Cruising to Mykonos? Delos is Bucketlist by Archaeologous
Cruising to Mykonos? One of the most exciting ‘bucket list’ things to do in the world is to get yourself to the nearby neighboring island of Delos. This sacred historic place is the destination wish of most visitors Cruising to Mykonos. So, if you are on a Norwegian Epic, the Royal Caribbean Brilliance of the Seas, the Caribbean Odyssey of the Sea or the Oosterdam from Holland and having Mykonos as one of your port stops by all means take a shore excursion to Delos.
As your ferry approaches the 5 kilometre long tiny island, you will be nearing the sacred place of worship where in 90 BC there were 30,000 inhabitants. Today there is only 14 who are caretakers. Not to think that you will be spending the night in a hotel as the entire island is an open air museum and no one is allowed to spend the night. So you ferry over starting at 10:00 AM and you are ferried back on the 35 minute voyage at 1:30. (There are additional afternoon ferries in the summer)
What’s there? So today, after 1400 years of silence and then the excavations that were begun in the late 1800s, we see the remains of this glorious city. There were underground plumbing, 3,000 shops, innovative cisterns with water for all, and a theatre that held 6,000 people. From the top of the highest hill, your 360 degree view lets you realize why the Cycladic islands get their name. They form a circle around ‘sacred’ Delos.
Why Go? It’s a UNESCO Heritage Site since 1990. Many go to the sacred Delos island to see what is considered one of the finest collections of ancient Greek sculpture, others go to have a quiet time of admiring the amazing mosaics in the dazzling mansions of the rich merchants homes, some history buffs enjoy the artefacts that give a close up look into the daily life of the ancient residents. Others go for the healings from the island that had one of the largest ‘esclepeions’ (healing spa areas) in ancient times and was and is considered a healing area still.
Did you Know? Greek mythology tells us that Artemis and Apollo, twins of Zeus and Leto, were born here. It flourished for 700 years being an influential political force, a Fort Knox for the Athenian League, and an important religious centre in the Archaic and Classical periods. Delos was a major commercial and trading centre in the 2nd and 1st century BCE with approx 750,000 ‘tons’ of merchandise being exported and imported in 100 BCE. Then the downfall began. After being raided in 88 BCE and again in 69 BCE, the island went into decline and never regained its brilliance and was gradually abandoned.
#GreekIslandCruising #Delos #Mykonos #ShoreExcursions #GuidedDelosTours #PrivateGuidedDelosTours
