot of many cultures. The first
settlers were apparently Carians, a protohellenic tribe
that built its fortified town at the islands' northeastern
side on a hill presently called Kastri. Their civilization
flourished for at least 500 years spanning the entire
protocycladean period (2.800 - 2.300 B.C.). Circa 800
B.C. Phoenician traders from Tyre colonized the protected
bay at the islands' southwestern end, and lent their name
to the present day bay and resort village. They are also
responsible for the islands' very name: Tyre - Sur -Syros.
Then came Ionian colonizers, Persian conquerors, Romans
and their successors, the Byzantines. From 1207 to 1567
A.D. Syros was under Venetian rule, followed by Ottoman
Turkish occupation (1567 t0 1830), interrupted briefly
by Russian take over (1770 - 1774). Of the numerous rulers
and conquerors that landed on the island only the Venetians
left an obvious trace on the native population, evidenced
in the significant percentage of Catholics today.
The
island's patron god, Hermes, is a guardian of both commerce and
letters. Philosopher and Pythagoras' teacher Pherecydes (6th century
B.C.), writers Emanuel Roidis (1836 - 1904) and Dimitrios Vikelas
(1835 - 1908), and poet George Souris (1853 - 1919) are only a
few of the men of intellect born in Syros. The
island's best beaches are found on the northwestern coast. The
only one accessible by dirt road is Delfini beach, which features
Mrs Pitsa's tavern offering excellent dishes, local goat's cheese
and fresh vegetables from the gardens of nearby Kini. For perfect
seclusion, rudism and free camping, try the beaches of Aetos,
Lia and Grammata, accessible only by boat or footpath. The name
of the last beach means "letters" and is justified
by the graffiti carved on its rocks in Roman and Byzantine times
by distressed sailors and fishermen thanking God for their deliverance.
Map of Cyclades Islands
Map of Syros
Upon
entering the port of Syros you face a a genteel conurbation perched
on two hills, each crowned by an imposing church. The hill on
the left bears the mideval borough of Ano Syros, whose architecture
(8th - 13th century) survives wonderfully, and its cappel by the
catholic Cathedral of Saint George. The hill on the right all
the way to the waterfront is where Ermoupoli lies, a veritable
19th century metropolis. Its foundations were laid in 1824 by
refugees from Chios, Psara, Crete, Kasos and Smyrna, who found
sanctuary in the French-ruled Syros when their homes were ravaged
by the Turks. Named after its patron god Hermes, Ermoupoli soon
became an important commercial and industrial centre. By the end
of last century the city hosted dozens of textile factories, tanneries,
machine-works, tile-works, shoemakers, food processing plants
and, of course the famous shipyards (tarsanades) where thousands
of wooden vessels were built, from small fishing caiques to grand
multimasted ships. In Ermoupoli alone there were 30 Maritime insurance
firms! The city's wealth of that era (it was the first Greek community
to be electrified) is evident in the stately mansions still preserved
today.
No
stay in Syros is consummated until one tries the local "loukoumia",
chewy morsels flavoured with a variety of exotic essences and
buried in a cloud of powdered sugar, or the local "halvadopita".
almond rich nougat cakes. Both sweets have been Syros trade-marks
for over a century. The
numerous well preserved and stately neoclassic buildings of
Syros have earned it the name of "Noble lady of the Aegean".
In Ermoupoli one is impressed by the Town Hall (also housing
the Archaelogical Museum), the Apollo Theatre (scaled down replica
of la Scala di Milano), the Customs House at the harbours edge,
the Ladopoulos Edifice, the Hellas Municipal club and cultural
centre, as well as by dozens of other mansions housing museums,
public offices, hotels, and bars. Luxurious neoclassic villas
can be seen in the communities of Episcopio, Chroussa, Poseidonia,
Phoinikas, Galissas and elsewhere. "Fragosyriani",
one of the most famous folk songs sung and danced to all over
Greece is just an example of the 2.500 songs composed and sung
by Markos Vamvakaris, the patriarch of Greek folk song. Syros
honoured its native son in the form of a modest museum and a
pronze bust adorning a small public square in Ano Syros where
the bard was born in 1905. In "Lilis" tavern",
where Vamvakaris used to sing, few things have changed.
