The
coastline of this predominantly mountainous island with its countless
chapels, its olive trees, its vineyards and its limpid air, is
adorned with small, attractive coves. Those features combine with
the crystal-clear sea, the superb sandy beaches and the good range
of amenities to make los a magnet for tourists.
 Locally
called Nios, this is an island whose history goes back to prehistoric
times. According to Herodotus, the “poet of poets”,
the “god-like” Homer was buried at Plakotos, in the
north of the island. Pausanias tells us that there was an inscription
at Delphi confirming the poet’s interment on Ios, which was
the homeland of his mother, Clymene.
Above
the pretty harbour of Ormos, where fishing-boats and yachts bob
at anchor, stands the capital of Ios or Hora. The town stands
on the site of the ancient city of the same name and is a typical
Cycladic settlement, with whitewashed houses, narrow alleys and
chapels. Among the churches, those of St. Catherine, St. John
the Baptist and Sts. Cosmas and Damien stand out.
The
whole beautiful image is rounded off with the bulk of the medieval
castle and the row of windmills, which top the town.
The
sites of Ios include a Hellenistic tower and the remains of an
ancient aqueduct at Aghia Theodoti, traces of an ancient temple
at Psathi, a ruinous Venetian castle at the spot known as Paleokastro,
and the Hellenistic tower at Plakotos, which we have already mentioned.
The
Archaeological and Folkloric Museum in Hora and the Museuml of
Modern Art (Drot-Gaiti) at Kolitsani are also worth a visit.
Lovers
of the sea will be enraptured by the superb beaches of los, some
of them busy (such as Milopotas, near Hora), and others no less
attractive but much quieter (Aghia Theodoti, Psathi, Kalamas,
Plakes, Tzamaria, Kolitsani and Manganari). The
authentic Cycladic beauty of Ios, in combination with the island’s
rapid development for tourism, has had the effect of attracting
ever-increasing numbers of visitors.
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