Friday 23 September 2022

Apollonia in Sifnos




Apollonia is the capital of Sifnos. Its name comes from an ancient temple of Apollo which used to be on the side of the church of Panayia Yeraniofora.

We visited the town three times and every time the bus would deposit us here, the town square




where the island's folklore museum is situated.




This sculpture in the square




is lit up at night.





White-washed houses and narrow alleyways




lots of bars and restaurants




quirky windows.




We hadn't been to Sifnos for 11 years so, during our first visit we took the wrong turning, and rather than going through the centre of the town, we took the road that runs along the periphery which affords great views of the surrounding countryside










zooming in




This house is perched on the edge of the cliff




Steps everywhere




It gets very windy in the Cyclades, so the narrow streets protect from the wind












We ate here last time, but not this time




We finally got to the centre of the town, the 'steno' (the 'narrow one') where most of the bars, restaurants and shops are to be found. This large church is at the centre of it




another church, next to it




and another one. As I mentioned in a previous post, Sifnos has a population of 2.625 and 260 churches.




We sat here, later, and had an ouzo - it was good for people watching




A small square







Space is at a premium, so most tavernas have tables set out on the narrow lane












How many churches can a small town have?




Cayenne, where we ate during our first evening




when it got dark. The food was very interesting, a mixture of Greek and Michelin-starred dishes. It was very good.









and another one




interior of a bar




and a jewellery shop





that's right - another church











During our second visit we headed straight for To Steno - the aim this time was to walk all the way up to the windmills




figure of a cat stencilled on a wall




steps all the way







an arched entry




more steps




we finally reached the windmills




we could see two more in the distance





We passed Julie Tzanini's  ceramics workshop. I really wanted to see her work but she is on sabbatical this year so it was closed.




We turned around and started our descent  










and these are steps to the roof!










During our second visit we decided to eat at Okyalos





and chose a table on the street - the food was good





and then it was time to head for the bus











We stopped at the Gerontopoulos patisserie







and bought some marzipan and nougat to take home with us.





No comments:

Post a Comment