04. Mykonos & Delos - McGilchrist’s Greek Islands

Περιηγητικός Οδηγός για τη Μύκονο και τη Δήλο στα αγγλικά.

Mykonos and Delos in the McGilchrist’s Greek Islands series is a guide on cultural tourism focusing on monuments, archaeology and history of art. It is for the visitor who wishes to understand more about the art, history and architecture of Mykonos and Delos.

Nigel Mcgilchrist wrote the Genius Loci Guides after his long experience as writer of the Blue guide to the Greek islands.

 The series contains no photographs, but has specially drawn maps for each island (66 in total) and site plans for every major site (57 in total), together with thoroughly comprehensive textual information. Each guide also recommends a small number of places to stay and eat selected for their simplicity and unpretentiousness.

Mykonos is a legend – a dry granitic island transformed into the upmarket tourist destination of today. It has become a place for those who desire their Greek island to be an extension of the city – cosmopolitan, busy, materially well-provided, a place to show off new clothes. The barren landscape of the island is adorned with 800 or so chapels and churches that seem to spout from every rock.

Apollo and Artemis, twin siblings, were born under a palm-tree on Delos. This divine association had the effect of supercharging this tiny outcrop into the most sacred place in the ancient Aegean and consequently one of the most important archaeological areas in the Greek Islands today. The site is immense. On the slopes of Mount Kynthos are some of the best preserved houses from the ancient Greek world, decorated with fine mosaics and painting, while the museum contains finds of astonishing quality. Nowhere else in the Greek world have the remains of a whole city and a sanctuary of such wide-ranging importance been preserved undisturbed by modern building.

Read more about the series