Fotos

The beautiful party island of Ios is about a seven hour ferry ride away from Athens and about an hour’s ferry ride from Santorini. Ios has some extremely picturesque and worth visiting windmills. Standing at the port it is difficult to locate them. But on walking about 2 km into the main town of Ios, you will first see several almost destroyed windmills that are no longer in use.

On walking further to higher ground you will see some very well preserved windmills now used as homes surrounded by beautiful, colorful gardens.

Majority of the windmills are found in the typically Cycladic town of Chora or Hora. Twelve windmills on the top of the mountain slope at Chora complete its scenic beauty. These age old windmills are worn by the weather but they still proudly watch over the small church of Agios Nikolaos near by. At least two of these windmills have been restored today.
Back in the day, the windmills were used to produce energy to grind grains and helped enormously by adding to the agricultural economy and satisfying the food requirements of the island. Today they stand as ornamental monuments that add to the landscape and bear testimony to the unique local architecture. These charming structures that look over the turquoise Aegean Sea are undoubtedly one of the most beautiful sites of the island.

Every individual visiting the island should make it obligatory to visit at least one of these windmills. They are an inseparable part of the history of the island and it is only fair that one pays homage to them.(www.greeka.com)