What a difference a day makes!! Yesterday was the freak windy day with gusts over 80 km an hour! Saturday May 17 started with a light wind and by noon it had gone. A beautiful blue sky and sunny day with a high 21C.
We have discovered that Parikia's name hails from the Middle Byzantine years (7th century) when "Pariki" signified settler or outsider.
We headed out to visit the Church of Panagia Ekatontapyliani which dates from 326 AD. It is one of the finest churches in the Cyclades. It was only about five minutes from the apartment.
 |
| Follow that bird! |
The name of the church translates as Our Lady of Hundred Doors. According to tradition, the church has 99 doors and a secret 100th door will open when the church of Hagia Sofia in Constantinople (Istanbul) becomes Orthodox again. The entire Byzantine church complex comprises of the main church of the Virgin Mary with three internal chapels. Outside of the main church lie three other chapels. The yard of the complex also hosts a baptistery and cells of the monks.
Th church dates to 326 AD and its oldest features likely predate the adoption of Christianity as the state religion of the Roman Empire in 391.
 |
| Entrance into the complex |
 |
| Entering the complex |
 |
| A small chapel beside the main church |
 |
Allan and bird walking back out the entrance
|
We then walked outside of the complex to see the back of the main church and the other chapels.
 |
| Back of main church with chapels |
We were only a few minutes away from the Archaeological Museum. There were four intricately carved stone sarcophagi outside of the Museum. We decided to take a pass on the museum, as we had already visiting the Archaeological Museums in Heraklion and Chania.
 |
| Outside of the Archaeological Museum (opened in 1960). |
 |
| Intricate engravings |
There was a nearby school with a lovely mural.
 |
| Sailing away |
 |
| The fabulous flowers we saw in Crete along the highways |
We then decided to wander in the labyrinth of small streets which lead to the western part of the waterfront. There are numerous boutiques and restaurants in the area.
We found a men's store, Robini. The owner was Danish and married to a Greek woman. The store carried wonderful T-shirts by Inspira, a Greek Designers Team, which creates clothes, accessories and jewellery inspired by Aegean culture. Many of their designs are based on objects found in Archaeological Museums and frescoes and mosaics of palaces and temples.
 |
| Outside of store |
 |
| Inside-- Allan got a Zeus T-shirt. The pattern was inspired by the Artemision bronze statue found in the National Archaeological Museum of Athens, 5th century. BC (info from tag on T-shirt). |
 |
| Talking to the owner |
 |
| Historic pictures of the port of Parikia |
 |
| "Net Fix and Chill" |
We then stopped at Symposium, in a lovely location, which served light meals with jazz music playing.
 |
| Looking up from the street at Symposium Café |
 |
| Allan at Symposium |
 |
| I had an espresso freddo and Allan had a cappuccino. We shared a delicious tuna sandwich. |
 |
| Inside of Symposium. We chatted with the owner afterwards- he is a big jazz fan as are we. |
 |
| The street is named after Manto Mavrogenous (1796-1848), a Greek princess and heroine of the Greek War of Independence (1821-29). She moved to Paros in 1940 and died in a house that is still privately owned near the Panagia Ekatontapyliani, |
We passed the Walls of the Frankish Castle (Kastro), a fortress built by Venetian Duke Marco Sanudo of Naxos in 1260 AD with building materials from ancient buildings that existed on the hill and the lower city. The castle has an elliptical shape with a rectangular tower. Incorporated in the castle walls are stones from the archaic temple of Athena and an Iconic temple from the 5th century BC which stood there.
 |
| Frankish Castle walls- amazing structure |
 |
| View from one side |
 |
| Another view |
We passed a restaurant that had a one of a kind 200 year old grape vine. It was closed at lunch time.
 |
| Very old grape vice canopy |
 |
| Another beautiful white and blue church |
 |
| Whitewashing part of the sidewalk in front of the church |
 |
| We found the third fountain of Mavrogenes constructed in 1777 ! |
We walked to the waterfront and took a picture of the windmill on a far point.
 |
| Windmill on the far part of the waterfront |
 |
| Another Church near the waterfront |
We headed back along the waterfront to the port. We bought our bus tickets for our trip to Naoussa on Sunday.
 |
| View of some of the houses on the hill opposite the port |
 |
| A Golden Star Ferry coming into the port. |
We passed the Ragoussis bakery, this time in the sunlight.
 |
| Wonderful Ragoussis bakery in the sun |
We walked by the Church of Agios Nikolaos Thalassitis which is near the port and not far from our apartment. Apparently, there are around 450 churches scattered around the island of Paros.
 |
| One of the many small, whitewashed churches with a blue dome- it was open to visit |
 |
| Wooden panelled screen with paintings of various saints |
 |
| Other side of church |
 |
| We rested up at the apartment |
We headed out just after 6:00 p.m. and wandered a bit through the area with the shops. One of the jewellery stores we had hoped to visit was still closed. We think the owner might be away for a few days. We headed down to the waterfront on the west side of the town. We had decided to eat at Mira, a family run restaurant, which we had passed by on Friday. We had made a reservation for 7:00 p.m. The restaurant has a small patio and indoor part and then across the road it has a large patio by the water. That is where we ate.
 |
| Our table-- lovely view |
 |
| A traditional procession walked by on the road just before our dinner came |
 |
| We had a wonderful starter of small marinated fish bruschetta. Allan had a glass of red wine and I had a Greek Spritzer (Athens Vermouth, Mastiha and Pink Grapefruit Soda). |
 |
| Looking back across to the main part of the restaurant on the other side of the road |
 |
| Wonderful dinner of a delicious bulghur salad with tomato, tahini, avocado, cranberries, red peppers and pistachios and a vegan moussaka with a walnut and mushroom ragu and daily-free bechamel. |
 |
| Cat and sunset |
 |
| At sunset-- the waiter who took our picture said that the cat often sat in that spot |
 |
| Sun slowly setting |
 |
| Almost set-- just stunning |
 |
| Dessert on the house- panna cotta with blueberry syrup fruit |
 |
The small patio and indoor part of Mira. Yannis, the former owner is wearing the sailor hat.
The restaurant opened in 2000 and was run by Yannis and his wife Esther. In 2016, their two daughters took over and modernized the restaurant. Yannis still comes by to visit and talk to customers. The dishes are based on local produce and Mira has daily specials. |
 |
| The section we ate in. |
We walked back to our apartment along the waterfront. The windmill near the ferry terminal was lit up.
 |
Windmill near the ferry terminal
|
 |
| Harbour with houses on the hills |
We heard some music and a minute away in the main square were some Greek dancers. A small crowd had gathered to watch.
 |
| Traditional Greek dancers |
It was a most wonderful day. What a change from Friday and the extreme wind. Parikia is a beautiful village with historic sites and a wonderful waterfront. The cubist houses with their white facades and blue trims are lovely against the blue sky and the blue waters. The island of Paros is definitely worth a visit.
On Sunday May 18, we will take the bus to the other major village on Paros, Naoussa, for a day trip.
Comments
Post a Comment