{"id":40018,"date":"2021-11-16T10:05:41","date_gmt":"2021-11-16T08:05:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eagleray.gr\/koufonisia\/"},"modified":"2021-11-16T10:05:42","modified_gmt":"2021-11-16T08:05:42","slug":"koufonisia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eagleray.gr\/en\/koufonisia\/","title":{"rendered":"Koufon\u00edsia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
<\/div>\n\n
\"Koufonísi
View of Koufon\u00edsi bay, P\u00e1no Koufon\u00edsi<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Historians are in disagreement where from the name of the two islands came from. Some believe it is a complex word (kouf\u00f3 + nis\u00ed<\/strong>, i.e. hollow + island), named by the many travelers of the past who named it by the many caves around the islands. Others claim the name derived from the locals in the past naming the islands \u201ckouf\u00f3\u201d which can be rendered as unbelievable, masterpiece (i.e. very beautiful). Another version, is based on the marine notion of \u201cKof\u00f3s lim\u00edn\u201d<\/strong> (i.e. sound harbour), meaning an island that is a safe shelter for ships. Last, at times historical records refer to the islands as \u201cPhacousa\u201d (P\u00e1no Koufon\u00edsi), probably due to its shape, and \u201cP\u00ednno\u201d (K\u00e1to Koufon\u00edsi), thanks to the many pinna (pen shells) in the surrounding seas.<\/p>\n\n

The first inhabitants of the islands were Cyclad\u00edtes<\/strong>, from 3200 BC up to 1000 BC, according to findings in Agrili\u00e1 position and in Loutr\u00e1 settlement (chambered tombs). In this settlement were also found buildings that continue into the sea. Based on the archaeological findings in the nearby island of K\u00e9ros, in K\u00e1vos Daskalei\u00f3 position, which revealed a unique worship centre in size and type, probably the first islandic worship area in the world, it is believed that the overall area had a significant civilization in the Hellenic periods.<\/p>\n\n

During the Hellenic \u2013 Persian Wars, Koufon\u00edsia took the side of the Hellenes. In the Roman years<\/strong>, they served as a place of exile. In today\u2019s village of P\u00e1no Koufon\u00edsi, excavations revealed a significant presence by the Romans on the island. However, works cannot proceed as the village is built on top of the ancient ruins.<\/p>\n\n

During the Byzantine years<\/strong>, the islands belonged to the military prefecture of N\u00e1xos. Later, in the 13th century, the Venetians occupy them and two centuries later, the Ottomans. All these years, the pirates used Koufon\u00edsia as a hideout and a base of operations.<\/p>\n\n

The islands were freed in 1830 and joined the new Hellenic state. In the 2nd World War<\/strong>, Koufon\u00edsia were forced to support the Italian and German armies. As a result, they were impoverished and after the war the inhabitants migrated to the large city centres or abroad. The approximately 1000 people were depopulated to a few dozen.<\/p>\n\n

In 1960<\/strong>, the last citizens of K\u00e9ros and K\u00e1to Koufon\u00edsi abandoned their islands and all settled in P\u00e1no Koufon\u00edsi. Lately, thanks to the touristic development, the population of the island has started to increase again (400 permanent inhabitants in 2011).<\/p>\n\n

<\/div>\n\n
\"Caves
Caves on the NE part of the island<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Beaches:<\/strong> Maybe the most important attraction in Koufon\u00edsia are their beaches. Thanks to the many corrals and sea shells in the sea surrounding them, the sand mixes with the broken shells and has a unique colour. <\/p>\n\n

Devil\u2019s eye:<\/strong> It lies approximately 900m away from Por\u00ed beach, in \u00c1no Koufon\u00edsi. One of the most famous attractions in Koufon\u00edsia \n \n \n<\/p>\n\n

Xylob\u00e1ti caves: <\/strong>Caves by the sea on the NE part of P\u00e1no Koufon\u00edsis island <\/p>\n\n

Panag\u00eda church: <\/strong>A beautiful church, from 1562 AD, and the only one in K\u00e1to Koufon\u00edsi. In its celebration (15th August), there is a feast held on the island<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Historians are in disagreement where from the name of the two islands came from. Some believe it is a complex word (kouf\u00f3 + nis\u00ed, i.e. hollow + island), named by the many travelers of the past who named it by the many caves around the islands. Others claim the name derived from the locals in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":40013,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[650],"tags":[452,789],"class_list":["post-40018","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-small-cyclades","tag-history","tag-koufonisia","category-650","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eagleray.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40018","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eagleray.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eagleray.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eagleray.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eagleray.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40018"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eagleray.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40018\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40019,"href":"https:\/\/eagleray.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40018\/revisions\/40019"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eagleray.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40013"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eagleray.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40018"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eagleray.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40018"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eagleray.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40018"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}