Kissamos
Kissamos lies at the north-western edge of Crete, on a fertile plain that opens into a naturally sheltered bay. This geography explains the area’s long continuity of settlement and its enduring role as an intermediary between the island’s interior and the sea. While not always a political centre in its own right, Kissamos functioned as…
Agios Efstratios
View of the harbour in Agios Efstratios Agios Efstratios, a remote yet strategically positioned island in the North Aegean, shows signs of habitation as early as the Early Bronze Age. Archaeological traces, though modest, suggest small agrarian and pastoral communities, likely in contact with Lemnos and the coasts of Asia Minor. Its location between maritime…
Lemnos
Myrina, harbour and castle The island of Lemnos, in the north-eastern Aegean, lies at a key maritime junction between Thrace, Samothraki, Imbros and the sea routes that lead to the Hellespont and the Sea of Marmara. Its position granted it strategic value across civilisations, while its fertile plains and volcanic nature shaped an identity rooted…
Samothraki
Kamariotissa harbour, Samothraki Samothraki occupies a unique position in the northern Aegean, both geographically and symbolically. Mount Saos (Fengari), whose summit is often lost in cloud, creates a landscape that is wild, imposing, and otherworldly, unlike that of most Aegean islands. The abundance of freshwater springs, deep gorges, and steep coastlines contributed to the formation…
Alexandroupoli
Ancient and Early Historical Periods The area where Alexandroupoli stands today was not a major organised city in antiquity, but formed part of a wider Thracian and coastal landscape with continuous human presence. From prehistoric times, the shores of the northern Aegean were inhabited by Thracian tribes who relied on the sea for fishing and…